Food Truck Fest features beer garden in Wright Park on July 19

Two local craft breweries, Engine House No. 9 and the Powerhouse, will pour your choice of refresher in a temporary beer garden as part of the second annual Metro Parks Food Truck Fest on July 19 in Wright Park.

Last year’s event was such a hit with the public – as many as 8,500 people attended – that Metro Parks Tacoma has recruited new vendors to satisfy the expected crowd.

The new beer garden will be centrally located, not far from Division Avenue on the north end of the park. In all, 23 mobile food trucks will be parked in a U-shape around the park’s perimeter trail. That’s four more trucks than last year.

“This event was born out of the fact that food trucks are a hot item … and it just took off,” said Metro Parks’ Phedra Redifer, who organized the festival.

Food truck offerings range wide, from classic American picnic fare to ethnic and fusion. So if you’d rather not indulge in burgers or barbecue, alternatives include Hawaiian poke, Middle Eastern falafel, Greek gyros and Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. One of the festival’s new trucks offers Japanese-style hot dogs (which use German-style bratwurst and sausages with nori, furikake and other ingredients). Another sells an unusual style of spiral potatoes. Doughnuts, cakes, cookies, coffee and ice cream also will be sold.

Singer Stephanie Anne Johnson, a Tacoma native who made a big hit on The Voice and performed at last year’s festival, will once again entertain on the event’s main stage at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Additionally, a troupe of MIxxedFit instructors will get the crowd going with half-hour dance and exercise routines at 1 and 3:30 p.m.

Wright Park is the perfect location for this gathering, Redifer said. “You can get something to eat, enjoy the natural setting, listen to music, dance and let the kids run around.” She pointed out that Wright Park’s sprayground opens at 10 a.m. and will continue operations throughout the free event.

For a complete list of participating food trucks, go to the Food Truck Fest web page.

Food Truck Fest

• What: A gathering of 23 food trucks, a beer garden and entertainment
• When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 19
• Where: Wright Park, 501 S. I St.
• Cost: Free