Downtown Erie Food Truck Festival draws large crowds
Ron Leonardi @etnleonardi
Jun 22, 2019 at 8:33 PM Jun 22, 2019 at 8:33 PM
Food, music, activities highlight second annual downtown festival on State Street.
A new festival layout, new activities and more food trucks catering to the palate of just about every foodie brought large crowds to Saturday's second annual Downtown Erie Food Truck Festival.
Eighteen Erie County food trucks served up their specialties — burgers, tacos, chicken, sandwiches, pizza, barbecue, sweets, ice cream — under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures from the festival's base of operation on State Street from 12th to 14th Streets.
Festival organizer Derek Smith, co-owner of The Bourbon Barrel, at 1213 State St., was hoping Saturday's event, which was scheduled from 3 to 11 p.m., would attract between 6,000 and 10,000 festivalgoers.
"It shows that people are super excited to come out and support local food trucks and to enjoy a family-friendly event in an area where they might not usually get to participate or experience," Smith said. "We want to showcase our area above 12th Street. Almost everything happens below 12th Street at Perry Square. They do amazing things at Perry Square, but we want to say we can do great things up here, too."
A stage, facing south, was set up on State Street at 12th Street. Organizers placed several rows of tables for dining on State Street near 13th Street and used the block from 13th to 14th streets for a children's activities area, including an Extreme Air Jumper, a 26-foot-high rock wall, a 27-foot-long inflatable shark slide and a dunk tank.
Three bands — First to Eleven, The Pop Rockets and Theory of Evolution — entertained crowds.
"This year, we switched the layout a little bit," Smith said. "We listened to the people and we moved the stage down toward 12th Street facing the bridge, and we did that because we wanted the sound to travel a bit farther and not be as loud, and it opened up 13th Street for us to put a bunch more trucks there and it created more space for everybody to get in and out."
Lines started forming at several trucks long before Saturday's festival got underway at 3 p.m. Attendees yearning for chicken cuisine flocked to the Erie-based Angry Chicken food truck, where staff tended to steady lines throughout the afternoon.
"From last year to this year, they opened it up more," said Nichole Young, general manager of the Angry Chicken operation. "There seem to be more areas for the food trucks ... Everybody seems to be happy and the lines are going super, super fast. It's awesome being down here. I love that all the local people get to try out all the food trucks. The Food Truck Alliance does such a great job and I'm so glad to be a part of it."
Hand-breaded fried chicken and tater tots are Angry Chicken specialties.
"Business has been great, the weather has been great — this is the perfect storm for perfection for a food truck festival," said Alison Green, a staff member with the Angry Chicken food truck. "I think this festival has done nothing but get bigger and better. Before we even got open, we had people waiting in line. I think this festival is everything that makes Erie great. You have great food and great music. You have everything that makes Erie fantastic."
Partial proceeds from Saturday's festival will benefit nonprofits Voices for Independence and the Police Athletic League.
Smith said the downtown food truck festival will become a yearly staple on Erie's summer activity schedule.
"The mayor and his administration are very happy," Smith said. "We take on all expenses. This is a zero-cost event to the city. We provide police support and cleanup, and we handle everything from beginning to cleanup."
Ron Leonardi can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ETNLeonardi.