Chico Palio is the official kick-off event for Artoberfest, a month-long festival of arts and culture, featuring more than 130 events during October in Chico, Calif. Instead of racing horses as they do in an Italian Palio event, the Chico Palio race features humans carrying horse sculptures. Instead of intense physical interaction between man and beast, Chico Palio feature competition in the form of pageantry, creativity as well as a physical race. For more info, check chicopalio.org. Thanks to Debra Lucero's Friends of the Arts for organizing the event. Photos by Alan Sheckter / AlSheck@comcast.net / Photos may not be republished without written consent of the photographer.