Arts Devo

Just in time for the holidays You need a drink. Trust me. In the best of times, the holiday season can be too much—too much Trans-Siberian Orchestra, too much nog, too much shopping-till-dropping, too much traffic, too much sugar fraying the last of your nerves. But this year, everything in America is just too much, so it comes as a welcome surprise to Arts DEVO that there are two new locally produced sources of craft adult beverages available for sale this week!

First up is Waganupa Brewing, a nanobrewery based in Chester that opened a satellite taproom in Chico last week. The Chico location (1346 Longfellow Ave., in the shopping center across from In Motion Fitness) is currently open Fridays and Saturdays, 5-9 p.m., and early reports say the saisons are exceptional. And debuting this week, with an opening day party Saturday, Dec. 17, noon-5 p.m., is Hooker Oak Distillery, at 2420 Park Ave. There will be “instructional tastings” and bottles of the maiden distillate—Apple Pie Rum—for sale.

Smells like candy canes The zany merrymakers of Chico Dance Hams are bringing Reindeer Breath to town! It’s a holiday party at the 1078 Gallery, Saturday, Dec. 17, 6:30 p.m., and will feature dancing by the children’s division, the After School Hams, as well as live music, storytelling and more.

Blowing up Local glass artists are combining forces for A Touch of Glass, a holiday celebration of the burgeoning local scene, Saturday, Dec. 17, 5 p.m., at Chico Women’s Club. It’s a free (21-over) event and will feature glass art for sale, glassblowing demos, live music by local funky crew Hi Strangeness, and beer and wine for sale.

Next on House Hunters Just got word from badass local realtor Sarah Nielsen that the first Chico episode of the popular HGTV show, in which Nielsen stars alongside some local prospective home-buyers, finally has an air date: Jan. 3!

Number one! It is end-of-the-year-list time (be patient, faithful readers, Arts DEVO is compiling as we speak), which means the Internet is super busy numbering its bestist art. And one of those outlets—the Bandcamping music column at Nerdist.com (the home base of the media empire started by At Midnight host Chris Hardwick)—has Chico-based Connecticut dude Pat Hull, the man with the Neil Young pipes and the impeccable folk-rock tunes, at the top of one of its lists. In fact, he’s No. 1. Hull’s album June was picked as the Best Underground Album of 2016, with writer Derrick Rossignol saying: “His gentle folk missives feel like a time capsule to a lost era … or one that has yet to happen.” Open the time capsule and hear for yourself at www.pathullmusic.com.

Celebration of Donna A memorial service for Donna Kellogg, the Chico native who died of smoke inhalation in the Ghost Ship fire, will be held at Brusie Funeral Home, Saturday, Dec. 17, at 1 p.m., followed by a burial at Glen Oaks Memorial Park.