Residents at last week’s Northwood Civic Association meeting discussed logistics surrounding the neighborhood’s first ever food truck festival, which will be held Saturday, Aug. 17, at Northwood Park.
The event will feature live music, canvas painting, face painting and, of course, plenty of food trucks. Organizers are expecting a crowd of around 1,500 people.
State Rep. Joe Hohenstein, who lives in Northwood, showed up to the July 23 meeting to discuss coordinating the festival. He said he will help develop a public safety plan for the event.
Sometimes, with large events, there is a need to compensate the Police Department for overtime, Hohenstein said. However, he said he spoke to the 15th Police District, and they don’t think the food truck festival will be a problem.
Other issues that need to be sorted out include trash pick-up after the event and acquiring portable toilets, Hohenstein said. Organizers said they are in talks with local businesses about sponsoring the event.
The festival is being run by a group of neighbors, not the civic association. The idea came together last month as a way to bring the community together.
The trucks will be parked on the Castor Avenue side of the park, organizers said.
In other news from the July 23 meeting:
Gaspar Santos, community initiative specialist at the Free Library of Philadelphia, said a major renovation is in store for the Frankford Library, thanks to state funding and money from the William Penn Foundation. In September, the project manager will visit community groups and talk to them about the renovation.
The library, at Frankford Avenue and Overington Street, was last renovated in 1997, according to the Free Library’s website.
In addition, Santos told residents that TechGirlz, a local nonprofit, will be holding a website-making workshop for middle school-age girls on Thursday, Aug. 22. For more information or to register, visit www.techgirlz.org.
The NCA’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. at Simpson Recreation Center, 1010 Arrott St. ••
