The presence of Basques in California dates back four centuries. Basque explorers arrived in what is now California in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. [1] There is a significant presence of Basque-Americans in the Bakersfield area. Many of Bakersfield's oldest and most historic restaurants are Basque, [2] including Woolgrowers, Noriega's, Pyrenees, Benji's, and Narducci's. Memorial Day weekend features the Kern County Basque Festival, sponsored by the Kern County Basque Club. [3] This three-day festival features food, music, dance, and handball (pelota) games. Explorer Juan Bautista de Anza was of Basque heritage.
The Basques are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, an area traditionally known as the Basque Country — a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.
Kern County is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about 151 sq mi (390 km2) near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the 2020 census was 403,455, making it the 48th-most populous city in the United States of America and the 9th-most populous city in California. The Bakersfield–Delano Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Kern County, had a 2020 census population of 909,235, making it the 62nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States. The more built-up portion of the metro area that includes Bakersfield and areas immediately around the city, such as East Bakersfield, Oildale, and Rosedale, has a population of 523,994.
Delano is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located 31 miles (50 km) north-northwest of Bakersfield at an elevation of 315 feet (96 m). The population was 53,041 in 2010, up from 38,824 in 2000. It is Kern County's second-largest city after Bakersfield.
Meadows Field is a public airport in Kern County, California, United States, three miles northwest of Downtown Bakersfield. It is the main airport for the Bakersfield area, and one of two international airports in the San Joaquin Valley. Also known as Kern County Airport #1, it is located in an area of unincorporated Kern County adjacent to Oildale, California.
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven counties of Northern and one of Southern California, including, in the north, all of San Joaquin and Kings counties, most of Stanislaus, Merced, and Fresno counties, and parts of Madera and Tulare counties, along with a majority of Kern County, in Southern California. Although the valley is predominantly rural, it has densely populated urban centers: Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, Tulare, Visalia, Hanford, and Merced.
The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is a Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately 165 miles (270 km) long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking. It is the southernmost major river system in the Sierra Nevada, and is the only major river in the Sierra that drains in a southerly direction.
Mechanics Bank Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Bakersfield, California. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden, a name submitted by local resident Brian Landis Bay Area-based Mechanics Bank has held the naming rights since September 2019, following their merger with Rabobank NA, which had held the naming rights since 2005.
Roy Arthur Ashburn is an American politician from Kern County, California. A Republican, he served as a California State Senator from 2002 to 2010 representing the 18th district. He previously served three terms in the California State Assembly, representing the 32nd district and 12 years on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. He served on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board from 2011 until February 2015, after having been appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Garces Memorial High School, commonly shortened to Garces High School, is a Catholic high school in Bakersfield, California.
Basque Americans are Americans of Basque descent. According to the 2000 US census, there are 57,793 Americans of full or partial Basque descent, but the real number of Basque Americans could easily reach 100,000 people. Of them, 41,811 people claimed to be simply Basque American, 9,296 claimed to be originating from Spanish Basque Country, and the other 6,686 claimed to be originating from the French Basque Country.
Kern County Raceway Park is a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) oval speedway located on CA 43 just off Interstate 5 in Bakersfield, Kern County, California, United States. Opened in 2013, it was built as a replacement for Mesa Marin Raceway.
East Bakersfield is a region in Bakersfield, California directly east of downtown. The region was formerly known as the town of Sumner, which was later incorporated and renamed Kern City. It is primarily a mixture of residential and commercial developments. It also contains a small business district centered on the intersection of Baker and Sumner streets. Census data is provided on the right for the time period when the region was an independent town and city. It is part of the Bakersfield urban area of almost 500,000 people.
The Southern Sierra Council (#030) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America. The council is headquartered in Bakersfield, California and serves over 1,500 scouts in Cub Scout packs, Scouts BSA troops, and Explorer posts. It serves Kern, Inyo, and Mono counties in California. Southern Sierra Council is the northernmost council of Area 4 in Boy Scouts of America's Western Region.
Harvey L. Hall was an American businessman and politician who served as the 25th mayor of Bakersfield, California. Hall was first elected in 2000, and re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He was one of the longest-serving mayors in Bakersfield's history. As mayor, one of his focuses had been beautification, through "Keep Bakersfield Beautiful" and the creation of, and participation in, monthly "Mayor's Freeway Cleanups", trash pickups on local freeways. Hall had donated his mayor's salary to the Kern Community Foundation.
The Kern County Museum is a history museum located in Bakersfield, California. Its main focus is the history of Kern County. Pioneer Village, located on 16 acres (65,000 m2), contains over 50 original buildings from around the county, related to life in the late 19th century. Other features include: Lori Brock Children's Discovery Center, Black Gold exhibit, and Neon Plaza. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Bakersfield provides a wide variety of arts and culture.
César E. Chávez National Monument, also known as Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz, is a 116-acre (47 ha) U.S. National Monument in Keene, Kern County, California, located about 32 miles away from Bakersfield, California. The property was the headquarters of the United Farm Workers (UFW), and home to César Chávez from the early 1970s until his death in 1993. Chávez's gravesite is located in the property's gardens along with that of his wife, Helen Fabela Chávez. Originally developed as a headquarters and worker housing area for a quarry, it served as a tuberculosis sanitarium in the early 1900s, until its acquisition by the UFW in the early 1970s.
Frank Forrest Latta (1892–1983), was a California historian and ethnographer of the Yokuts people. He also wrote histories of the early European-American settlement of the San Joaquin Valley.
Karen K. Goh is an American politician and non-profit organization executive from California. Goh is the 26th and current mayor of Bakersfield, California, since January 3, 2017.