Friday evening, the Turlock Farmers Market will be holding their second Night Market of the season running from 4pm to 8pm, located downtown at Main St. and Broadway. The Turlock Farmers Market is held every Friday morning from 8am to 1pm.
The night market will feature special entertainment from local singer/songwriter Vanessa Valencia, along with a Kid Zone Fun Area hosted by the City of Turlock.
Market Manager Lauren Camarata contacted singer/songwriter Vanessa Valencia after viewing a YouTube video of Valencia from a local show at the House of Java. Valencia, who has grown up in Turlock and was part of the first graduating class of 2005 at Pitman High School, has been singing and writing since the age of 14.
“It has to do with poetry, as I was a poet and writer for most of my life,” stated Valencia. “When I was about 14 years old, we had just started up a band at Sacred Heart here in Turlock and from there I worked my way from poet to a songwriter with a guitar.”
Valencia describes her style of music as easylistening/acoustic, with an eclectic style. Her influences include artists such as Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, the Dave Matthews Band, and Ani DiFranco.
“Sacred Heart really helped to improve my music abilities, my vocals as and even my songwriting,” stated Valencia.
She has also played local shows at various locations, such as the House of Java and Lightly Used Bookstore, both on her own and as a part of the monthly local open mic show ‘Word Pie’. Valencia currently is working on plans to play more local shows at House of Java, located in the Raley’s shopping center on Geer.
Vendors at the market will also be selling specialty items, such as handcrafted jewelry, fresh locally grown vegetables and fruits, gourmet breads and desserts, freshly popped kettle corn, shaved ice, coffee, and much more.
The Turlock Farmers Market runs from May 4th through October 26th. For more information regarding the Turlock Farmers Market, please visit www.turlockmarket.org or follow the Farmers Market Facebook page at www.facebook.com/turlockmarket.
To enjoy some of Vanessa’s music online, or to follow her upcoming shows, please visit her music Facebook profile at www.facebook.com/vdvmusx.
