Ceres Street Faire 2024

Ceres Street Faire

Saturday, May 4 & Sunday, May 5

Ceres’ new Police Chief

Chris Perry welcomes all

To the Ceres community,

I am writing to express my full support for our upcoming 34th annual Ceres Street Faire community event.

As your police chief, I believe this event plays a crucial role in strengthening bonds within our community and fostering a positive relationship between law enforcement and the residents we serve.

The Street Faire provides a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a community, celebrate our diversity, and enjoy a weekend filled with fun, entertainment and camaraderie. It is a time when neighbors can connect with one another, local businesses can showcase their products and services and families can create lasting memories.

From a law enforcement perspective, events like the Street Faire are invaluable in promoting community policing practices. It allows our officers to interact with residents in a relaxed and informal setting, build trust, and open lines of communication. By engaging with the community in a positive environment, we can better understand your concerns, address issues effectively and work collaboratively to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community.

I want to assure you that the Ceres Police Department is committed to providing safety and security of everyone attending the Street Faire. Our officers will be present throughout the event to provide assistance, address any safety concerns and ensure each day runs smoothly for all participants.

I encourage every one of you to come out and join us for this special event.

‘Rain or shine’ affair

Anyone who’s been to the Ceres Street Faire knows that the biggest unknown factor is weather. Since organizers can’t do a thing about the skies, the Faire is billed as a “rain or shine” event. This year’s event could be a mixture of clouds and sun. As of the printing of this guide, weather.com was forecasting temperatures in the low 70s with mostly cloudy skies on Saturday and partly cloudly on Sunday.

Downtown Ceres hosts the annual Ceres Street Faire this weekend, May 4-5.

The fun starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, including the Saturday morning car show

2024 Street Faire Committee members:

Doug Wallick (chairman)

Lisa Mantarro Moore

Kim & Dave Johnson

Angela & Bret Durossette

Ken Lane

Let’s celebrate our community spirit, support our local businesses, and enjoy a day of unity and togetherness.

I look forward to seeing you at the Ceres Street Faire and continuing to brace the ties that make our community a great place to live.

Chris Perry, Chief of Police

Eric Ingwerson

Renee Ledbetter

Austin Mantarro Moore

Austin Mantarro Moore

Irene Ortiz

Shane Parson

on Fourth Street between Magnolia and North streets. A lowrider car show will take place on Sunday.

The Faire includes arts & crafts booths, commercial booths, food booths operated by non-profit Ceres groups, local entertainment and fun things for kids and families to do in the park.

Service clubs and other groups will be selling food items along Third Street.

The Ceres Lions Club and Ceres Chamber of Commerce members founded the Ceres Street Faire in October 1988.

For information, contact the Chamber at 537-2601.

Downtown Ceres Street Faire kicked off in 1988

• Event has evolved from the early-day Ceres Peach Festival

Ceres Lions Club and Ceres Chamber of Commerce members founded the Ceres Street Faire in October 1988. It was an effort to combine an antiques and collectibles show, that then Ceres vice mayor Richard McBride was attempting to organize as a fund raiser for the Ceres Lions Club, with the effort of the Ceres Chamber of Commerce to move the historic Peach Harvest Festival

from Smyrna Park to the streets of downtown Ceres.

The main goal was to create a fundraiser for not only the Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce, but to also offer fundraising opportunities to other Ceres nonprofit organizations. Envisioned were food booths, an antique and collectibles show, and entertainment.

The special committee of Lions Club and Chamber members

dubbed the celebration the Ceres Street Faire.

Others who assisted McBride were Don Goudeau, Allan Graham, Paul Caruso, and Cheryl Winter, who was the Chamber Executive Vice President in 1988. Eldon Frost of Denair created a logo for the event. It consists of a plane carrying a banner reading Ceres Street Faire – Rain or Shine. His logo is still used occasionally

on T-shirts and other forms of advertising.

To boost attendance, it was decided no admission fee would be charged. The success of the first Ceres Street Faire exceeded all expectations for everyone involved, and its popularity has continued throughout the years.

The success of the first Street Faire can best be summed up with the story of the Lions Club food booth. The Lions’ offered barbecued chicken and beef rib dinners during both days – Saturday and

Sunday. Things were so successful for the Lions Club during that first year that 1,000 barbecue chicken dinners were sold. They ran out of chicken on Saturday, and after purchasing more, nearly ran out on Sunday.

