Food Trucks And Fireworks Is A 'Harmonious Pairing' In Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, IL — Like with any first-time event, Carlo Capalbo wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when he and other Plainfield officials decided to combine the village’s popular annual July 4 fireworks show with a food truck festival.

Capalbo, the executive director of the Plainfield Park District, said that in recent years, organizers of the village’s Patriotic Picnic had watched attendance diminish for picking up again for the fireworks display. But after the village’s first foray into placing 10 food trucks on-site in the hours leading up to the pyrotechnic show drew a steady stream of traffic on top of the 10,000-15,000 people who take in the Independence Day display from several different local vantage points, Capalbo came away with positive reviews of the food and fireworks pairing.

The food truck festival, produced by Oswego-based Brew Avenue Events, offered Plainfield restaurants an array of food options in one location. The company, which puts on an average of 15-20 food truck events each year around the greater Chicago area each year, partnered with the village this year to offer a new twist on the Independence Day event with hopes of bulking up attendance numbers before fireworks lit up the night sky.

Capalbo conservatively estimates that there were anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000 people taking in the food truck festival on Monday. Alessandro Vazquez, the president of Brew Avenue Events, told Patch that less than 1,000 people registered for the free event, but that he estimates crowds grew to at least twice that many, causing long lines for the collection of food trucks that offered a variety of tasty treats.

“Obviously, being an inaugural year, you learn lessons and you get a better idea of how it’s going to move going forward and you just adapt to make changes,” Capalbo told Patch on Friday.

While in recent years, traffic in Bott Park hasn’t traditionally picked up until around 7 p.m. – 2 ½ hours before the fireworks display – the food truck show brought attendees out from 4 p.m. on, Capalbo said. From offerings such as the popular Happy Lobster Truck to Greek specialties from Serna’s Grill and Mexican delicacies from La Tortuga Feliz and Burrito Xpress, the show provided area residents with food offerings they may not normally try.

That, Vazquez said, is the draw to a food truck show, especially for residents who may not normally tend to be too adventurous in their dining out habits.

“It’s all about the foodie journey – the adventure,” Vasquez told Patch this week.

“But people were interested, they wanted to see what this was about. Maybe they came out and tried a new food and I love that.”

Village officials will soon discuss whether they will offer the food truck festival again. While some attendees were put off by the time they had to wait in line for food — which is prepared to order by each truck rather than it being prepared ahead of time —both Capalbo and Vazquez deemed the inaugural event a success.

Said Capalbo: "I'd say it was a harmonious pairing".

From the park district’s perspective, offering residents new events is part of the mission of the organization. Capalbo said that the food truck festival boosted attendance ahead of the fireworks show and while it drew much bigger numbers than the Patriotic Picnic had in recent years, it will be up to the village to decide whether the food truck show is added to the park district’s slate of events in the future.

“It definitely seemed to be popular,” Capalbo told Patch. “It would be great to continue this type of event, but we have to figure out the best mechanisms to make sure we’re better prepared and that all parties are on the same page.”

He added: I thought it would be a great way to see if something new might be a draw and I think (the food truck show) succeeded in that.”