The Ceres Street Faire – Ceres’ biggest event of the year – is drawing near and organizers say this year’s event will be another good one.

It’s hard to say what kind of weather will greet the weekend of May 6-7 but the free event has always billed as a “rain or shine” event with most events in the past treated to mild temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.

“We’re good to go,” said Street Faire Committee member Lisa Mantarro Moore.

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 two stages, a Saturday car show, a Sunday RV show, and fun activities for kids to do in Whitmore Park.

The weekend event will kick off at 10 a.m. with a Saturday car show on Fourth Street between Magnolia and North streets. The car show will be over by 3 p.m. but the faire continues until 6 p.m.

The Faire resumes Sunday, May 7 at 10 a.m. with an RV show and ends at 4 p.m.

Over 100 cars will be entered this year for the Saturday exhibition.

“It looks like we’re on target to be over a hundred again this year,” said Moore. “We just encourage people to register in advance as the price is less than the day of.”

Car owners can sign up for entries online at ceresstreetfaire.org. Pre-registration is $25 while registration that Saturday is $35.

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.

Pony rides will be offered as well as carnival rides, a giant slide and a Ferris Wheel.

There will be no parade this year, said Moore.

The Street Faire entertainment line-up includes six bands – including Lavon & the Train Wreck, California Outlaws and the Nobodies, all on Saturday; and Cover Five and Ceres’ own country singer Greg Scudder on Sunday. Patty Castillo Davis will also perform this year as will a Christian band with John Silveira.

Moore reported that the arts and crafts vendors have been “robust” in sign-ups.

“We are going to be full. We have a lot of arts and crafts. I think in the earlier years we’d have more commercial (booths) and less arts and crafts. Now I think it’s more balanced. We have a lot of arts and crafts booths. We appreciate our commercial vendors because all the fees that the vendors pay helps pay for the infrastructure of the Street Faire, which includes insurance and other fees we have to pay to put on this event.”

The Ceres Street Faire Committee, led by Chairwoman Brandy Meyer, has been meeting 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.

In preparation for the Ceres Street Faire, downtown will be getting a little spruced up during the Saturday, April 29 “Love Ceres” event.

Volunteers will be asked to show up at the 8 a.m. rally in Whitmore Park. The Ceres Lions Club has said it will cook breakfast burritos to give volunteers a nutritional start to their hours of work. Meyer said informational booths will be offered at the park as well. Plans are to offer fun games before the work starts.

Workers will be offered a free Love Ceres T-shirt being donated by the Pentecostal Church of Ceres.

The Love Ceres website (www.loveceres.com) is where volunteers may sign up for a specific project.