A Word About Line-Ups

Just like trying to use the washrooms at Rexall Place during intermission at a hockey game, line-ups are an inevitable part of What the Truck?! events. If you love pork belly sandwiches and coconut BLT wraps, you aren’t alone (we do too!) – but this means that there will be many more like-minded folk who share your good taste in deep fried pickles and smoked mac & cheese. Each truck has their own system to get through the line-ups as quickly as possible, but you wouldn’t want them to sacrifice the quality of their food to set the landspeed record for assembling a poutine, would you? We’ll do our best to schedule as many trucks as we can for each event to handle the estimated number of attendees, but if your line-up is a little bit longer than you had anticipated, all we can ask is that you bring a nearly in-human amount of patience – there’s light at the end of the tunnel (and boy, does it taste good)!

Frequently Asked Questions

Children (Furry or otherwise)

Can I bring my dog?

• We’re happy to have you and your family members join us for What the Truck?! – that includes your four-legged friends too! This is dependent on the venue the event is held at, and will be noted in the event-specific blog post if they are not allowed to come inside specific venues (many private locations do not allow dogs). If you are bringing your dog, we ask that they are leashed and kept under control (and that you pick up after them) so that they don’t disturb other patrons.

Will there be seating for our family?

• If we are lucky enough to have a sponsor who can help with the costs, we try to provide some seating, but it is limited (and is usually commandeered pretty quickly). However, we’re more than happy for you to bring your own blankets or seats to help find a place to fit the whole family. One of our favorite moments at our 104th Street event was seeing a dad with his small son, seated in a fold-up chair, fast asleep while he was in line (and when the line moved up, he picked up the kid, seat and all, and moved him along with him)!

Money (Don’t Make My World Go Round)

Do the trucks accept debit/credit? If not, are there ATMs on-site?

• Many food trucks are cash-only, so you should come prepared with cash on hand. Some of our event locations have public ATMs within walking distance, but if you want to cut down on the number of lines you wait in, hit up your bank on the way to the event (and save on unnecessary ATM fees).

How much money should I bring?

• The prices for each truck vary, but we’ve found that a good rule of thumb is that one full meal (entrée, side, and drink) generally runs about $10. If you’re looking to try a few different trucks (a sandwich here, a taco there, maybe some fries later), you’re probably safe with $25.

Is there an admission fee?

• What the Truck?! events are *free* to attend! We don’t want to take your money – we’d much rather you exchange it for delicious food.

How can we become a sponsor for What the Truck?! events?

• What the Truck?! is comprised solely of volunteers, so we do occasionally look to sponsors to help us with costs associated with the events, such as road closures, garbage cans/bags/pickup, or insurance costs. If you’re interested in sponsoring one of our events, give us a shout at team@whatthetruck.ca!

It’s All About Location, Location, Location

How do you decide where the events will be held?

• We receive a lot of feedback from the trucks and attendees, and do our best to pick locations that can handle the size and scope of our events. Generally, we try to pick locations that satisfy the following criteria:

o   Pedestrian and Parking-Friendly Areas: We’ve learned in recent years that many of our attendees drive to our events, regardless of encouraging public transit, so we tend to choose venues that have cheap or free parking, or can be walked to without much difficulty.

o   Natural Seating: If we don’t have seating provided to us, we try to pick locations with parkland or built-in seating so that those who want to sit down are able to.

o   Concrete: There are many beautiful park areas in the city that would be so lovely to have an event at, but the trucks need appropriately solid ground to drive on and park at, and we don’t want to ruin any parkland by driving on the grass.

Are there washrooms onsite?

• Some locations have washrooms nearby that we receive permission to use, but if not, we book at least 2 portable washrooms that are dropped nearby.

Can you host a What the Truck?! at our (birthday party, corporate event, community event)?

• No. Due to its size, What the Truck?! is a stand-alone event and the focus is on the trucks themselves. If you’re looking to have food trucks at your event, you can fill out our handy-dandy Book the Trucks form, and it sends the vending request to all of the trucks that we have record of, and they will respond to you if they are available to come to your event.

Questions That Don’t Have Their Own Category

Will there be vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free food there? / Can you accommodate my allergy to [insert here]?

• Each truck provides their menu to us prior to the event, and we post them ahead of time for attendees to look through. Some items will be denoted directly on the menus as being vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free, but in cases of life and death, it’s always best to ask the truck directly and confirm any ingredients before putting them in your mouth. One of our organizers is allergic to plenty of common ingredients, and from experience, as long as you’re diligent in your request to the truck, most are able to accommodate or leave things off of their dishes so that you can eat them. Take that, Darwin!

Can I bring my own reusable container? (Hooray for sustainable thinkers!)

• For the most part, Alberta Health Services prevents licensed food trucks from being able to use re-usable containers, as they cannot guarantee cleanliness or cross-contamination.

Is there alcohol at your event?

• Nope! There are enough fine establishments here in the city that have liquor licenses, and we totally encourage you to visit them after our events to enjoy an adult beverage with your friends.

Who’s that sharp-dressed man playing the sweet tunes at your events?

• Our DJ is ElectroKinetica, a member of Ohmera Entertainment. Follow him on Facebook @ Facebook.com/ElectroKinetica and contact him at ElectroKinetica@gmail.com. Check him out!

If you had to describe the best way to “do” What the Truck?!, what would it be?

• Lucky for you, we’ve got a page for that!

Do you have any other questions you’d like us to answer? Let us know in the comments below!