MetroFest To Feature 2 Dozen Food Trucks and Specialty Vendors

By Susan Petroni (Patch staff)

With offerings ranging from Maine lobster to Korean fusion to Jamaican Jerk Wings and Chilean grilled specialities, MetroFest will be serving up a world of flavors when this popular arts, music, and food truck festival returns to Framingham on Saturday Sept. 26

Confirmed food trucks are Bacon Truck, Boston Event Specialists, Boston Baddest Burger & Sandwich Shop, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Captain Marden’s Cod Squad, The Chowda Heads Food Truck, Chubby Chickpea, The Farm Stand, Firefly’s BBQ, Foodie Café, Gogi on the Block, Lilo’s Plates, Maine-ly Lobstah, Makin’ Jamaican, Pomaire Boston Chilean Food Truck, Teri-Yummy, and Trolley Dogs.

Dessert-lovers can choose from Cupcake City, Joni’s Cannolis, Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop, Boston Italian Ice, and Batch Ice Cream, in addition to maple, nut, and fudge products for sale in exhibitor tents.

Taking place 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bowditch Field Complex at 475 Union Avenue, the regional event will also feature a beer- and wine-tasting tent offering samples of Jack’s Abby Brewing lagers and Massachusetts wines.

The event is a perfect fit for Jack’s Abby Brewing, whose brews have won national accolades since the business’ founding in Framingham three years ago, according to Market Manager Ben Warner.

“MetroFest is a great way for us to connect with many of the people who support us on a daily basis--customers, consumers and other local businesses,” Warner said.

A variety of wines will be poured by Fifth Avenue Liquors, also based in Framingham.

“MetroFest was created to showcase the richness of the offerings in our region, from barbeque to locally produced lagers, handcrafted gifts to history, musical performers to community theatre,” said Susan Nicholl, executive director of the MetroWest Visitors Bureau (MWVB), which produces the festival. “The food and beverage offerings alone certainly illustrate the variety and quality available here.”

The beer- and wine-tasting tent is among a number of enhancements to MetroFest, which returns to Bowditch Athletic & Cultural Complex for the second year.

Intended to showcase the region’s arts, culture, and commerce in an affordable and family-friendly atmosphere, MetroFest utilizes the entire 15-acre, fenced complex with two food truck areas, Main Stage performances, a variety of free kids activities, and 80 exhibitor booths circling the running track and dotting the entire area.

MetroFest debuted in 2014 and is a program of the MetroWest Visitors Bureau (MWVB), a regional nonprofit organization dedicated to stimulating the region’s economy by raising visibility for the area’s cultural, historic, culinary, hospitality, retail, and recreation offerings. Organizations hailing from 29 municipalities are participating in MetroFest 2015.

More than 7,500 people attended the first MetroFest last September; this year, organizers are planning for as many as 10,000 people to enjoy this year’s enhancements for the six-hour festival.

A new crowd-creation activity offered by Natick-based Palettes and the Natick Center Cultural District will involve hundreds, if not thousands, of festival-goers who will help paint pieces of two huge murals celebrating the MetroWest region. After the completed murals are unveiled during the festival, they will serve as traveling exhibits throughout the year.

The popular KidsTown area will be expanded to include new activities, including an enclosed video gaming truck, an obstacle course, and American Girl’s Red Carpet, where attendees can have their photo snapped with their own doll or with American Girl dolls on-hand.

The expanded number of exhibitor spaces are already filled with a variety of cultural and community groups, crafters, and a limited number of retailers specific to the region.

Main Stage performances, emcee’d by Magic 106.7 DJ David O’Leary, include The Love Dogs, The House on Cliff, Esther Rojas and the 3 Sudacas, and Crocodile River.

To ensure that MetroFest is affordable to families, the MetroWest Visitors Bureau has set ticket prices as $7 for adults, $3 for ages 5-12, and no fee for children under 5. All activities at the festival are free; attendees may purchase their own food and beverages.

Event organizers will provide free, handicapped-accessible shuttles 10:45am-5:15pm to four Framingham parking lots: McCarthy and Fuller School lots on Flagg Drive, Mass Bay Community College on Normandy Road, and Juvenile Court on Mt. Wayte Avenue. Many other lots surrounding the complex are within walking distance.

“We want this event to be as accessible and affordable as possible for guests, whether they live nearby or are coming from outside the region,” said Annie Murphy, chair of the MWVB board of directors. “A family of four can have an entire day of fun for $20.”

MetroFest is also offering a special children’s ticket for $8, which includes an American Girl gift bag.

Tickets are available online athttp://www.metrowestvisitors.org/metrofest/metrofest-tickets/ and may be purchased at the event as well.

“The business community has been incredibly supportive of this effort to showcase the region’s arts, culture, and other assets,” said Nicholl. “More than two dozen sponsors, including some nonprofit organizations, are providing financial support to ensure that the festival’s expenses are met. Many others are providing in-kind support to help us defray expenses.”

In addition to Jack’s Abby Brewing and Fifth Avenue Liquors, major sponsors include MetroWest Medical Center, Distinctive Hospitality Group/Skybokx 109/The Verve, Align Credit Union, Needham Bank, and American Girl.

CBS Radio and WSRO Radio 680 are Media Partners.

Supporting sponsors include AMR, Ameresco, Bancroft Boxing & Fitness, Bose, Doctors Express, ERA Key Realty, Fitts Insurance, Great Wolf Lodge, James Hardie, Landscape Depot, Leaf Filter, Learning Center for the Deaf, Middlesex Savings Bank, Natick Center Cultural District, Natick Mall, Next Step Living, Palettes, Planet Aid, Renewal by Andersen, Solar Flair Energy Inc., Sungevity, The TJX Companies, Wayside Inn, Webster Light LLC, Wexler Chiropractic, and Wegmans.

Nicholl also pointed out that various Town of Framingham departments, especially Parks & Recreation, have been instrumental colleagues in the event’s planning and implementation. In addition, MetroWest Regional Transportation Authority and the towns of Ashland and Hopkinton are partnering on the event.

For a complete overview of MetroFest and to see daily updates, go tometrowestvisitors.org/metrofest.