Being Basque in Bakersfield

By covering the 40th anniversary of the Kern County Basque Club’s annual festival, which is held at the club’s south Union Avenue grounds in Bakersfield, we hoped to capture the spirit of the vibrant Basque community. 

For the Basque, preserving their distinctive culture is centered around language, ritual and family. The language is among the oldest in the world and unrelated to other European languages. Basque history  remains a closely studied subject for scholars. 

Bakersfield is the second largest Basque community in the United States, second only to Boise, Idaho. The community here continues to grow and thrive.