Food trucks are pretty popular these days — just ask the estimated 4,000 people who turned out on Saturday, March 23, for the third annual Sedona Food Truck Festival, sponsored by the Sedona Parks and Recreation Department at Posse Grounds Park.
“Overall, the event was a huge success,” Recreation Coordinator Ali Baxter said. “Good food, good drinks, spectacular music and beautiful weather.”
Despite having a larger crowd this year — not to mention the fact that three vendors failed to show — Baxter said the food lines were no worse than anticipated.
“There really weren’t com-plaints about the lines; rather, folks commented how the food was worth the wait,” she said. “Feedback has been very positive. Clearly the Naughty Bits [musical act] were a hit. People loved the variety of beer, wines and seltzers Rotary provided this year and the food selection was definitely the most diverse yet. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.”
The Food Truck Festival has become the largest event hosted by Parks and Recreation, so it should come as no surprise that it’s the most time intensive one that Baxter works on every year. She spends a minimum 10 months working with vendors to make the event happen.
“Happy attendees make it all worth it,” she said. “It needs to be noted that this event is a team effort. Even though I plan the event and am responsible for making it happen, without Rachel Murdoch, Dawn Norman and Aaron Day — as well as the city’s maintenance staff — it most definitely wouldn’t be possible.”
Now that they have two years under their collective belts, Baxter said getting food truck owners to commit prior to the event was not difficult. The difficult part, she said, is getting the right mix of food offered to ensure a great experience for everyone involved.
“I have limited my vendors to trucks or trailers only for visual uniformity and am selective on what delicacies I allow duplicates of,” she said. “We’re being cautious to never allow more than two of the same type of food, but also being sensitive to those trucks who are super unique and deserve to be exclusive at our event. It’s a very fine balance for sure.”
Cottonwood resident Linda Miller said she had never eaten from a food truck, so the novelty is what brought her to the event.
“I was not disappointed,” Miller said. “I tried several different things and loved them all. Plus, the weather was great and I’m a big fan of Naughty Bits. Kudos to Sedona for putting on such a great event.”
Todd Springs, of the Village of Oak Creek, echoed Miller’s comments.
“This is such a great event,” he said. “It’s something you can bring the entire family to and, even better, everyone can try something different. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite local events.”
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
