Ceres Street Faire offers a taste of real community

The Ceres Street Faire stretched out this year, with more booths, more people, more show-off cars and, after a 12-year hiatus, a parade to kick it all off.

The volunteer-driven event, now in its 28th year, closes down much of downtown for the first full weekend in May, said organizer Lisa Mantarro. It is run by a core volunteer group with the Ceres Chamber of Commerce and Ceres Lions Club.

“It’s all for the community,” Mantarro said, with booths primarily filled by local arts and crafts vendors, local businesses and local nonprofits offering information and services.

New this year, just in time for Mother’s Day, was a tent for breast-feeding moms and diaper changing, put on by Victory Assembly of God Church.

Food booths, every one of them supporting a local charity, filled one side of Third Street. For most, it was the biggest fundraiser of the year, Mantarro said.

Kids crunching on snow cones helped out Ceres Seahawks youth football. Folks munching linguica sandwiches supported the Ceres High Bulldogs. Central Valley High cheerleaders sold cheeseburgers, while the band offered tacos. Corn dogs were dipped in the deep fryer by Ceres firefighters. Pulled pork, anyone? Try the Kiwanis booth.

Mantarro and crew help the smaller nonprofits through the food service paperwork and rent them booths at cost, said Street Faire team member Kim Chapman-Johnson.

“We try to make it as easy as possible for them,” she said.

The Lions Club beer and tri-tip booth, however, has veterans at the helm. Proceeds support the club, as well as Every 15 Minutes anti-drunken-driving presentations and Sober Grad Nights at both Ceres high schools, youth sports and scholarships, said Ken Lane, Lions past president and Street Faire team member.

The only other alcohol for sale was at the wine and margarita booths run by the chamber. Money raised will help support chamber activities such as business training sessions and the shop-local campaign, as well as high school scholarships, said President Renee Ledbetter.

“We’re on a mission to revitalize downtown,” she said, adding that Fourth Street improvements are in the planning phase, with a tentative start date of just after next year’s Street Faire.

This year’s fair had a number of new vendors, Mantarro said, bringing the total number of booths to 97. Also new this year was a Ferris wheel, expanding the children’s carnival area.

“The obstacle course is the best,” said mom Jenna Lusk as she watched her 5- and 8-year-old play. “We walk a little, then we come back here. They get to play and then we walk some more.”

What was the best part of the fair for her this Mothers Day? “The margaritas,” Lusk said, taking a sip. “That’s just an honest moment there,” she added with a grin.

Despite the drippy weather, Saturday’s Street Faire was packed, Mantarro said. Besides the booths, 90 customized or restored cars and trucks lined up in parking spaces running down to Whitmore Avenue.

The Ceres Street Faire Parade also took place Saturday, returning after a 12-year hiatus with 90 entries keyed to the theme of Back to the Future, said co-chairs Helen Condit and Angie Smith via email. Grand marshals were the Rev. Adrian Condit, Rocky Fisher and Richard McKay.

Walking down Third Street drinking out of a pineapple laden with fruit on Sunday, volunteer Joseph Estrada said he has been coming to the fair for 13 years.

What he likes about it, Estrada said, “is the community getting together. Seeing faces you don’t get to see because we work all the time.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Ceres Street Faire offers a taste of real community."