Turlock City Councilmember Andrew Nosrati is organizing monthly events aimed at bringing the community together. Known as Second Saturdays festivities will take place on First Street and go from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. the second Saturday of May, June, July and August.

“We wanted to have an offline space where people could reconnect,” said Nosrati. “I feel like people are really looking for a place to gather and reconnect with each other since the pandemic.”

The first event this Saturday is sponsored by Taqueria La Primera, which is celebrating their one-year anniversary. Different sponsors will be hosting the events in future months, and Nosrati wants to keep things local.

This Saturday Turlock residents can come out and enjoy a car show, live music, a beer garden and a creative market. The creative market will feature works of local artists. Something that this event is trying to do is create an offline place, which means connections are made in real life.

“Offline means that the communication and connections are not controlled by a device,” said Nosrati. “With two years of having to communicate through video, getting together in person with your neighbors is something I think people are really looking for.”

To get the word out about the Second Saturdays, Turlock residents did an art installation on Main and Third, right outside LaMo Cafe. They are also painting a mural on a nearby wall the night before the event. The artwork will be on full display Saturday evening to everyone to view. 

According to Nosrati, Second Saturdays were inspired by First Fridays in Modesto. After a couple years’ hiatus, it returned this year to downtown Modesto and features anything from pop-up dance workshops to international graffiti.

“Turlock is a great place to live,” said Nosrati. “The people here are great and we want to give them somewhere to go and have fun with the entire family.”