What To Do This Weekend in Merced,
Atwater, Turlock, Winton, McSwain

Looking for things to do this weekend in Merced, Atwater, Turlock, Winton, and McSwain? Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22, 2026 is the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Merced County fills it with a rare combination: the Merced Turkey Trot at Lake Yosemite, two nights of USAC National Midget racing at Merced Speedway, a country-music tribute at The Mainzer, the Saturday farmers markets, the Sunday flea market in Atwater, and sandhill cranes settling in at the refuge. Every event below is real, dated for this exact weekend, and linked to an official source.

This is the calm before the holiday season ramps up: Turlock's Festival of Lights opens the weekend after, on Friday, November 27. That makes this weekend an easy one to spend across the whole county, from a morning run at the lake to an evening at the dirt track. Missed last week's edition? Read the Weekend Guide for November 13 to 15, and the whole run of past editions stays in the Weekend Guide archive on the blog.

Friday, November 20

Friday is a two-choice night in Merced: a country-music tribute downtown or dirt-track racing at the Speedway, with a free storytime for the little ones in the morning and a youth cattle show opening in Turlock.

Tiny Tales storytime at Merced Main Library

Families can start the weekend free at the Merced County Library calendar, which lists Tiny Tales at the Merced Main Library, 2100 O Street, on Fridays from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. It is a story time plus a craft for children ages 3 to 6 with a caregiver, and it costs nothing. Friday, November 20 is a regular date on that weekly schedule.

LaineyWood at The Mainzer

The music headline of the weekend is a tribute. The Mainzer at 655 W Main Street in downtown Merced hosts LaineyWood, a live tribute to Lainey Wilson and Carrie Underwood led by vocalist Jessica Spaid with the band MoonShine Crazy, on Friday, November 20 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, with doors at 6:00 PM. It is a full concert in a classic downtown room, and tickets are sold through The Mainzer's ticketing page.

Merced Speedway: Chase Johnson Classic, Night 1

The racing headline of the weekend is championship-level. Merced Speedway, the quarter-mile dirt oval at 900 Martin Luther King Jr Way in Merced, hosts the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship Chase Johnson Classic, the second running of the event, expanded to two nights. Night 1 on Friday, November 20 features the USAC National Midgets plus the Ultimate Sprint Car Series, and the races also stream live on FloRacing. Ticket prices and gate times are posted on the track's official schedule page, so check there before you head over.

Autumn Classic Cattle Show at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds

In Turlock, the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds at 900 N Broadway hosts the Autumn Classic Cattle Show from Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22. It is a youth jackpot beef show with classes for heifers, steers, market heifers, and showmanship, drawing junior exhibitors from across the country. It is a competitive show for exhibitors, not a general-admission fair, though spectators are typically welcome to watch. The fairgrounds event schedule is the place to confirm times.

Saturday, November 21

Saturday carries most of the weekend: a race at the lake in the morning, two farmers markets, more championship racing at the Speedway at night, and free museum and park options in between.

Merced Turkey Trot at Lake Yosemite

The centerpiece of the weekend is the Merced Turkey Trot, hosted by the Merced Running Club on Saturday, November 21 at Lake Yosemite County Park, next to UC Merced. The flat course around the lake offers a Kids 1K for ages 10 and under, a 2-mile run/walk, and a 5-mile run, with proceeds benefiting the Toys for Tots Merced County Chapter. Registration is required in advance, and the exact start time for 2026 is posted on the club's official Turkey Trot page, so check there before you go. It is the classic Thanksgiving-week family race, and the lakeside course makes a genuinely scenic way to start the day.

Merced and Turlock farmers markets

The Merced Certified Farmers' Market runs year-round on Saturdays from 8:00 to 11:00 AM at 16th and Canal Street in downtown Merced. The Turlock Certified Farmers Market runs the same morning from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Main Street between Palm and Center in Turlock, in season through mid-December. Late November is peak stall variety: pomegranates, persimmons, winter squash, late peppers, greens, and the season's first citrus. Browsing either market is free.

