Tim Valentine has Plan B in place in the event rain dampens the outdoor activities lined up for Saturday’s Fall Festival Street Fair at his Manteca Winery on Oak Street.
“I do have concern about the weather affecting attendance,” he said Thursday night. But should Mother Nature unleash a downpour, “we’ll just turn it into an indoor bazaar,” he said of the event that is being staged as a fund-raiser for the non-profit Welcome Home Heroes Foundation.
Mother Nature may just cooperate. The National Weather Service is calling for a 30 percent chance of rain today following Thursday’s light rainfall. But on Saturday the outlook is for partly sunny skies followed Sunday by a 50 percent chance of rain.
“We got busy the last couple of days and cleared up a couple of buildings. We’ll set the vendors inside if we have to,” as well as the bands that will be playing, said Valentine whose Valentine Construction now occupies the five-building compound including the historic 106-year-old Manteca Winery that was the home of Celpril for many years.
The carnival portion of the Fall Street Fair is set to take place on the street in front of Valentine Construction which will be closed to traffic from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bounce houses plus fun and games and rides are the attractions planned to be set outside. Inside will be various crafts and food booths, including Lockeford Sausage, a perennial favorite at the annual Manteca Pumpkin Faire and Street Faire. The other activities set for indoors, including the Moving Memorial Wall Traveling Tribute, will not be affected as much and will continue after 5 p.m.
Valentine and several other organizers of events scheduled for this weekend, have reason to fret over the weather. However, there is some consolation for the groups. The National Weather Service is predicting a partly cloudy Saturday with rain showers likely in the evening, with mostly cloudy skies on Sunday and a chance of rain showers. But with the weather being notoriously changeable, Mother Nature could turn around and offer sunny skies over the weekend.
This weekend is going to be a busy one for fund-raising activities besides the Fall Festival Street Faire at Valentine Construction and Manteca Winery. Below are just a couple of these happenings:
• A garage sale at the Manteca High parking lot – East Yosemite Avenue between Garfield and Sherman Streets – to benefit the Manteca High Special Needs Class, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Proceeds will be used for community-based outings for the class.
• Book sale at the Manteca Public Library on Center Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the McFall Room (entrance will be on the Center Street side) to raise money for the Friends of the Manteca Library. Paperbacks are 25 cents each or 5 for $1, and hardbacks at 50 cents each. An hour before closing, from 3 to 4 p.m., books will be sold at $1 for each bag of books. Call Tom Wilson at (209) 988-1971 for more information.
FESTIVAL GOING ON
Rain or shine, itll take place Saturday