Santa Maria’s ‘Downtown Fridays’ Kicking Off With Bigger-Than-Ever Venue

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - Santa Maria’s famous “Downtown Fridays” is finally kicking off at its new location.

Organizers say the McClelland street corridor is better than the old Fallas parking lot.

For the purpose of the event which is simply to bring the community together, this new location is much more conducive.

But it does come with some new challenges for the event’s organizers.

This free community event has become a known tradition over the first decade of its life.

Its organizers have been trying to move it to this location for the last seven years.

Since it started in 2015, the event has had to be held in the parking lot of the old Fallas building at Town Center West.

Since that building is being converted into a loft apartment complex, Downtown Fridays needed a new home anyway.

Unlike the old parking lot where vendors could set up when they wanted to as early as 8:00 in the morning, the earliest McClelland Street can be closed is 2:30pm.

Organizers say they now have two hours each Friday to get 25 food trucks and other vendors in place and operating.

“The food trucks alone are a problem because it's a straight line, it's hard to back up,” says Downtown Friday’s event coordinator Ed Carcarey. “Even though the road's wide, it's still narrow for those monster 30ft trucks, and another 15ft Ram or Dodge or Ford towing it. So that can be a challenge. That's going to take us a couple or four weeks to master that.”

Other than the new location the event will be the same as always, including the live music, cold beverages, and great food.

As always, this event is free for everyone and happens every Friday, 5:30-8:30, from now until the end of September.

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With The Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.