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Turlock Fourth of July celebration makes highly anticipated return
4th of July parade
Turlock’s Independence Day parade will return this year, but on a different day. The downtown event is slated to begin at 10 a.m. July 2, followed by a car show and farmers market (Journal file photo).

For the first time since 2019, Turlock’s Fourth of July celebrations will be held, this time bigger than ever.

One major change that will be coming to the celebration is the date, as it will be held on July 2. Because of the change in dates, the Turlock Certified Farmer’s Market will also be having multiple streets filled with activities and attractions to accompany the traditional parade and classic car show.

“This is the first time we've ever done this because we moved it to Saturday. There's the potential to have a lot of new people that didn't know about the market before,” explained Molly Amant, executive director of the Turlock Downtown Property Owners Association.

Having it on a Saturday also means that all of the businesses downtown will be open for their regular hours.

Amant added that there will also be an increased emphasis for the popular car show, which will now feature nearly 200 vehicles instead of the traditional 100. The show will be sponsored by Taqueria La Primera.

“We wanted to come back really big, so this year the car show is going from Palm to Lander. It's going to go the entire length of downtown on Main Street,” Amant said.

As for the parade, which is sponsored by Vail Creek Jewelry, it will kick off the day’s celebrations at approximately 10 a.m. The Grand Marshall will be Roy Hedstrom of Turlock. Hedstrom is a 90-year-old veteran of the Korean War and member of the Korean War Dogs and the Veterans of Foreign War.

Aside from his military service, Hedstrom has been extremely active in Turlock and the surrounding region. He attended Turlock grammar school, Turlock High School and Modesto Junior College, where he was involved in football, baseball, boxing and wrestling. He went on to major in police and business when he transferred to San Jose State.

“We wanted to make sure that everything was veteran based or active military based and to make sure that we stuck with remembering the reason for the day,” Amant added. “We've had a lot of really great grand marshals, but we're really excited to have Roy.”

For those looking to participate in the day’s festivities, registration is still open for parade floats and spots in the car show. Those interested are encouraged to contact admin@turlockdowntown.com, turlockcarshow@gmail.com, or (209) 634-6459.