Sometimes, what seems like a major calamity can turn out to be a blessing in disguise. A happy accident.
It was that way for the Downtown Little Rock Partnership's Main Street Food Truck Festival last year.
Ever since it began in 2011, the gathering of food trucks in the heart of downtown had been held on Saturday. But in 2018, Mother Nature had other plans and a forecast of heavy rain led organizers to push the festival to Sunday.
"Which gave us all major health issues," says event chairwoman Holly Herlocker. "We worried so much [people] wouldn't come."
In fact, she says, the move to Sunday meant less competition from college football and other fall Saturday activities. There were some traffic flow conflicts with the post-church exodus, and a few of the scheduled food trucks weren't able to make the new date. But it was, overall, a major success, with people pouring in by the tens of thousands.
Herlocker says, "Our beer sales were better than ever."
So, what was supposed to be a weather-related one-time change has now become the new rule going forward: The festival will be on Sundays from now on.
The festival was originally created as a way to draw people to downtown, which, at the time, was lined by boarded-up, decaying buildings.
"The Main Street Revitalization Committee came together and said, 'Let's bring in a festival of food trucks and see what happens," Herlocker says. "There was nothing here."
That first year, there were a handful of trucks and an estimated 2,500 people. It has grown exponentially since then.
And where there were abandoned buildings, there are now restaurants and nonprofits and businesses and green spaces filling in all along Main Street.
"Now, it's beautiful down here," Herlocker says.
This year promises to be the biggest yet. They're expanding the festival footprint to take up more space and while last year's festival had some 50 trucks, this year they're scheduled to have more than 80 from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and North Carolina.
With so many trucks and more space, organizers believe that will make things less congested and keep lines a little shorter.
There will be a lot of food options from which to choose. The sheer numbers might seem a little overwhelming. But, to make things easier, the trucks will be grouped into themed blocks. In the mood for a little barbecue? Head over to the BBQ's Best block. Wanting some Mexican? There's Tasty Tacos. Comfort food? Try Southern Favorites.
"We want it to feel like you're going around the world and you can taste and feel the cultures," Herlocker says. "It's delicious and it's fairly cheap. They all have a $5 dish they can get out quickly."
Festival admission is free, but there is a VIP area where, for $20 admission, guests can try complimentary food samples from area restaurants, listen to music, drink free beverages and have their own place to sit down.
It's not all food. There will also be local artists and vendors, more than 20 buskers performing throughout and a couple of performance stages. Also, last year's very popular karaoke area will be back.
Last year, Herlocker says, "We had to kick them out. They were going all night. It was awesome."
The organizers are always looking to improve things. Herlocker points out that with all those trucks, each on its own generator, things can get extremely noisy.
This year, they're going to try a new strategy in the Tasty Tacos area: putting all the food trucks on that block on one generator to cut down on noise.
"We're pretty excited about that," Herlocker says. "That's a long-term goal, that we can get one generator that's quiet and get everyone plugged into it."
Children will have their own area of food and entertainment, with concession-type food such as kettle corn and funnel cakes. There will be train rides, Heifer International's petting zoo, yard games, a bubble artist and other kid-friendly activities. They may also enjoy visiting the Hero Zone to meet Arkansas State troopers and Little Rock Fire Department representatives.
Four-legged, furry "children" are welcome, too. Herlocker says a church does dog blessings and brings pools for the dogs and there are also dog treats and dog products for sale at some vendors.
"It's very dog-friendly," Herlocker says.
Dog parents are encouraged, though, to be mindful of the weather because as Herlocker says, "If it's hot, they're miserable."
The festival has been a big hit since its inception, and has won several awards, including Festival of the Year at the Arkansas Festival & Event's Association's 2019 ALFIE Awards.
An undertaking of this size requires a full army of volunteers -- about 325 -- and they're always eager for more.
That's how Herlocker got involved back in 2015, serving as a block captain.
"I nearly broke my back slinging beer," she recalls, saying that that year they'd anticipated 13,000 people. Around 20,000-25,000 showed up.
"It was intense."
After that, she served as head of the marketing committee and then, starting last year, event chairwoman.
Herlocker, Downtown Little Rock Partnership staff and volunteers work like a well-oiled machine, coordinating the trucks, using radios to communicate when a tent needs more beer or someone needs more cash.
"It's so fun," Herlocker says. "Every year, I log at least 10 miles walking back and forth. It's such an adrenaline rush."
Going forward, they're hoping to reduce their ecological footprint even as the festival grows. The reduction in generators is part of that. And this year, they're adding recycling bins for plastic and aluminum.
"In the future, we'd love to go even further," Herlocker says.
For people who don't spend much time downtown, the idea of navigating can be a little intimidating, but Herlocker insists that the event staff does all they can to make it easier.
They publish a map on the website and Herlocker recommends people check it out before going. That map gives the locations of the various food types and activities and also highlights parking, of which Herlocker promises there will be plenty.
There are four ATMs within the festival and presenting sponsor Centennial Bank is bringing a mobile bank with a teller so visitors won't need to worry about having enough cash on hand if their favorite truck doesn't take cards.
In all, they're planning for a full day of good food, good fun and excitement for all.
"Come after church. Bring the whole family. It's awesome."
The Main Street Food Truck Festival is 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 22 along Capitol Avenue and Main Street. Admission is free. VIP tickets are $20. Call (501) 375-0121 or visit mainstreetfoodtrucks.com.
High Profile on 09/15/2019