Food Cart Fest takes over the Waldorf Hotel on Sundays

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      The success of the food cart gathering at the Waldorf Hotel’s Canada Day Block Party on July 1 has prompted the East Vancouver hotel to host Food Cart Fest on Sundays from July 29 to September 2.

      The event will feature a number of Vancouver food trucks, including La Brasserie Street, Soho Road, Off the Wagon, Re-Up BBQ, Juice Truck, Mom’s Grilled Cheese, Cartel Taco, Pig on the Street, Guanco Truck, and Holy Perogy, as well as live music, DJs, family entertainment, an outdoor tiki beach area, and a beer garden.

      Food Cart Fest will be held in conjunction with a community market that will change each week. The first community market will be curated by Jamie Leah Gill of Moon Rock, and will include more than 50 local vendors selling vintage, new, and upcycled clothing, shoes, and accessories, as well as jewellery, art, and home décor.

      Food Cart Fest is a free, all-ages event (excluding the beer garden, which is 19+) that runs from 12 to 6 p.m.

      You can follow Michelle da Silva on Twitter at twitter.com/michdas.

      Comments

      8 Comments

      HellSlayerAndy

      Jul 24, 2012 at 12:24pm

      Suburban Nostalgia?
      A Mall Food Court for Yuppies!

      CanadaDay

      Jul 24, 2012 at 4:56pm

      This was one of the worst and least organized events when it was held on Canada Day. Each truck had a line of over one hour and after people had been waiting for over one hour, they would inform you that they had run out of food and there was nothing you could do about it. We'll be avoiding these for sure.

      R2

      Jul 24, 2012 at 10:49pm

      @Canada Day, I was there July 1st and couldn't agree with you more.
      I spent 8 minutes checking things out and took off downtown to the Canada Day Party at the convention center.
      The parking lot was filled with vendors and food trucks and the bands were squished in the lower corner of the parking lot leaving no room for people to watch....BORING
      Waldorf get rid of the food trucks & vendors, have a simple bbq and put a decent sized stage with cool bands.
      People who want to eat and shop can go to the malls.

      AKG

      Jul 26, 2012 at 8:28am

      The naysayers here should look into the wildly successful Off the Grid food truck gatherings in San Francisco, which draw great crowds. I suspect the trucks weren't expecting the crowds that they got on Canada Day, and for these regular Sunday events they'll be more ready for it - more food, etc. Lineups mean demand, and if there's demand then why not meet it?
      "People who want to eat and shop can go to the malls?" How about "people who want to watch a band and eat can go to a pub?" Not to mention that comparing the food being produced by these carts to mall food court product is ridiculous and insulting to the cart operators.

      CanadaDay

      Jul 26, 2012 at 1:22pm

      @AKG: I wasn't saying that this shouldn't be an event - I did after all line up for an hour to get my food! I think it's a really cool idea I was just saying it was terribly unorganized and I will be avoiding it though I should have added the caveat that I will be avoiding it until it improves.

      I think one of the biggest issues is the TYPE of food truck they bring in. I think this could be a great event if you have a lot of trucks which serve things that can be "production lined" for quick delivery. But when you get a truck that has to cook every single order, well, to-order, and using two or three burners or a small flattop, ten people can cause a 30-45 minute wait. This is the case even at lunchtime downtown. When you advertise an event where you will average lines of 30+ people per truck, this means a ridiculously long time. Some of these trucks just aren't cut out for an event like this and would be better served on the streets with a sparser crowd.

      LS

      Jul 29, 2012 at 8:01am

      I don´t know why people always complain so much. It was not that difficult to get the food there and me and my family enjoyed this event. It was much better than many of the announced <a href="http://yourvancouverrealestate.ca/vancouver-life/2012/07/top-july-events... Events in Vancouver</a>. Yes we had to wait for some time but we were rewarded with delicious food. And as somebody has already pointed out,they are going to raise the number of carts for the next event. So don´t worry and come back!

      Low-brow foodie

      Jul 30, 2012 at 9:33am

      Food courts have come a long way. The food is often delicious and relatively fresh. Atmosphere is always appalling, but at least you can usually sit down...

      Sandalwood Lady

      Nov 16, 2012 at 9:09pm

      It didn't seem poorly organized to me. Just wildly popular. So many babies in Vancouver, smoking reefer and complaining about all the things other people do.