A Sunday low rider car show will be added to the Ceres Street Faire which is fast approaching for the May 4-5 weekend.

“We’re really excited about this year’s Ceres Street Faire,” said Street Faire publicist Lisa Mantarro Moore.

“Although we have kept to our traditions, we’re also introducing a few new items this year which include a Sunday car show for low riders.”

The decision to replace the RV show with the low riders is due in part to Cinco de Mayo falling on Sunday.

“We really enjoyed having the RV show but we thought it would a nice nod to our community if we could host specifically a low rider car show on Sunday itself,” said Moore.

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. but the faire continues until 6 p.m.

So far 60 car owners have been signed up with 100 as the goal.

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.

Car owners must pre-registration to participate in either show online at ceresstreetfaire.org. Pre-registration is $25 while late registration is $35.

The Faire in downtown Ceres will include the staple activities Faire goers have come to expect:

• Street vendors selling their goods, arts and crafts, commercial and information booths;

• Food booth vendors operated by non-profit Ceres groups;

• Local entertainment on a stage in Whitmore Park and one on Lawrence Street east of Fourth Street;

• The Saturday only car show and Sunday low rider car show;

• Carnival rides and fun activities for kids to do in Whitmore Park. Pony rides will be offered as well as carnival rides, a giant slide and a Ferris wheel.

The event begins at 10 a.m. both days.

While all the food served during the Street Faire is sold by non-profit organizations, Moore said this year some of those groups will be partnering with outside providers.

The Ceres Lions Club will be among the food vendors as they barbecue their beef tri-tip for sandwiches. A full army of other service clubs and youth groups will also be selling food items along Third Street on both days.

The Street Faire entertainment line-up is still being formulated but confirmed bands include Ceres’ own singers Greg Scudder and Patty Castillo Davis and Lavonne & the Train Wreck.

Moore reported that more craft and commercial vendors are signing up to participate.

“Vendor people are being very creative post-COVID on what they make and sell,” she commented.

Weather is always iffy for early May but the free Faire has always been billed as a “rain or shine” event with most events in the past treated to mild temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.

“The last two years it’s rained on us,” said Moore. “We never know anymore.”

The Ceres Street Faire Committee, led by Chairman Doug Wallick of the Ceres Lions Club, has been meeting at Alfonso’s Mexican restaurant since January to plan the event.

The Ceres Lions Club and Ceres Chamber of Commerce members founded the Ceres Street Faire in October 1988. The event was previously offered as the Peach Harvest Festival from Smyrna Park to downtown Ceres.

Moore said sponsorships for the Street Faire are still available. They help underwrite the costs of putting on the event.

Because safety of Faire goers is important to the committee, Moore said planners work closely with Ceres Police and Modesto Fire Department.