The City’s Parks and Recreation Department received requests to host a recurring food truck program in Windjammer Park from City Council and the Windjammer Park Feedback report. The new event is a pilot program to start the process of adding food vendors to the park.
Parks and Recreation staff reached out to food vendors to gauge interest in participating in a recurring food truck program. Several vendors indicated their preference would be a weekday event because weekends were booked for existing regional events.
Additionally, staff scheduled the event on the same night as the Sounds of Summer Concert Series due to higher activity/attendance in the park during an existing event. The larger number of individuals in the park increases the number of patrons for food trucks. The Sounds of Summer Concert Series hosts, including the Oak Harbor Music Festival and Windemere, were consulted and agreeable to the City running the pilot food truck program during their event this summer.
In future summers, the Food Trucks in the Park program may be on a different day and may not coincide with the Sounds of Summer Concert Series. City staff is working with food vendors to find the right day and time to ensure the Food Trucks in The Park program is sustainable and successful.
There were no additional steps or requirements to take for creating this event. City staff worked with Island County Public Health to ensure that the City’s Food Trucks in the Park application was adhering to Island County policies and food trucks met National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Standards (see Food Truck Fact Sheet). These are the same policies and standards that were applied to recent food trucks at the Holland Happening and Independence Day festivals earlier this year.
Currently, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department is seeking food truck vendors to participate in this event. As of this publication, the City has not received any applications to our call for food truck vendors. If we are unable to secure food vendors for this summer, we will start now to build the roster for next summer.
However, we encourage food truck vendors to review the application and apply online.
As a City, we are always looking for opportunities to bring the community together and respond to requests from our residents for enhancements to programs and services.
The City is planning to publish event details for Food Trucks in the Park after we receive commitments from food truck vendors. Look for updates on the City’s website at www.oakharbor.gov.