Magical Modesto: Celebrate ‘May the Fourth’ in the land o’ George Lucas

What to Know

"May the Fourth Be with You Day" in Modesto
The city pays tribute to George Lucas — the legendary filmmaker grew up in Modesto — each May 4
Gather at 10th Street Plaza for the galactic fun, costume admiring, and a light saber showdown at dusk
Sunday, May 4 from 4 to 9 p.m.

COSMIC CELEBRATION: The iconic opening crawl of "Star Wars — Episode IV: A New Hope" invited audience members on a trip to a place that was famously "far, far away," a realm located several parsecs across the universe. But if you want to travel to the spot where "Star Wars" began, and you're somewhere within driving distance of Modesto, California, you're not talking parsecs; you're talking miles, and not a lot of them. For Modesto is where filmmaker George Lucas grew up, and each May 4 — or "May the Fourth Be with You Day," if you honor the holidays of "Star Wars" — the town pays playful homage to the legacy of Mr. Lucas and the ever-expanding, always imaginative universe he launched nearly 50 years ago.

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Light sabers, fun outfits, and the "Star Wars" spirit reign in the heart of Modesto May 4.

10TH STREET PLAZA... will be the planet you'll want to land upon for the 2025 party, which will begin at 4 o'clock. Music from the films and TV shows and a piñata inspired by the Death Star are part of the upbeat scene, as are revelers and rebel spies rocking their best Skywalker-ian get-ups or droid duds. Once you set down your spacecraft near the plaza, make for the bustling hub to socialize and chat asteroid fields, clones, and light sabers while awaiting dusk and the lighting of the light sabers. A saber-centered battle, which takes place right around sunset, is a centerpiece of the fantastical festivity.

THE MURALS OF MODESTO: If you can't be in Modesto on May 4, you can still feel the Force during other times of the year; some of the town's eye-catching murals pay colorful tribute to its hometown icon and the "Star Wars" characters Mr. Lucas so memorably created.

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