Food Truck Fridays will be extended into September.
The weekly event in the Carnival Cinemas parking lot, featuring several food trucks, was scheduled to wrap up at the end of August, but organizer Johnathan Strome said it will last a bit longer.
“In recent years, we haven’t tried going into September,” said Strome.
“In August, so many people are on holidays, so we’re hoping that with people a little bit more back into their routine, and if the sun’s out and the weather co-operates with us, we can get a few extra weeks out of the event.”
It’s uncertain how many more weeks Food Truck Fridays will last, he added.
“We’re going to play it by ear from week to week.”
This summer was successful overall, but weather did make some weeks a challenge, said Strome.
“The weather has not been this rainy or gloomy or windy on Fridays at lunch consistently,” Strome said.
“If my memory serves me correctly, we’ve only had three Fridays with sunshine during our event, out of the 15 or 16 weeks.”
Strome said many in the community continue to come out to support the event each week, regardless of the weather.
“It often becomes a place where a lot of the regulars come and see us, because we’re consistently in one spot.
“This event creates some consistency in the week, so we get to see a lot of familiar faces, and that’s a huge highlight for many of the food trucks,” said Strome.
This was also the first year of the Carnival Vendor Market, which is held in the same parking lot on Fridays. The market raised money for Tutor Angels, which helps students learn.
Tutor Angels owner Tricia Pope said the weather was an issue for the market throughout the summer.
“It got off to a good start at the beginning of the summer, but … the weather took a really negative toll on us,” said Pope.
“When we have rain, our vendors don’t want to come, and our customers don’t want to come. Unfortunately, we had a couple weeks of pouring rain and we had to cancel.
“Getting new vendors and new customers all the time became a challenge with the weather.”
The final market of the summer will feature a barbecue, with proceeds going toward the Red Deer Public Schools District.
Though the Carnival Vendor Market is ending, it will return later this year in an indoor venue at Eastview Community Hall.
The final market of the summer runs 2:30 to 6 p.m. Food Truck Fridays run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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