STOCKTON, Calif. — A foster care service is partnering with local creators and small businesses to bring Stockton a weekly summer night market in August.
Parents by Choice and Makers Made in downtown Stockton are debuting the Main Street Night Market on August 4 and again on every Thursday throughout the month from 5-9 p.m.
“From San Joaquin to Sutter Main Street will be closed and we'll have vendors, food trucks, music, and all kinds of all kinds of things happening," said Parents by Choice Founder and Director, Tony Yadon. “The Courthouse Plaza, our building, will be open and there'll be lots of things happening inside and outside.”
Parents by Choice is a non-profit organization creating opportunities and supporting foster youth through a number of specialized programs like Plaza Perks Café.
Yadon owns The Courthouse Plaza on East Main Street in Stockton where Parents by Choice, as well as several small businesses, are stationed in downtown. He says the new market will be used to promote and support these small businesses as well as other local creators.
“Our building has really come alive and I think unless people work downtown or walk through it frequently, they don't know that,” said Yadon. “So we're really using this event to kind of let people know that there's exciting things happening downtown."
The organization is also timing the event to coincide with the grand opening of its new gift shop in the Courthouse Plaza.
“We're opening a boutique gift shop called Main Street Gifts,” Yadon said. “It’s an effort that Parents by Choice is making that’s similar to Plaza Perks, our coffee shop, where we have this small business where the whole purpose is to provide support and employment opportunities to foster youth.”
The market is expected to have around 50 vendors made up of creators, food trucks, non-profits and other unique local businesses. It will also feature live performances from a number of local artists and the Courthouse Plaza's Underground Arcade will be open for visitor entertainment.
“We're hoping to create something where folks can just come and wander the street, listen to music, grab something to eat, find some unique items that they can't find in other places and just really kind of experience what all these small businesses have to offer,” Yadon said.
The Main Street Market will be an admission-free event for visitors of all ages, and street parking in downtown Stockton is free after 5 p.m.
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