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O-R’s Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival draws record crowds

2 min read
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Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter

Cheyenne Recklaw shows off her face painting during Saturday’s Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival.

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Alex Bobin of the Brighton Boys

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Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter

Greeting visitors to the Kingview Mead booth are, from left, Melissa Romeo, Ashley Rabatin, Christine Carnegie and Samantha Carnegie.

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Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter

Gianna Mohr prepares to color a tablecloth during the Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival.

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Diana Conover promotes a popular product for Conover Organic Farm.

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Denielle DeSantis specializes in portraits of people's pets.

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Tracy and Bud Jewett greet visitors to the Observer-Reporter booth.

Call her P.T. Barnum.

Carole DeAngelo, the Observer-Reporter’s advertising director, earned the sobriquet from her staff members by her feats of show-womanship in organizing the fourth annual Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival.

Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter

Katya Fusine offers lemonade to thirsty festivalgoers on behalf of PGH Halal’s truck.

“This is the largest event ever that we have done,” she said on a rare break during the three-day extravaganza, which wraps up from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane Township.

“It has morphed from two days to three days, and it’s the largest food truck festival in our region,” she said. “We started in year one with 20 food trucks, went to 40 and now we’re over 50.”

Fifty-one, to be exact, and that’s just counting the ones offering food. The festival features 48 other vendors, everything from clothing and jewelry to wines and spirits.

The Observer-Reporter event, with South Hills Auto as the major sponsor, is one that the whole family can enjoy, with plenty of activities offered for youngsters.

“At first, people thought they couldn’t bring children to the casino. Well, you can 100 percent bring children to this event, because it’s all outside,” DeAngelo explained.

And a lot of folks are attending, children and otherwise.

Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter

Hai Le has something good cookin’ for Le’s Oriental’s truck.

“On Friday night, there were record crowds. Traffic was backed up to 79 and 19 to even get in here,” DeAngelo said, referencing the interstate to the west and U.S. route to the east. “I had never seen anything like it.”

The festival features an accompanying musical soundtrack, with bands the Brighton Boys and Ferris Bueller’s Revenge! performing Saturday and Nied’s Hotel Band (11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and Rick K. & The Allnighters (4 to 7 p.m.) on today’s schedule.

It remains to be seen how Mother Nature will treat the day in Western Pennsylvania, but the Greater Pittsburgh Food Truck Festival remains a go, no matter what.

“It’s rain or shine,” DeAngelo said, “and honestly, unless it’s really storming, I say put a poncho on and just make it.”

Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter

Jamal Etienne-Harrigan, purveyor of Uncle Jammy’s Sauces

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