In 2024, 35 years later, Faire goers will be treated arts & crafts booths; commercial booths; food vendors by Ceres non-profit groups; two stages of entertainment; custom Car Show (Saturday only); a lowrider show on Sunday and a children’s activity/play area.

Doug Wallick is the chairman of the 2024 Ceres Street Faire Committee.

Chris Perry became the police chief of Ceres earlier this year.

Where to find Street Faire fun!

Saturday, May 4 & Sunday, May 5 -

Car Show Saturday

Street Faire food vendors

Ceres Junior Bulldogs

Fresh fruit cups, Agua Fresca, Duro, corn on the cob onion rings

Ceres Lions Club

Tri-tip sandwiches / beer

Ceres Police Officers Assn.

French & chili cheese fries, garlic fries

Corn dogs & nachos

Ceres Seahawks

Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, tacos & snow cones

CHS Boosters

Linguica sandwiches

Grace Community

Christian Church

Funnel cakes

CVHS Athletic Boosters

Kettlecorn & lemon shakers

WHITMORE PARK

• Entertainment Stage

•Petting Zoo

• Children’s activities

Ceres Pups Wrestling/ Lockeford Meats

Bratwurst

Cupcake Boutique

Specialty coffees, cupcakes and ice cream

Ceres Chamber of Commerce/ Flip & Fry

Margaritas & mimosas, gourmet grilled cheese with sides

Masonic Lodge Strawberry shortcakes

CVHS Band / Cruisin Cones

Soft serve ice cream

Modesto Firefighters

Loaded Tater Tots

Community Service booths

Aspire Public Schools

California Search & Recovery

Celebration of Life Church

Ceres Library

Ceres Partnership

Ceres Seahawks

Ceres Jr. Bulldogs

Ceres Pups Wrestling

City of Ceres

CUSD Project YES We Care

CVHS Band Boosters

Ceres Youth Soccer

EA Family Services

Howard Prep

Sabbath Keepers

Sovereign Grace Baptist

Stanislaus County CERT

Stanislaus County Emergency Services

OR SHINE

Cupcake

Boutique will sell cupcakes, ice cream, coffees

ARTS AND CRAFTS LINING BOTH SIDES OF FOURTH STREET BETWEEN NORTH AND LAWRENCE STREETS

Lawrence Street

Beer Booth Downtown Stage

Justin Hunt and Alannah Ward of Modesto enjoyed the first day of the 2023 Ceres Street Faire with little Abel Perez. Abel just got off the car ride here and stopped to show their smiles from the fun event.

JEFF BENZIGER/ Courier file photo

Family fun planned for Whitmore Park

• Rides, activities, animals spell fun in Whitmore Park

Whitmore Park will be filled with fun things for the children during the annual Ceres Street Faire this weekend.

A petting zoo and B&B Pony Rides for the little ones will be offered at the southern end of the park.

A variety of fun activities and games will be available including:

• Pony rides for tots at the southern end of Whitmore Park.

• A petting zoo.

• Mechanical bull riding machine.

• A 15-foot-high inflatable bounce house for children. It’s a great way for parents to let their children get all their wiggles out.

• Four carnival rides/attractions sponsored by Teaco Amusements.

• A giant slide presented by Teaco Amusements of Patterson. Adults and kids are invited to climb up this giant fiberglas slide with a sack and slide down the 100 feet for smiles and laughs. Then do it again!

• A Ferris Wheel brought to Ceres by Teaco Slides.

• A Boomers attraction by Teaco.

Abel Perez enjoyed taking a spin on the carnival car ride at the 2023 Faire.

JEFF BENZIGER/Courier file photo

Catch the Local Talent!

Saturday, May 4

Park Stage

10:30 a.m. – Ceres High School Band

11:45 a.m. – Footnotes Dance Studio

12:30 a.m. – Ceres Karate demonstrations

1:00 p.m. – Steps Dance Studio

1:30 p.m. – Ceres Parks & Recreation

2:30 p.m. – Ceres Cheer groups (Pups4 / Jr. Bulldogs/ Seahawks )

3:00 p.m. – Ceres Karate demonstrations

3:30 p.m. – Patti Castillo Davis sings

4:30 p.m. – Ceres Pups Wrestling

Local acts on tap!

