The business of play

As readers may have gathered by now, the theme of this edition of the CN&R’s monthly “shop local” supplement is the business of play. We use the word “play” in its most expansive sense, to include anything people do for fun, from going to the movies or to a theater to see, well, a play, to playing softball or golf. Looked at that way, the business of play is huge.

A logical place to start, at least in Chico, is Funland, whose very name epitomizes what the business of play is all about. If you haven’t been to the facility formerly known as Cal Skate recently, you may not be aware of the many changes current owner Mike Seko has instituted and how many forms of play are found there, from miniature golf to women’s roller derby. Join News Editor Melissa Daugherty as she scopes out the fun.

Golf is another form of play that is also a significant part of the local economy. Managing Editor Meredith J. Cooper went out to the Tuscan Ridge Golf Course to talk with its general manager, Jay Berkowitz, and came away with a new appreciation of the work, and money and passion, that go into creating an attractive course—especially when it’s off the PG&E grid.

This is our final issue of Shop Local. We’ve enjoyed publishing this monthly supplement to the CN&R for the past year, and believe it’s cast a welcome light on local businesses and the importance of keeping money in the community by shopping locally. We’ve told more than 20 stories about local business people, and we’ve made the point we wanted to make. Now it’s time to move onto something new, though we don’t yet know what that is.

Thanks to our advertisers for believing in the publication and our readers for patronizing them. We support local businesses; we hope you do too.