Things to Do in Manteca

The Stockton Indoor Sports Complex celebrates fast-paced sports and recreation with public-skate sessions, roller hockey, and roller-derby contests. During public-skate sessions, adults and kids lace up old-fashioned quads or in-line skates and glide around the center's hockey-rink-sized floor. Add a couple goals to the floor, and it's ready for youth- and adult-hockey leagues or indoor-soccer matches—the complex's only skate-free activity aside from bathroom breaks and oft-discouraged handstands.

For those who prefer to spectate, the Port City Roller Girls zip around the track on select days, shouldering opposing teams into the boards as they entertain fans during grueling roller-derby matches. On special occasions, the rink's private party rooms are available for birthday parties replete with pizza, hot dogs, and soliloquies lamenting the fleeting nature of one's youth.

Lucky Fest helps revelers safely usher in America's greenest holiday by gathering 25 custom-built pubs along a single stretch of 11th Street. Each makeshift mead hall has taken on a unique theme for St. Patrick's Day. Guests can visit Grace O'Malley's Fantastic Voyage to enjoy a drink at a 16th-century pirate-themed alehouse built on a converted clipper, then swing past MacGowen's Karaoke Bar to belt out a favorite tune or deliver a rousing pep talk backed by Pointer Sisters tracks. Funny bones are tickled by visiting comedians from around the country during a drop-in at Patty O'Flynn's Comedy Shop, while the Irish Bar Bar Shop's barber chairs welcome visitors to stop in for a quick trim before they head to The Docks to pose for a souvenir photo with the Sea Maiden of the Celtic Sea.

The beauty of little ladies blossoms at Hollywood Princess, a party facility that hosts birthday galas, boutique soirees, and general revelry for girls aged 4–12. Burgeoning beauties revel in grown-up style glam, while friendly staff members polish nails to a sparkly sheen, create striking up-dos, or help hands cull their own scented gloss. To extend the adventure, the boutique also stocks a broad selection of princess wands, girls birthday boutique clothing such as pettiskirts, birthday number tops, custom tutus along with a wide variety of all holiday clothing.

The echoes of spheres hitting wood and toppling pins, followed by celebratory cheers bounce from lane-to-lane inside West Valley Bowl seven days per week. Competitors of all ages clash during league play, open lane games, or cosmic bowling on Fridays and Saturdays, which, in between frames, shifts the spotlight onto a live deejay and karaoke performances. After attempting to climb onto the top scores list by using perfect form or bribing crooked pins to "trip over", bowlers can waltz into the center's lounge, where electric dart boards, pool tables, and televisions provide an oil-free alternative to the gleam of bowling lanes. For further refreshment, Johnny's Diner refuels sphere-flingers with burgers and sandwiches, and an on-site pro shop helps players improve games with equipment upgrades and bifocals for older balls.

The owners of 7Star Rental wield more than 20 years of boating experience to equip ocean and lake adventurers of all levels for an active day on the water. Knowledgeable staffers can harness equipment such as wakeboards and inner tubes to all-fiberglass Tigé and Centurion-brand boats, or loan out a fishing vessel with plenty of storage space for bait and tackle. Events such as fishing trips and wakeboarding lessons help watersports newbies get their feet wet. In addition, Sea-Doos carry wave wranglers through California's many lakes, delta waterways, and Guinness World Record–breaking goldfish bowls.

During her childhood, Cheryl Brown learned everything she could about horses. She joined the Hacienda Hi-Riders horse drill team and participated in 4-H club meetings before majoring in animal science for her first year at Cal Poly, Pomona and writing Mr. Ed's memoirs. Eventually, Brown's love of animals took a back seat to her love for the arts as she switched gears and graduated with a master's degree in art education, which blossomed into a 15-year career as an art teacher as well as a YMCA instructor and a Girl Scout leader.

At Art and More Day Camp, she aims to excite and enlighten youngsters with an endless array of art classes, outdoor activities, and horseback-riding lessons. The spacious facility, which brims with cats and other four-legged friends, comes outfitted with a fenced-in pool, a bounce house, and foosball tables and welcomes kids as young as 3 for one-hour sessions or half- or full-day camps.

Brown's favorite class, Parent with Young Child Art Time, has adults and their preschoolers joining creative forces as parents learn the stages of development and little ones create and play. More than 17 art classes provide an outlet for mini adults to learn a range of art skills that include the basics of drawing, how to create collages, and the art of papier-mâché-ing a younger sibling's mouth shut. Brown also teaches youngins how to properly ride a horse during private and group lessons, during which she bestows her many years of riding experience.