Sunday, May 5

Park Stage

12 noon – Patty Castillo Davis

1:15 p.m. – Ceres Karate

1:45 p.m. – Knock Squad Breakdancers

2:00 p.m. – Steps Dance Studio

3:00 p.m. – Sonhouse Blues & Gospel Band

Downtown Stage

11:45 p.m. – Ceres Karate demonstations

12:30 p.m. – California Outlaws

2:00 p.m. – Ceres Karate demo

2:30 p.m. – LaVonne & the Train Wreck

4:00 p.m. – Ceres Karate

4:30 p.m. – Emerson Biggins

Downtown Stage

12:00 p.m. – Ceres Karate demo

12:30 p.m. – Cover 5

2:00 p.m. – Ceres Karate demos

2:30 p.m. – Greg Scudder

Patty Castillo Davis performs Saturday and Sunday.

Local favorite Greg Scudder of Ceres, will perform Sunday afternoon on the downtown stage.

Lions Club members ever faithful to serve Ceres

Yes, they will be again be serving up their awesomely delicious tri-tip sandwiches. We’re talking about members of the Ceres Lions Club who year-round serve Ceres to make it a better place to live.

Founded in 1947, the Ceres Lions Club represents individuals from every sector of the community, including city and county government, public safety, agriculture, healthcare, business, education, and others from the private sector who want to serve their community.

goes the Boy Scouts, Sober Grad Night at both Ceres and Central Valley High Schools, several youth recreational sports teams and other community endeavors.

During the lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021, the Ceres Lions Club managed to serve the community in “drive-by feedings” for some folks and hosted a meals-togo tri-tip dinner.

The Ceres Lions Club is governed by a board of directors which manages and facilitates the funding of many worthy groups and activities in Ceres. Lions Club support

The Ceres Lions Club also provides high school scholarships for graduating seniors, have volunteered to cook at numerous community fundraising events – such as last week’s “Love Ceres” event – and have collected hundreds of pairs of used eye-glasses for those in need in other countries. Lions also provide local children in need with eye exams, glasses and Medic Alert bracelets through a partnership with the Ceres Unified School District.

Lions continue to partner with the Ceres Chamber of Commerce, Ceres Street Faire Committee and the City of Ceres to bring the Ceres Street Faire to the community.

JEFF BENZIGER/Courier file photo

Ceres Lions Club members Dan Davis, Doug Wallick, Jeff Maloy, Greg Smith and Mike Sneed worked the beer sales during the 2023 Ceres Street Faire.

Faire to offer unique shopping experience

• Unique endors will be lining downtown streets both days

By JEFF BENZIGER Editor of the C eres (C alif .) C ourier

THE CERES STREET

FAIRE is known for the opportunity to shop for unusual products for people of all ages and this year there will be a healthy number of vendors lining both Magnolia, Fourth and Lawrence streets.

Commercial booths

The following commercial booths have signed up to be at the Street Faire this weekend:

Bishop Coffee

California Landscape Supply

Ceres Pediatric Dentistry

Ceres Karate

Cookies Tantalizing Scent

Cornerstone Home Real Estate

Cutco Cutlery

Cynthia’s Arts

Divine Dental

Farmers Insurance

Golden Valley Health

Grocery Outlet

Hearing Life

Lizhen Sun

Luscious Lockz Salon

Mad Pops

Mary Kay

Mexican Curioso

NiiHao Clothing

Patricia’s Toys

Raising Canes

SBHIS Insurance

Sopon Jewelry

Tina’s Jewelry Box

Arts & crafts

Arts and craft products which will be offered include:

BBQ rubs, sauces, pickled items

Candles and lotions

Children’s clothing

Custom made graduation leis

Decorative sugar cookies

Dried herbs/spices

Dried fruit/Nuts

Embroidered hats, pants and blouses

Epoxy, Sublimation and Resin Tumblers

Face painting

Jewelry in glass, sterling, jade, resin, bead and metal work

Local honey

Leather jewelry, purses and accessories

NFL custom signs

Papyrus art, handbags

Skull caps

Solar posts and lawn signs

Succulent plants

Toe rings and body jewelry

Truck boom box minis

Women’s clothing

Woodworking/woodcrafts

Community service booths

There will also be a number of community service booths hand-

ing out information. The Ceres Seahawks, Ceres Jr. Bulldogs, Ceres Youth Soccer and Ceres Pups Wrestling will be signing up youth for their programs and handing out information.

