Ripon is making beautiful music this Saturday during the fourth annual Ripon Porchfest.
But if an album was cut using selections from each of the 18 participating bands, it might aptly be called “Sweet Home, Ripon.”
Porchfest — an event organized by the Ripon Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Ripon Police Department and Greet Ripon — is more than just bands playing on “front porches” in neighborhoods scattered about Ripon from noon to 5 p.m.
It brings the community together as they walk, bicycle or drive to the venues.
And while it is an event that’s part of Unity Week in Ripon leading up to the National Night Out celebration Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Ripon Community Center on Fifth Street designed to build connections between neighbors to keep an eye one another to help police keep Ripon safe, it is also part of the Chamber’s mission to keep the community’s social and economic fabric strong.
In other words, it’s to help make sure Ripon’s small hometown vibes keep going strong.
Chamber CEO Kelly Donohue, who has been steering the 300-member business organization since 2018, was inspired to bring Porchfest to Ripon after attending a similar event in Modesto.
It was there Donohue ran into friends she hadn’t seen since high school. And she also made new ones.
Donohue appreciates all of the bands, but noted the teen bands can be fun to listen to due to their enthusiasm.
This year stops have been added at the Senior Center, Bethany Homes, and the Terraces that will offer air conditioned venues for performers and audiences alike.
Although the event is free, some sites will have items on sale such as food and refreshment to raise funds for non-profit endeavors.
A printable map of the performance locations can be found at the riponchamber.org website.
“Our job is to connect the community,” Donohue.
That is the same objective as other chamber events throughout the year such as the Almond Blossom Festival, Beers and Bites, Main Street Day, Taste of Ripon, and the Christmas parade.
It is addition to the day-to-day mission of the chamber to promote business through networking with mixers and coffees as well as assist them with workshops and similar endeavors.
They also serve as a visitors center, help newcomers and longtime residents with inquiries, and do a wide variety of things to strength the business climate in a bid to make shopping and dining in Ripon even more appealing.
One example is an upcoming project to wrap downtown light poles with strings of lights to step up the evening and nighttime ambiance year round.
The appeal of Ripon’s downtown
to locals and nearby residents
Donohue noted the friendly and helpful attitude of merchants is a draw not just for Ripon residents but also from nearby communities.
The walkability of downtown and the ease of accessing stores as an example, has seen a small but growing number of Ripon Unified School District residents who live within the southeast portion of the City of Manteca shop at Save Mart or patronize Ripon concerns for coffee or to dine.
She said families not residing in Ripon but whose children attend Ripon Christian Schools also embrace Ripon businesses for the same reason plus the fact the community has its share of popular restaurants or specialty concerns such as Barnwood Arms.
Such business helps Ripon stores, restaurants, and services not just survive but to thrive.
The sales tax also helps fund local municipal services such as police and street upkeep.
“You can’t buy everything you need in Ripon, but what you can helps support Ripon businesses (and the city),” Donohue said.
She notes the family friendly mixture of businesses— ice cream parlors to wine bars with varied retail — is also part of the appeal of downtown Ripon.
Donohue likes the fact she knows business owners on a first name basis and that people enjoy simply stopping by to chat with the chamber staff.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
