Manteca is stepping up its efforts to make downtown a community gathering place.

*The Market on Maple is being switched to Saturday mornings to make it more of a traditional farmers market.

*In its place periodically on Thursday evenings there will be more of a festival-style atmosphere with live music, beer and wine gardens and complementing activities.

“It is part of the city’s staff efforts to do more community programming downtown,” noted Interim City Manager Toni Lundgren.

Lundgren noted the move to Saturday mornings not only takes advantage of cooler temperatures but it also fits better into Manteca’s demographics where many people commute to the Bay Area and back.

That makes squeezing in a weeknight event sometimes tough to arrange especially if they have school-aged children.

Over time, the switch to Saturday mornings in some valley towns such as Tracy has been credited with bumping up weekend lunch business at nearby restaurants.

The farmers market will kick off May 14 and run through the end of October. It will take place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the 100 block of North Maple Avenue.

The farmers market will not happen on either June 4 or Oct. 1 as it would conflict with the Crossroads Street Fair & Watermelon Festival as well as the Sunrise Manteca Pumpkin Fair.

The market will include certified produce, artisan booths, food vendors, and more.

The event is a joint effort of the City of Manteca Recreation & Community Services Department as well as the San Joaquin Certified Farmers market.

For vendor booth information go to

https://managemymarket.com/home.aspx?orgID=1312 or email chrisdutra1@me.com.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantcabulletin.com