Since our successful Blink: Urban Picnic last year, Mack and I have mulled over other ways to animate the river valley. Even temporarily, it was great to see Louise McKinney Riverfront Park being used for something other than a quiet stroll or a cycle through.
Although the Park is home to several festivals, including this past weekend’s annual Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival, and Hip Hop in the Park, for most of the summer, it lays dormant, and is without a doubt one of the most underutilized green spaces in the city. It’s a shame, given its proximity to the core, and with beautiful views of the valley and the river, Louise McKinney should be a better fixture on the event scene.
I recognize the gradient, and the access points down to the riverfront could be a barrier for some. And for others, its lack of casual, commercial activity (save for the Urban Green Café), doesn’t provide enough of an excuse to make the trek down worthwhile.
Our upcoming What the Truck?! on Saturday is an attempt at enlivening the space, just for an evening.
What: What the Truck?! at Louise McKinney
Where: Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, 9999 Grierson Hill Road
When: Saturday, August 24, 2013
Time: 5-9pm
We’ll have ten trucks on hand, including two of the newest to join Edmonton’s fleet – Lemongrass Grill and The Crooked Fork.
Lemongrass Grill and The Crooked Fork
You can check out the menus here and judge for yourself, but it’s hard not to love the variety food trucks bring to the table (or in this case, park).
Hope to see you there on Saturday!
Only Here for the Food 
Got three questions about this event:
1) Will we encounter the same ticketing system as the Royal Alberta Museum event?
2) Based on the parking space available for the trucks, will they be spread out in such a way we won’t encounter weird lines similar to what happened in the Victoria Promenade event?
3) Since the event is scheduled for four hours, will the trucks make an effort to have enough food to last at least 3.5 hours? Given the queues in the previous events, it would be disappointing for one to arrive “early”, wait for an hour just for food to run out.
I do appreciate your efforts in the organization of this event; however, I am afraid it can be victim of its own success, especially considering what happened in the previous ones, as my friends and I lined up for nothing. 😦
1. No tickets, you just pay cash at each truck directly. Please see our recap post from May for the rationale on the tickets that particular time: http://www.whatthetruck.ca/2013/05/17/recap-ginger-beef-throwdown/
2. We always do our best to arrange the trucks and spread them out given the space we’re working with. We have quite a bit of room in the parking lot, certainly more than at Victoria Promenade!
3. Trucks are responsible for their own food prep and it’s up to them how much they can and are willing to prepare. Keep in mind that a food truck is not a full kitchen, so there’s limited capacity! Also imagine if 500 people showed up at a brick-and-mortar restaurant within a couple hours – most restaurants would no doubt struggle to keep up. The trucks do their best!
We hope to see you on Saturday!