My Town: Janelle Pierson
Thriving…
My family moved to Northern California from Los Angeles when I was 3 years old and I have been lucky to call it home ever since. My husband Kendall and I settled in Cottonwood to raise our three children, but once our youngest daughter moved away for college, we wanted to embark on a new journey. After watching the city of Redding evolve with the renovation of the Cascade Theatre, the building of the Sundial Bridge and the expansion of the river trail, we wanted to make our own mark in town by opening a bed and breakfast. We envisioned guests walking to dinner or cocktails, taking in a show at the theater and returning to a beautiful room to rest. We were lucky to find two 1936 homes in need of renovation overlooking the Sacramento River, and Bridgehouse Bed and Breakfast was born.
After opening the bed and breakfast, we decided to move to Downtown Redding ourselves. We loved renovating the Bridgehouse, and decided to renovate two other homes in the area, one of which we lived in for several years.
Being a bed and breakfast host has changed my life. I am able to entertain and host guests from all over the world. While many are stopping through on their way to another destination, others have found a destination in Redding itself. People from all walks of life enjoy hiking our incredible trail systems, fishing in the river or lakes, and now more than ever, partaking in fantastic restaurants and shopping right here in downtown. As new businesses open, we love sending guests to grab a bite to eat at a locally owned restaurant, get a drink at a wine bar or brewery or shop at a cute boutique.
With music as one of my passions, I set out to bring more live music to Redding. Along with our friends and local businesses, we formed a team to promote and host musicians, hold backyard concerts and most recently, host the Redding Roots Revival music festival. Our inaugural festival featured more than 20 music acts on five stages over two days. After taking a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to share music with our community again this fall with a few small outdoor venues, and are already looking ahead to a larger scale event in 2022. We hope to host the festival annually and envision building multiple stages in various downtown locations to highlight the incredible spaces and neighboring businesses.
Two of our three children have moved back to Redding, and our third is in the Bay Area, which gives us ample opportunity to spoil our eight beautiful grandchildren. We split our time between Redding and our cabin in Mount Shasta and love experiencing the beautiful scenery and recreation the area has to offer. We continue to enjoy the positive changes being made to Downtown Redding, love being part of this thriving community, and can’t wait to see what the future holds in store for this incredible town.
