Residents filled the streets on Downtown Merced on Thursday night to attend the final Mercado Night Market of 2022. The bimonthly event brings together more than 80 local vendors, live entertainment, dancing, food and more as part of the street fair. Each month’s event also gives residents the opportunity to connect with a number of local institutions and community organizations from throughout the Merced County area.
This month’s event, “Salsa Night In Merced,” was highlighted by live music from a Salsa band based in Fresno — the Ruben Hurtado Band — coupled with group dance lessons led by local instructors who teach community members how to find the rhythm in the music.
Unique to this month’s event was also a “Best Tasting Salsa Competition” that gathered a number of local chefs and pit their culinary skills against one another. At the end of the night, it would be Destino’s Restaurant that would walk away with an award as the People’s Choice for the Best Tasting Salsa of the November Mercado Night Market.