Three big events are taking place in Ceres in the next six days, including Thursday morning’s grand opening of the Guillermo Ochoa Park; Saturday evening’s “One Community, One Table” event in downtown Ceres; and the Tuesday, Sept. 17 Candidates Forum.
The city will hold a grand opening ceremony at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12 to formally open Ochoa Park, located at Eastgate Boulevard and Kiwi Drive, which was finished courtesy of millions of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress in 2021.
In October 2023 the Ceres City Council awarded Stockbridge General Contracting Inc. the contract to finish Ochoa Park with amenities requested by east Ceres residents. The contract cost the city $1.93 million and with a 10 percent contingency the entire work could reach $2.1 million.
New features of the park include full landscaping and grass, irrigation system, picnic tables, benches, a couple of basketball half courts, Pickle ball courts, a 16-foot by 16-foot shade structure with barbecue grills, drinking fountain, doggie-pot waste station and trash receptacles.
On Saturday the Ceres Chamber of Commerce holds its “One Table, One Community” dinner event on Fourth Street. The event opens with a 6 p.m. wine stroll and 7 p.m. dinner provided by local restaurants.
Tickets for the event have already been sold and none are sold at the event.
Candidate Forum
Then on Tuesday evening, Sept. 17 the Ceres Chamber of Commerce is hosting a public Candidate Forum for Ceres City Council candidates at the Ceres Community Center, 2701 Fourth Street. The event starts at 5:30 p.m.
Each candidate will be given so many minutes to introduce themselves and their ideas for city leadership. Members of the audience will be allowed to write down questions of the candidates, which will be reviewed by the Chamber panel and possibly used.
The forum will give voters a chance to hear what’s on the minds of those who want to be elected to the Ceres City Council, said Chamber President Brandy Meyer.
The event will feature mayoral candidates Javier Lopez, Rosalinda Vierra and Gary M. Condit; and District 3 Ceres City Council candidates Bret Silveira and Cerina Otero.
Not participating in the forum is District 4 Councilman Daniel Martinez, who is a shoo-in for a four-year term since he garnered no challengers.
