long-beach-street-food-fest-explainedThe Long Beach Street Food Fest promises lots of food and beverage for a good cause on Saturday, from 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM enjoy food from 20 different food trucks at Rainbow Lagoon Park. Tickets are $6 prepay/$8 door and the money goes towards teachers and students in Long Beach. We asked the people running the event what we can expect, and places to go in Long Beach after the sun goes down and the food truck windows close up.

How was the Long Beach Food Fest conceived?
When we heard about food trucks teaming up for events we thought about bringing them down to Long Beach for a festival. The Long Beach Junior Chamber Charitable Foundation is always looking for fundraising opportunities for our two main charities. One is the Adopt-a-Teacher program, which provides grants to local teachers. The second cause provides scholarships for Long Beach Community College students. We thought this event would be a perfect way to raise money.

Will this be a recurring event?
We hope so!

If so, do you have more food trucks in mind for next time?
We are really happy with our round-up. We did hit maximum capacity for the Rainbow Lagoon and unfortunately had to turn some trucks away. There are new trucks popping up each month, including a few in Orange County, so we would welcome them next time!

Tell us about the beer garden.
Our sponsor, SAVOR, is providing wine and beer. A portion of the proceeds go to charity.

Will the food trucks have their full menu or sample sizes of their dishes?
Some will have regular items and some will have sample sizes.

How did you pick which food trucks are attending?
We targeted a few of our favorites first, then we reached out to the trucks and owners with great reputations. We know their customers like them and we want happy attendees, so that just made sense. As we described our charity and our experiences with fundraising, the trucks spread the word for us.

Which truck are you most excited to try out?
I hate to single anyone out, but anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I’m a big fan of the Grilled Cheese Truck. There are others I’ve never tried that I’m looking forward to like the Border Grill Truck. I mean, how can you go wrong with the Two Hot Tamales? And who can’t smile when they hear about Great Balls on Tires & the Greasy Wiener?

Any other interesting tidbits you’d like to share with our readers?
Many of these truck owners are entrepreneurs who are creative, talented and very customer focused. It feels good to support them. Long Beach just announced lay-offs for hundreds of teachers so now there’s more reason than ever to support Adopt-a-Teacher which provides grants to local teachers to spend on supplies and activities for their students that the district used to pay for.

Also, the AVP Tour is happening across the street. We hear Misty May is making an appearance, so people can come down, see a little beach volleyball, have a beverage, sample some gourmet bites, and listen to the music.

Here are some nearby places where you can continue imbibing after eating too much, if need be:

Additional Information
http://www.lbstreetfoodfest.com/