Manteca Street Fair Short On Vendors With Less Than A Month Until Event
MANTECA (CBS13) — A street fair that takes place every year may not happen as the city is having a hard time getting local merchants to participate.
The street fair is Manteca's largest tourism draw and its biggest moneymaker. The visitor center says it usually has 400 vendors lined up by now, but so far, only 125 have signed up with less than a month to go.
Perry and Sons is in between produced, so not much is happening until watermelons from Mexico get shipped in at the end of march. So it may seem crazy to want to participate in Manteca's annual street fair the second week of April.
"They sell watermelons for a dollar a slice. Why not? It's a great time; like 30,000 people," said Marlene Champlin.
Months ago, the visitors center made the event bigger, but less than 200 have signed up.
"It's a little nerve-wracking to be this close and not know how many will show up for the event," said Virginia Camacho with the Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Fair regular Fagundes Meats says it doesn't have the staff to man a booth this year, and it's too busy on weekends.
New cafe owner Johnny Alonzo says he's participating, but doesn't think his neighbors got the invitation.
"I hear a lot of business owners didn't get information on it," he said. "I didn't get one on my door but i knew someone who gave me the invitation and helped me out."
The center says its street fair is one valley festival still operating. Stockton's visitors bureau recently handed over the Asparagus Festival, and tracy ended its bean festival this year.
"People are going to the gas stations, fast food restaurants, and shops we have, so these are dollars coming in that would not have happened if we don't have the event," Camacho said.
The vendor fee is $150, and the bureau says merchants can fill out applications online.