Cannery Row Block Party by Ewingjr98
The Cannery Row Block Party began back in 2004, and it celebrated its 5th year during my visit in 2008. The day is really intended to bring people to Cannery Row and keep them there for an afternoon so local businesses can made some extra money, but it has some pretty good activities. During the festival they accept donations for the Monterey County food bank, and they have a drawing for a $700 prize. There are two stages just a half block apart that have live music and kids entertainment. The Steinbeck Stage is at Steinbeck Plaza next to the Fishhopper and Sly McFly's; here they have local bands such as Jonah & the Whalewatchers, Red Beans & Rice and the Chicano All Stars performing live music.
The second stage is in front of Bubba Gumps and the brand-new Clement Hotel where they have several animal demonstrations. Here they brought in Salinas' Wild Things animal preserve and had unique demonstrations with monkeys and other live animals.
This year's event also had an Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest sponsored by Ghirardelli and a rib-eating contest with ribs from Willies Smokehouse. They also had a magician, face painting, and a balloon artist
This event is free to the public!
While the festival is small and geared mostly toward children, it is one of the more fun things to do on Cannery Row. If the weather is nice, why not enjoy a few hours with the tourists? In 2008 the party was on Sunday June 1st.
