Great New England Food Truck Festival returns
Jody Donohue knew she was on to something as she watched a woman funnel a two-pound whoopie pie into her mouth.
Donohue’s company Great New England Craft and Artisan Shows (gnecraftartisanshows.com) is in charge of the Great New England Food Truck Festival (gnefoodtruckfest.com) Saturday, Aug. 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hampshire Dome (34 Emerson Road, Milford, 673-8123, hampshiredome.com). Fourteen food trucks will be set up outside the Dome, with 35 vendors inside. There will be live music, a children’s area, and a whoopie pie eating contest.
Which brings us back to the whoopie pie woman.
Donohue’s company was putting on a similar event on the Seacoast in July.
“Someone brought a gallon zip-lock bag,” she said. “As soon as the timer started and they said ‘go,’ she took the whoopie pie, stuffed it into the gallon bag, squished it all up, ripped a hole in the corner, and was squeezing it into her mouth. Is that insane or what?”
Although this is the first year the Food Truck Festival in Milford will include a whoopie pie eating contest, it is the seventh year for the Festival itself. Donohue is especially excited about the venue.
“We’ll be inside and outside the dome,” she said. “It’s a 94,000-square-foot dome! It’s an air-supported structure; there aren’t any beams inside. It’s beautiful.”
Most of the vendors inside the dome will be artisan craftspeople. There will be jewelry-makers, hot sauce vendors, and pet product designers. Donohue emphasized the variety of crafters in attendance.
“We have someone that makes cards out of aluminum cans,” she said. “She cuts aluminum cans up for her designs and makes her own cards. We’ll have 3D printing materials there. There’s a sticker booth with thousands of stickers. We have Make Your Own Teddy Bear [station] this year. You can pick out the fabric and then go through the experience of stuffing it, choosing accessories for it if you want, and naming it.”
The main draw for a food truck festival, of course, is the food trucks, which will be parked outside the Dome.
“We have 14 different food trucks here this year,” Donohue said. “You’re going to find anything from trolley dogs, popcorn, fresh squeezed lemonade, Mexican food like burritos and tacos. We will have sausage, peppers, onions. We’re doing a cannoli truck. We have Kona ice there. We’ll have a Jamaican truck, a pizza truck, Chinese, a coffee truck [and a] barbecue truck.”
When not eating food truck food, attendees can play cornhole and listen to live music. In the KidZone, there will be bounce-houses, face-painting, bubble play and chalk-drawing activities. “We’ll have a raffle,” Donohue said. “It’s a scratch ticket raffle. You have a chance to win $100 in scratch tickets and those proceeds benefit a local lacrosse program.”
Donohue is looking forward to a good turnout this year.
“It’s open to the public, and it’s a great way for everyone to come together, enjoy themselves for a day, and hopefully forget about life for a while,” she said.
And enjoy the drama of the whoopie pie contest.
The Great New England Food Truck Festival
Where: The Hampshire Dome, 34 Emerson Road, Milford
When: Saturday, Aug. 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Info: gnefoodtruckfest.com
Admission: Adult tickets are $8 each, children age 14 and under attend free.
Parking is free.