Community service groups that will be present are:

Aspire Public Schools

California Search & Recovery

Celebration of Life Church

Ceres Library

Ceres Partnership

Ceres Seahawks

Ceres Jr. Bulldogs

Ceres Pups Wrestling

City of Ceres

CUSD Project YES We Care

EA Family Services

Howard Prep

Sabbath Keepers

Sovereign Grace Baptist

Stanislaus County CERT

Stanislaus County Emergency Services

Turlock Mosquito Abatement

JEFF BENZIGER/Courier file photo

Ceres girl Adeline Rich was 16 months old when she tried out a woman’s hat at one of the vendor booths on Fourth Street at the 2022 Ceres Street Faire.

Classic cars on Saturday, lowriders on Sunday

• Sunday show offers lowriders

By JEFF BENZIGER Editor of the C eres (C alif .) C ourier

FOURTH STREET north of North Street will be lined with automotive beauties at this weekend’s Ceres Street Faire.

The traditional car show starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4 on Fourth Street between Magnolia and North streets and spills into the parking lot of the Ceres Community Center. The car show will be over by 3 p.m., at which time awards will be given out – but the faire continues until 6 p.m.

Sunday brings a first-ever Lowrider Car Show to the Street Faire from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The committee felt a lowrider show would fit nicely with the Cinco de Mayo celebration on Sunday.

Car owners must pre-register to participate in either show online at

ceresstreetfaire.org. Pre-registration is $25 while late registration is $35. Space is limited so early registration is urged.

All entrants will receive a Street Faire specialty T-shirt to commemorate the 2024 Car Show, and a dash plaque.

Any car that is special enough to show off – whether a lifted truck, restored classic Model A, or a cherried out muscle car – is welcome at the Saturday show.

Check-ins for the low rider show will be from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. with the show to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the same place as Saturday’s car show. Moore says a limit of 100 low riders is set for the Sunday show.

For more information on the car show, call (209) 409-2676 or email ceresstreetfaire@gmail.com

ThankSpecialYou

2023 Ceres Street

JEFF BENZIGER/Courier file photo

Faire goers check out the classic cars and trucks that lined Fourth Street.

Ceres Street Faire sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Donaghy Brands

City of Ceres

Diamond Level Sponsors

Chicken Ranch Casino

Divine Dental Studio

The Rusty Nail Cocktail Lounge

Diamond Bar Arena

Platinum Level Sponsors

CA Pediatric Dentistry/ Magnolia Family Dental

Bertolotti Disposal

Patient Care First

Mid Valley Protection

Raising Cane’s

Gold Level Sponsors

La Perla Tapatia

Silver Level Sponsors

Assemblyman Juan Alanis

Supervisor Channce Condit

Turlock Irrigation District

Bronze Level Sponsors

Meyer CPR & First Aid

Wyatt Insurance

Steve & Arleen Vilas

Special Mentions

Alfonso’s

The Ceres Courier

Ceres Police Dept.

Collins Electric

GDR Engineering

CERES TALENT SHINES BRIGHT AT THE STREET FAIRE

The Ceres Street Faire has always been about community and celebrating Ceres. A tradition has been to allow local youth to showcase their talents, such as this 2023 Steps Dance Arts Studio performance. Dancers from Steps performed excerpts from Adventures in Wonderland at the Ceres Street Faire in front of gazebo.

JEFF BENZIGER/ Courier file photo

Ceres all started with a wheat grower

By JEFF BENZIGER Editor of the C eres (C alif .) C ourier

Good soil, good neighbors and a quiet place to live have been attractive qualities that have made Ceres what it is today. Those same qualities were part of Daniel Whitmore’s Ceres when the town was laid out in 1874 for the first time.

Like many following the California Gold Rush of 1849, the Whitmore decided to head east after hearing about California’s opportunities and mile climate. Their journey, which would eventually bring them to Ceres, started in the spring of 1854 when the Whitmores left Pittsford, Michigan in a wagon train.

On Sept. 1, 1854, the Whitmore party arrived in Stockton and settled on what is now the Cherokee Lane area near Stockton. They remained there until 1857.