Merced Speedway: Chase Johnson Classic, Night 2

Back at the track on Saturday night, Night 2 of the Chase Johnson Classic features the USAC National Midgets plus winged 360 Sprint Cars. It is the second running of a national-series weekend that is fast becoming a Merced tradition, and the winged cars put on a different show from the night before. Confirm gates and tickets on the Merced Speedway schedule.

Free Courthouse Museum and the Atwater museums

The Merced County Courthouse Museum at 21st and N Streets is free to enter and open Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, with rotating exhibits inside the 1875 courthouse. In Atwater, Castle Air Museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM with more than 80 restored aircraft across 35 acres, and the VC-9 Presidential Aircraft tour runs on weekends, weather permitting, for an extra $10 per person. For younger kids, Kids Discovery Station at 350 W Yosemite Avenue in Merced is open 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM with $7 admission, and Applegate Park Zoo at 1045 W 25th Street is open Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Free parks in Winton and Atwater

If the goal is simply to get everyone outside, two easy free picks sit on opposite ends of the county. Winton Community Park at Olive Avenue and Winton Way is the town's 21.5-acre park, fully renovated in 2024 with a one-mile walking path, restored soccer and baseball fields with new dugouts and lights, playgrounds, and picnic areas. Ralston Park at Third Street in Atwater is 5.4 acres of playground, open field, and walking paths, open 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily. Both cost nothing and both take about 20 minutes to reach from downtown Merced.

Sunday, November 22

Sunday is the slow reset before Thanksgiving week: a flea market at first light, a free museum afternoon, a foothill drive, a Merced-made movie premiere, and cranes coming in at dusk.

Atwater Flea & Farmers Market

The Atwater Flea & Farmers Market at 2877 Atwater Boulevard is open every Sunday from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, rain or shine. Admission is free and Sunday parking costs $2 per car, so bring small change. Vendors set up with produce, plants, secondhand finds, and hot food, and the early hours are the best pick of the tables.

Old La Grange Museum and the Courthouse Museum

For a free foothill outing, the Old La Grange Museum at 30173 Yosemite Boulevard in La Grange is free and open Sunday, November 22 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, about 45 minutes north of Merced. Closer to home, the Merced County Courthouse Museum is free to enter again from 1:00 to 4:00 PM if you want to keep the day downtown.

A Merced-made movie premiere at The Partisan

New this weekend and purely local: "Real Good Not Real: The Story of Duane's Restaurant," a documentary about Merced's famous fictional restaurant, premieres Sunday, November 22 at 6:00 PM at The Partisan at 432 W Main Street in Merced. Duane's is the imaginary Merced eatery that became a running local inside joke, and this film tells its story. The Eventbrite listing is the place to confirm seats, and a second screening runs Monday night.

Merced National Wildlife Refuge at dusk

As the light drops, drive southwest to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge off Sandy Mush Road. It is free, open from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, and late November is peak crane season, when thousands of lesser sandhill cranes come in to roost on the wetlands. My Trail or Park of the Week feature on the refuge has the driving route and the timing.

However you spend it, the weekend before Thanksgiving is a strong one to be out in Merced County: a lake race, two nights of championship racing, a tribute concert, two farmers markets, a flea market, a foothill museum, and cranes on the wetlands, all within a short drive of Merced, Atwater, Turlock, Winton, and McSwain. For the no-cost picks on the same dates, read our free things to do guide for November 21 and 22, and the kids and teen activities post for November 16 to 22 covers the family calendar in detail. Past editions of this guide stay live in the Weekend Guide archive on the blog.

Why a Weekend Like This Matters for Home Sellers

A lake race, a national dirt-track series, a tribute concert, two farmers markets, a youth livestock show, a foothill museum, and a national wildlife refuge within a half-hour drive is a strong quality-of-life story about Merced County. Buyers feel that story when they tour a neighborhood, and it shows up in how a listing is positioned.

Whether you are running the Turkey Trot on Saturday morning or watching cranes settle in at the refuge on Sunday, you are living the local detail that sells homes. When it is time to list, an agent who knows these communities from the inside out makes the difference. If you are considering selling your home in Merced County, schedule a free consultation with Monica Franks, The Seller's Agent, and read more about Monica's approach on her about page.