Food Truck Frenzy brings new flavors to Watertown
Jul. 25—WATERTOWN — Vendors filled the western parking lot of the Salmon Run Mall on Sunday for the monthly Food Truck Frenzy, which brings unique offerings to the north country.
Food trucks, craft stalls, nonprofit informational booths and small shops scattered the parking lot for most of Sunday afternoon. Trucks, some from as far away as New Hartford, Oneida County, were offering authentic Filipino food, fresh lobster rolls, Italian ice, pizza and much more. Vendor tents with toys, yard games, clothing, sunglasses and accessories also dotted the lot, all featuring the wares of local small businesses.
Ms. Bailey sais she started the monthly festival last year, as a way to bring more diverse offerings to Watertown and give people another activity to choose from on weekends.
"I was trying to get some stuff out here for our community to do, because we don't have much," she said.
Autumn Bailey, who runs 315 Artisan Market in the mall, is familiar with coordinating multiple vendors together and organizing events. Her shop features items from north country artists.
Patrick and Christine Crump had a stall set up featuring their handmade items, from cornhole boards to shelving, all made with designs meant to appeal to people they respect.
"We like to honor the high value of our service people in America," Mrs. Crump said. "And we like to honor our motorcycle club folks, who do a lot for this community."
Ms. Bailey said she has enjoyed pulling together so many vendors from local and statewide communities, and has enjoyed giving people in Watertown a chance to experience new things. Sunday's event was slightly less busy than usual, likely because of the rainy forecast, Ms. Bailey said. But on a regular day, between 50 and 100 vendors can be set up, with an average of 78. This year, she said she's had an average 2,500 customers visit, but they can see over 4,000 on some days.
Food Truck Frenzy will be open monthly until October. The next event is set for Aug. 28.
