Downtown Modesto will come alive with street celebrations. When and what to enjoy

Downtown Modesto again will be hopping the first Friday of the month, from spring into fall.

DoMo First Fridays, presented by the Downtown Modesto Partnership, return beginning April 5 with an all-ages “celebration of community, culture, and cuisine,” according to a press release.

They run the first Fridays of the month through Oct. 4, with a break in June for a Graffiti Summer event.

The two-block street fair — on 10th Street from I to K streets — features local artists, food vendors, live entertainment, giant street games and more.

A change this year comes in the event’s hours; it will run 5 to 9 p.m. every first Friday. Previously, it ran 6 to 10 p.m.

Also, some vendor fees have been “slightly lowered,” the release said.

Stephanie Foster of the Downtown Modesto Partnership said in an email that they hope to attract more vendors this year, focused on unique, handcrafted goods.

“The goal is to fill the market with more variety and attract people who have big ideas and need small spaces to showcase what they’re passionate about,” she said.

What else to expect this year

The lineup for the 2024 season also includes a rotation of local craft breweries, beginning with Contentment Brewing Company. Apparel Graphics will have a live screen-printing station with a novel Modesto-themed T-shirt design every month.

Other familiar highlights of the street fair include a “celebration of culture and community through dance,” the release said, from salsa to break-dancing. The popular hip-hop area also will return.

“The fact that you will see people of all ages dancing salsa in the streets together, I think that highlights the event’s organic growth and deep roots within the community,” Foster said in the press release. “You cannot manufacture a scene like that. That’s human magic.”

A pop-up roller skating area by Modesto Skates offers Modestans a spot to enjoy something not available in the city since Roller King closed in 2015.

For more on the street fair, see www.downtown-modesto.com/first-fridays.

First Fridays began in 2017, with a pandemic break in 2020, and has evolved over the years.

“Our journey over the past eight years has been a labor of love,” Foster said in the release, “fueled by the passion and creativity of our community.”