Whitmore brought his family south to what would later become Stanislaus County in 1866. Accounts say he settled on land just north of the Tuolumne River where he farmed. In those days the absence of irrigation in a very dry climate meant growing wheat. He later farmed on 10,000 acres south of the river on what is now presentday Ceres.

Following his brother to California was Richard Keith Whitmore. He arrived in 1856 and found the area near Collegeville east of Stockton as a fertile place to farm. Richard settled in the Ceres area in 1869 after buying land from Levi Carter.

Eldest son Richard K. Whitmore, affectionately called “the Colonel,” took over his dad’s farming operation. The 1881 historical account gives the following entry for Richard K. Whitmore: “His ranch consists of one thousand, 280 acres, favorably located five miles from Modesto and 10 miles from the river. It is only two miles from the village of Ceres, where school, church and railroad

advantages are obtained. The average soil is of a sandy character, yielding about ten bushels per acre, average years. He has also farmed on rented land of about the same nature, in tracts of 2,000 acres on D. Whitmore’s ranch for the past 10 years. As raising wheat is the chief business, only a few cows are kept for milk, and 35 horses for farming purposes.”

When Daniel Whitmore drew up the first town plot in 1875, lots were sold under the condition that occupants would not be involved in the consumption or the manufacture of distilled spirits.

That same sentiment was shared by others in the Whitmore family. A Ceres temperance lodge, Ceres Lodge #109, I.O.G.T., met every Tuesday evening at the schoolhouse. Members consisted of H.M. Whitmore and her son, Richard K.

Whitmore must have fallen in love with Ceres. He invited his good friends, Mr. and Mrs. C.P. Warner of Auburn, to homestead the area. Their daughter and son-in-law, John and Julia Service, came with them to build homes and farms. The Warners bought land for $1.25 an acre. Meanwhile, Daniel Whitmore received permission to establish a post office in his Fifth Street home – provided that someone carry it from the Modesto post office. The town was named Ceres by Elma Carter. Ceres was the name of the goddess of the harvest. The Whitmores liked it and it stuck.

The town of Ceres sprang up over the next few years. A boarding house was constructed and operated by sisters named Fellows and Conner. The town’s first blacksmith shop was built in 1872 by J.J. Annear.

A year later the Whitmores built a store. After serving as a church, the building was converted to a general store named Bradley & Rounds in 1877.

The Southern Pacific Railroad helped spur the development of all towns it ran through in the Valley, notably Modesto,

giant photo of Ceres town founder Daniel Whitmore looked out over the festivities of North Street during the 2023 Ceres Street Faire. The poster was included at the booth manned by the Stanislaus Historical Society. Whitmore lived from 1816 to 1893.

Ceres, Turlock and Merced. The first stop was built in 1871 where present-day Esmar Road intersects Highway 99. The stop was named Esmar after the first letters of the names of the children of property owner Eli Carter – Elma, Stanton, Melborne, Aletha and Roscoe. A new larger station was constructed in Ceres in 1874. Along the tracks, in the vicinity of the present-day Pine Street overpass, Mr. Whitmore had built immense warehouses to store his grain.

For much of its early existence, Ceres was merely on a grain producing and shipping purpose. In 1881 Whitmore built a huge enterprise – the Ceres Flour Mill – to help retain profits in the community by milling the wheat grown here. The building reportedly cost $30,000 to build. It featured a straw-burning boiler and a Corliss engine. It was not without risk of fire and in the summer of July 1883, a fire got out of control and destroyed the building.

As Ceres’ population grew, the need

for schools grew to the point where a small schoolhouse was needed. For years Davis School northwest of Ceres served adequately. It was a small structure built on a farm owned by M.M. Williams at Hatch Road at Highway 99. The Davis School District was organized January 27, 1859 by Harvey Bates Davis. The school was replaced in the 1870s by a one-room schoolhouse. Aurelia Chapin, Ceres’ first school teacher, consented to educate Ceres’ first generation when the schoolhouse was relocated. She retired in 1879. In 1886 Ceres residents taxed themselves to build a two-story school building on what is now Whitmore Park (then called Triangle Park). It opened in 1887. The building was enlarged after Ceres residents voted 15 to 6 to approve a tax on September 3, 1898. Ceres High School officially opened for the first time on August 31, 1908 with 25 eager students and Principal J.E. Williams at helm.

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JEFF BENZIGER/ Courier file photo

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