September 8, 2012 saw the biggest What the Truck?! take place in Churchill Square. Twelve trucks congregated downtown for our final hurrah for the 2012 season.
WTT @ Churchill Square
As with our penultimate event on Victoria Promenade, we again lucked out with the weather. And though it started out unbearably hot, the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings in the early evening soon made the conditions absolutely ideal for an outdoor food festival.
Enjoying summer
There were other benefits to setting up on Churchill Square, which made it immediately obvious why it is Edmonton’s de facto events space – the infrastructure, which includes built-in power hook-ups, on-site washrooms and a multitude of seating options is efficient, and cost-effective. It also does, in a way, spoil us for any other location in the city, but given the pop-up nature of the event, we hope you’re willing to bear with us in the future!
Lots of seating
Loved that newly-married Nadine and Glyn stopped by!
That said, we also recognized that in order to even attempt an event at Churchill Square, we needed to have our biggest turnout yet to not only animate the area but also enough people to patronize the trucks. Thankfully, we were thrilled for the support we received that night. One of the pieces of feedback we did receive was that people appreciated the expanse of the location – lines had enough room to breathe, and those browsing through menus could do so fairly easily. We do have to thank Northlands for stepping up and lending us stanchions for this event – they did wonders for directing and managing lines!
Yay, stanchions!
The trucks all deserve a standing ovation for what they did that night – all twelve absolutely rocked it, serving the huge crowds tirelessly and with grace to spare. We are very lucky to have such a great food truck community in Edmonton that seems to be getting bigger by the season! Among our WTT newcomers this time around were Little Village, Yellowbird Cafe and Bully.
Little Village
Nachos from Yellowbird Cafe
Bully is the shiniest new truck on the scene, the city’s first American-style truck. I tried their grilled salmon served on salad – the fish was deliciously flaky, with a nicely seared crust. The portion was so big that I didn’t have room for any other savoury dishes that night!
Bully
Buttermilk and basil marinated salmon from Bully
This time around, we also had volunteers helping us out with set-up and clean-up. Especially when things got going, it was great to have extra pairs of hands changing garbage cans so we could ensure the Square stayed spic and span. Thanks again to Brittney, Fel, Kathy, Kim, Patrick, Su and Thom for all of your help!
Some of our great volunteers – Kim, Thom and Patrick
It was great to work DJs Raebot and wijit, who really helped set the tone for the evening. No doubt Churchill is a large space, but their tunes helped bring it all together.
DJs Raebot and wijit
Thanks to everyone who came out to What the Truck?! in 2012, and to those who voted us Edmonton’s number one pop-up event in Vue Weekly’s Best of Edmonton poll. We really appreciate the support!
Churchill Square
And though we might be done for the year, that doesn’t mean all of the trucks are! Bully, Drift and Little Village among others will be serving into October. Keep the truck love going!
Check out the full photoset here.
Only Here for the Food 
Great job, again! Some of the food trucks have been booked for outside the newly-opened Edmonton Clinic South, while we are waiting for the indoor concession to be completed. It’s been great to have them there.
Thanks, Colleen! I didn’t know about the outdoor concession – I’m sure you and your colleagues are eating well :).