Businesses, events and organizations are changing their hours or cancelling events altogether this week, citing the safety of vendors and attendees, as the Central Valley bakes under heat warnings.
Many of those same organizers also warn that as the heat continues, more events may have to be changed or cancelled.
Canceled
THURSDAY, 8/6:
The Downtown Fresno Partnership, which hosts the Market on Kern and the Fulton StreetHop, announced Monday that it was canceling both events because of high temperatures.
“While we’re always excited to bring our community together downtown, the safety and well-being of our vendors, performers, staff, volunteers and visitors comes first,” the organization posted on Facebook.
StreetHop’s cancellation was one of the factors that led to the Downtown Outdoor ArtHop skipping this event, as well. Joseph Rodriguez, one of the organizers for the event, said he’d been watching the forecast for weeks.
“It was already in my mind that it might be too hot,” Rodriguez said. “We were kind of crossing our fingers that it wouldn’t be as hot as predicted.”
There are still galleries and exhibits opening for ArtHop, but Rodriguez had a hard time recommending people to go when the outdoor event isn’t happening.
“It brings a risk,” Rodriguez said.
FRIDAY, 8/7:
While the Friday night farmer’s market has been canceled, the Business Organization of Old Town still expects to host its Saturday morning counterpart from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Postponed
The Fresno Street Eats’ ArtHop block party is still happening Thursday, Aug. 6, but is starting an hour later than planned at 6 p.m.
Mike Osegueda, the president and founder of Fresno Street Eats, said he’s been hearing from some food truck owners that the heat is making them stay home.
While most food trucks have air conditioning, Osegueda still estimated it can be about 10 degrees warmer inside a food truck than the outside temperature.
“We don’t force anyone to work in the heat,” he said.
At the same time, Fresno Street Eats doesn’t cancel a planned event unless all the vendors attending the event aren’t going to show up. Osegueda sees the Street Eats events as opportunities for small businesses to succeed, and pointed out that a food truck might have different business needs than a franchised restaurant.
“Their bottom line may depend on what they decide to do on a Wednesday or Thursday,” Osegueda said.
The Fresno Bee
Amber Hair (they/them) is the food and restaurants reporter and influencer. Amber has been in professional journalism for more than a decade, writing for outlets like the Orlando Sentinel, The Villages Daily Sun, the Pacific Coast Business Times and others. In their spare time, they enjoy going to concerts, reading and spending time with their cats.