Published 2008-04-01T00:00:00Z”/>

Renee Calder

Citrus, lettuce and flowers will fill Broadway Street as Thursday Night Market returns this week.

About 8,000 to 10,000 people show up each week from 6 to 9 p.m. for the market, said Becky Watner, assistant executive director for the Downtown Chico Business Association. The market, located on Broadway Street between Second and Fifth streets, features about 40 different producers, 100 commercial vendors and various performers each week until Sept. 25.

Compared to the Chico Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings, “ours is a street festival,” Watner said. “It’s as much entertainment as it is shopping to pick up produce. It’s really a night on the town.”

Performers include jugglers, belly dancers and musicians, including the three-man band Second Nature.

The band plays music from around the world including Middle Eastern, American Indian and Asia, said guitarist Robert Seals.

“The farmers’ markets are so community,” Seals said. “There’s few things you can do in a city this size and thousands of people will just float by you performing. There’s no stage. You’re on the same level as the people.”

Juniors Kelsey Olson and Nick Mascagno go to the market every week to pick up produce and flowers, they said.

“We got a puppy there. It was kind of unexpected,” Olson said. “He peed on me, and I fell in love with him.”

Though the chance to buy a puppy might be rare, the event connects college students to the community, she said.

“A lot of college towns have a community that has a negative image toward college students,” Olson said. “They think we just party and throw cups in the streets.”

Connecting the two groups helps correct this negative portrayal, she said.

Junior Melody Warnes enjoys the night market because she never wakes up early enough for the Chico Farmers’ Market, she said.

“I’m a vegetarian, so I’m really big on it,” Warnes said.

The Thursday Night Market started 12 years ago and was intended to run year-round, Watner said. But early sunsets and unexpected rain make it difficult to run during some months.

The Downtown Chico Business Association funds the event and revenues from booth rentals go to funding other events such as Slice of Chico, Christmas Preview and Friday Night Concerts, Watner said. Sponsors also pay between $250 and $5,000 for the event.

“There’s always something new,” Watner said. “New vendors, new performers. The kickoff is always a big hit. Everyone has a little spring fever, and it feels fresh and new.”

Renee Calder can be reached at<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>