Basque Americans in California

{{Short description|Ethnic group in the United States}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://wwwstatic.kern.org/gems/historicalSociety/Vol582SummerWeb.pdf |title=BASQUES IN EARLY CALIFORNIA AND KERN COUNTY |publisher=Kern County Historical Society |accessdate=2013-10-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522160137/http://wwwstatic.kern.org/gems/historicalSociety/Vol582SummerWeb.pdf |archivedate=2014-05-22 }} There is a significant presence of Basque-Americans in the Bakersfield area. Many of Bakersfield's oldest and most historic restaurants are Basque,{{cite web

|url=http://www.nabasque.org/Astero/A1-13-bakerfield-symposium.htm

|title=Bakersfield Basque Symposium

|accessdate=October 6, 2013

|date=May 31, 2006

|publisher=John M. Ysursa

}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.kcbasqueclub.com |title=Kern County Basque Club |publisher= KCBasqueClub.com |date=March 20, 1944 |accessdate=October 6, 2013| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090228095155/http://www.kcbasqueclub.com/| archivedate= February 28, 2009 | url-status= live}} This three-day festival features food, music, dance, and handball (pelota) games. Explorer Juan Bautista de Anza was of Basque heritage.