Markeshia Ricks Photo
The lines in front of Jesse “J-Hop” Hardy’s barbecue truck during last year’s festival.
The city’s fourth Food Truck Festival promises to be bigger than last year with more food choices and a dragon boat regatta that will start earlier in the day.
Mayor Harp with Aiden Charles on Long Wharf at lunch time Wednesday.
That was the news from a press event held by Mayor Toni Harp and food truck festival organizers Wednesday at the city’s Food Truck Paradise on Long Wharf.
This year’s festival will be held June 2 from noon through 7 p.m., while the dragon boat regatta will start just an hour before the food trucks start selling everything from breakfast tacos to dessert, said Aiden Charles of the Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program, which organizes the festival.
Harp shares a laugh with City Building Official Jim Turcio and new Vending Enforcement Officer Charlene Taylor.
Charles said that there will be more than 47 food vendors this year, which is more than double the number of trucks that participated last year. He said those trucks will be coming from all over the state including Stamford, Norwich, and Hartford. Beer will again be available for sale. Live musical acts included Carribean Vibe Steel Drum, Sez Zion Jazz Band, and The Bossa Nova Project. Charles also noted that the festival will once again be a free event.
“The New Haven Food Truck Festival is one of the largest food truck festivals in the state, and it has the largest variety of food you can get,” he said.
Harp checks out the food truck offerings on the Wharf.
This year’s sponsors include New England Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada, and T‑Mobile.
John Pescatore, who heads up the nonprofit that operates the Canal Dock Boathouse (set to open later this summer), said the dragon boat races had to start pretty much in the middle of the day because that’s when the tide would be high enough and the water deep enough. The regatta is sponsored by Assa Abloy and Sportech, which runs Sports Haven.
Dragon boats will set sail an hour before midday this year.
Pescatore said the early start will give race participants — many of whom are part of city community organizations and major employers in town —time to actually spend more time visiting the food truck festival and beer tents.
“I envision the regatta meshing better than ever this year,” he said.
Harp said the food truck festival has become an “iconic” city tradition that is the “exciting, best kickoff of New Haven’s summer festival season.”
“It’s the start of what promises to be an extraordinary summer in New Haven,” she said. “We want the whole state to come and experience the excitement that we have in store.”
Click on the Facebook Live video below to catch the full press conference.