Chris Teicheira strikes a Fabio-inspired pose draping the Portuguese flag over his broad shoulders after finishing a day of harvesting corn for silage as the autumn sun descends behind the Diablo Range.
Techeira is one of 17 “models” gracing the pages of the Men of Manteca calendar that the Manteca native-farmer-comic is confident will be the hottest stocking stuffer this Christmas season.
Well, it’s actually more like the “Re-Imagined Men of Manteca” — local farmers, butchers, electricians, plumbers and more — that will be on the calendar available this Friday at 5 p.m. at the Deaf Puppy in the 100 block of North Main Street.
The “meet the men of the calendar event” takes place prior to the start of the Downtown Business Association’s Sip ‘n Stroll. Tickets for that event are available through the organization’s website.
The calendars — there is a limited edition of 150 — are available for $50.
It is a donation that will benefit Georgiann Rose’s Music for Alzeimer’s Foundation and Frank Texiera’s Fagundes Autism Foundation.
Rose created the calendar as a “goof”, using artistic license and artificial intelligence to make selected local men look super buffed and handsome.
The calendar idea made the rounds in the local farmer/business community, and everybody wanted one.
That prompted Rose to go ahead and produce the “Good Men, Great Causes: A little muscle. A little mischief. A whole lot of heart” charity calendar.
Deaf Puppy part of
downtown cheer
Teicheira is bringing the large plastic Santa back that stood on the roof of the Deaf Puppy last year until almost Memorial Day when a dairy crane was used to bring Santa back to earth hanging from his boots.
But before he goes on the roof this year, he is going to be decked out while still on terra firma with Halloween touches as part of Saturday’s downtown trick or trunk event being conducted by the Manteca Community Services from 10 a.m. to noon.
The event will feature food trucks, a disc jockey, craft activities, and plenty of candy.
For the holiday season, Deaf Puppy’s back patio will be used as a staging area of sorts for the city that is bringing an ice skating rink to the parking lot at the corner of Yosemite Avenue and Main Street.
The Rotary Club’s Santa Hut will also be on the corner.
The city is allowing Teicheira to borrow a few off the old school street decorations — think of bells and candy canes — to help transform the outdoor area and the adjoining indoor showroom into Manteca’s version of a Griswold Christmas decorating effort.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
