STOCKTON, Calif. — A melting pot of flavors is in the air in downtown Stockton as the city hosts its second annual Flavor Fest Friday through Sunday.
The event brings together music artists and bands, craft vendors, kids' activities and more than 50 food vendors.
Thousands are expected to flock to Weber Point over the weekend for the 3-day cultural and food event, including Thomas Muolic.
"It's fun, it's always fun," said Muolic while manning the fryers at his family's booth at the festival. "We were here last year for the first one. This is the second one and we're planning to be here every year."
Muolic and his family are traveling from Fairfield to bring handmade Filipino cuisine to the event through their small business, Katna's Kitchen.
"There's so much Filipino food, but ours is actually authentic," said Muolic. "This has always been the best for us. I mean, it has a perfect location, look at just the water, a lot of trees. The people here in Stockton are really great to us.”
Supporting small businesses and energizing the downtown district is the goal of the three-day event, hosted by Visit Stockton.
It relies on federal COVID-19 relief money meant to boost local businesses that were impacted by the pandemic and bring more traffic downtown.
"For us, it's going to bring in a lot of economic activity with our vendors, but also we have overnight stays and people explore throughout the rest of the city," said Wes Rhea, the festival's coordinator and CEO of Visit Stockton. "For local small businesses that live off festivals and fairs, this is an important event. This is a chance to get in front of 20,000-plus people."
Festival coordinators said their goal is to make the event self-sustaining beyond the three years that federal funds will cover.
Here's what you need to know about this year's festival:
Festival Hours:
Friday
- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday
- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday
- 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Ticket Prices:
Adults and seniors
- $5 on Friday
- $10 on Saturday and Sunday
Kids 12 and under
- Free with an adult
Three-day pass
- $18
Beverage tickets
- $1 for one ticket
Entertainment:
Friday
- The Spazmatics play at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
- The Junebugs play at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday
- The David Perez Band plays at 5:30 p.m.
Click HERE for a full schedule.
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