Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival coming to Canton
By Jay Turner
Canton’s July 9 food truck festival will feature dozens of food and beer offerings.
One week from Saturday beginning at 12 noon, the grounds around Trinity Episcopal Church at the base of the Blue Hills will transform into a mecca for foodies, beer lovers, and family fun seekers as Canton plays host to its first ever Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival presented by Food Truck Festivals of America (FTFA).
Owned and operated by Canton native Anthony Pepe and locally based, FTFA has produced over 150 such events across the United States since 2012 and bills itself as the largest food truck event marketing company in the country.
The 2022 lineup of FTFA festivals has included stops in Florida, New Mexico and Wisconsin, but the focus shifts to the New England area this summer with three upcoming festivals in Massachusetts and another in New Hampshire.
The Canton festival on July 9 is the first to be held in Pepe’s hometown and will feature more than 20 gourmet trucks; over fifty national, regional, and local craft beers, seltzers, ciders, and cocktails; and an artisan market made up of local businesses and crafters.
Pepe said all FTFA festivals strive for a relaxed, family-friendly vibe, and at the Canton event there will be a variety of options to keep the kids entertained, ranging from face painting to outdoor lawn games to a DJ and dancing.
A colorful personality who has “yet to work a day in [his] life” and who wakes up every morning asking “What’s for lunch,” Pepe first got involved with FTFA in 2018 when he was hired as the company’s operations manager. Two years later, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he purchased the company and has made it his mission to “put on the biggest and best food truck festivals in America.”
“Our goal,” according to FTFA’s website, “is to introduce communities across the country to the booming phenomenon of gourmet food trucks and craft beer/specialty beverages, and to support the small business owners who run them. We aim to create destination events that feature the trucks and the food they serve.”
Pepe said from the time he acquired the company, Food Truck Festivals of America has been consistently setting attendance records and now he’s thrilled to be able to share the experience with the people in his own hometown.
“This will be an annual thing,” said Pepe. “We are just looking to put on a fun family event for the Canton residents and south shore families for years to come.”
Anthony Pepe with his wife, Robyn, and daughters Lily and Abby at an FTFA event
A 1990 graduate of Canton High School, Pepe attended Curry College, where he played four years of football and earned a degree in communications with a concentration in broadcasting, television and journalism. He went on to have a 20-year career in radio and also ran many events throughout New England, including Eddie Andelman’s Hot Dog Safari for 10 years. “I was also part of the team ‘Pepe & the Waterboys’ at WEEI that was responsible for the Pedro Martinez ‘K’ cards at Fenway Park,” he noted.
Pepe is still involved in broadcasting and even has his own national sports talk radio show, which he broadcasts out of his Canton home studio via the Sports Map Radio Network. Called “The Diehards,” the show airs weekday nights from 8-10 p.m. on 97 stations across the country, and Food Truck Festivals of America is a proud partner.
Pepe said he also makes a point through FTFA to give back to his home community and has sponsored two softball teams in Canton and has banners at all of the Little League fields. (Both of his daughters, 12-year-old Lily and 11-year-old Abby, are avid softball players).
Pepe hopes that his friends, neighbors, and fellow community members will give the Canton Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival a try, and he’s confident that if they do then they’ll have a good time.
The festival will be held rain or shine on Saturday, July 9, from 12-5 p.m. at Trinity Church at 1 Blue Hill River Road. In addition to general admission, several specialty packages are also available for purchase online, including a Beer Lovers Package and a Foodie VIP Package that both include early admission to the event (11 a.m.). Patrons can also purchase a Beer 6 Package online for $41 that includes six beer tickets for the price of five.
The lineup of food trucks and craft beer offerings is available online at foodtruckfestivalsofamerica.com/canton, but generally Pepe said guests can expect some of the region’s most popular choices, including fan favorites such as spicy jerk chicken patties, fresh from the ocean lobster rolls, delicious whoopie pies and more.
General admission tickets are $5 online in advance or $10 on the day of the event, and kids 12 and under are admitted free. First responders and members of the military (including veterans) are also admitted for free, and leashed dogs will be permitted. Lawn chairs are both welcomed and recommended and ATMs will be available on site. Food and drink are sold separately from admission and beer sales close a half hour before the festival ends.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=88095
Posted by Jay Turner
on Jul 1 2022. Filed under Business.
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