Flanders To Play Host to Food Truck Festival
This weekend, Flanders will be filled with food trucks at a special festival organized by the Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association.
The event, from Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21, will be held on the grounds of the Truth Community Church at the corner of Bell Avenue and Flanders Road, and includes community events ranging from hikes through the pine barrens with the Southampton Trails Preservation Society to sporting activities for kids at Ludlam Park to indoor craft events at the David W. Crohan Community Center next door.
“We wanted to have an event the community could be proud of,” said FRNCA President Ron Fisher.
The group had hoped to host a carnival last year, but when that proved to be too massive a task to accomplish in short order, they turned to the food truck festival as another community-building enterprise.
At least food trucks will be on site throughout the weekend, serving everything from health food to sausage and peppers, Mexican food to gourmet french fries, baked goods, ice cream and funnel cake.
The festival will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5, and kids 12 and under can enter for free. Food will be available for purchase from the trucks.
The Southampton Trails Preservation Society is hosting hikes on Saturday and Sunday morning just before the opening of the festival, in the hopes that attendees walk up an appetite before visiting the food trucks.
Saturday’s hike will be at Sears Pond. Hikers will meet at 10 a.m. at the kiosk on Spinney Road, just off the south side of Flanders Road, just east of Birch Creek. The four-mile hike will highlight the pine barrens and include views of the pond. Hike leader Jim Crawford can be reached at 631.481.6228.
Sunday’s hike will be alongside Hubbard Creek. Hikers will meet at 10 a.m. on Red Creek Road, 100 yards in from the intersection with Flanders Road, for a two-hour, moderately-paced hike with water views, a waterfall, several ponds and a chance to see the Black Duck Lodge. Leader Liz Karpin can be reached at 631.728.6492.
FRNCA has also partnered with the East Hampton YMCA for six hours of supervised sporting activities at Ludlam Park, 239 Ludlam Avenue in Riverside on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Women of the Moose will host indoor craft events on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the David W. Crohan Community Center at 655 Flanders Road.
“We tried to make it so there’s always something going on,” said Mr. Fisher. “We want to make it fun and engage people.”
