Johnny’s Pork Roll is among the food trucks slated to anchor Fair Haven’s Trucktoberfest Saturday.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[UPDATE, September 29: Because of rain in forecast for Saturday, this event has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 22, and starting and ending an hour earlier than originally planned.]
OK, so the name turns out not to be as original as organizers thought, given than there was a Trucktoberfest at Monmouth Park less than two weeks ago.
Still, when the Fair Haven version of Trucktoberfest rolls into Fair Haven Fields this Saturday, it will mark the borough’s debut food festival, one with the hipster cred of chow served through a stainless-steel trimmed window.
The Haven are slated to headline the event, which will also include the mobile version of the Lighthouse, seen below at Little Silver Day last June with its faux facade. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The event represents a variant on the Oktoberfest the borough’s hosted in recent years in a municipal lot on River Road. That’s a 21-and-older night-timer built around bratwurst and bier to raise funds for the Foundation of Fair Haven, which in turn helps bankroll the annual Fair Haven Day for borough residents.
But new event chairwoman Amanda Lynn was looking to move this year’s Oktoberfest to Fair Haven Fields and make it more family-inclusive, while past chair and Councilwoman Susan Sorenson “wanted to do something with food trucks,” Sorenson tells redbankgreen. They put their heads together and, voila: Trucktoberfest, a name Sorenson thought was her own portmanteau.
“Apparently not,” she said with a chuckle.
Still, the idea “blossomed,” she said, into an evening-long outdoor festival that, like the summer-capping firemen’s fair, is open to all.
Among the trucks slated to participate are:
• The Tasty Trolley, owned by Tom Cappello, the restaurateur who recently sold Gaetano’s in Red Bank
• Red Bank-based Johnny’s Pork Roll
• Strollo’s Lighthouse Italian Ices
The trucks will be parked in the asphalt parking area, with the grass field turned over to other vendors — including a corralled-off beer and wine truck — as as well horse-drawn hayrides, and “lots of games for the kids,” such as pumpkin bowling, Sorenson said. A dance troupe from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional is slated to perform.
The borough police department will be making free emergency ID cards for borough kids from 4 to 7 p.m.
Here’s the music lineup:
• Pat Roddy Band, 4 p.m.
• Wait Till Friday, 6 p.m.
• and “bringing us home,” says Sorenson: hometown favorites the Haven, 8 p.m.
Trucktoberfest runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Entry is free for kids 8 and younger. Fees are $5 for those aged 9 to 20, and $10 for those 21 and over, a price that includes on drink ticket. A $100 family package is available online only.
Pets, tents, grills and alcohol won’t be allowed into the event.
Borough residents are encouraged to walk or bike to the event; parking will be available at Rumson’s Meadowridge Park, across Ridge Road from Fair Haven Fields.
Volunteers still needed. Those wishing to help are asked to email [email protected] for information.
