page_title: Arcata, California
section_title: Arts and culture
hierarchical_section_title: Arcata, California / Arts and culture
caption_attribution_description: Arcata Plaza, Arcata, California
context_page_description: Arcata is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, Arcata's population was 17,231. Arcata was first settled in 1850 as Union, was officially established in 1858, and was renamed Arcata in 1860. It is located 280 miles north of San Francisco, and is home to Humboldt State University. Arcata is also the location of the Arcata Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Land Management, which is responsible for the administration of natural resources, lands and mineral programs, including the Headwaters Forest, on approximately 200,000 acres of public land in Northwestern California.
context_section_description: The heart of Arcata is the Plaza. In the 1850s the Plaza was where goods destined for the Trinity County mines were loaded onto mule trains. The Plaza has a green lawn, extensive flower plantings, and at its center there used to be a statue of President McKinley by Haig Patigian. The Plaza is surrounded by bookstores, bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and live music venues. The Plaza is also the center of Humboldt County's largest farmers' market (April through November), and serves as a major venue for local Fourth of July festivities, the Arcata Main Street Oyster Festival, the start of the Kinetic Sculpture Race, and the North Country Fair. The North Country Fair Samba Parade has been a community favorite since 1986. The Plaza is also a popular rendezvous point for travelers who stop off in Arcata. The annual Explorations in Afro-Cuban Dance and Drum workshop is held every summer on the HSU campus. The workshop hosts the largest assemblage of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and dance masters in the United States.
  The statue of William McKinley has been a point of controversy since the 1970s. Opponents of the statue condemned McKinley's supposed support of settler colonialism and policies that led to the slaughter of Native Americans. Supporters of the statue emphasized its historical significance as a major part of the culture of Arcata. In February 2018, the Arcata City Council voted to remove the statue from the Plaza, a decision supported in November 2018 when a referendum to block the statue's removal was defeated.  In February 2019, the Arcata City Council approved a measure to relocate the statue to the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in Canton, Ohio, and on February 28, the statue was removed from the Plaza in preparation for its relocation.
  Arcata also features a large number of original Victorian structures, many of which have been restored.
  The Wiyot people, the original inhabitants of the area, call the Plaza "Goad-la-nah" for the "land a little above the water".
  Arcata's Minor Theater is one of the oldest movies-only theaters in the United States which is still in operation. It is also home to the Arcata Theatre.
caption: Arcata Plaza
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