Clockwise from bottom left: A number of food trucks taking part in the festival, MLA Jeremy Cockrill, Mayor Ames Leslie, and Beth Walls (Discovery Co-op) at the festival, an array of vendors' booths, and the Jay's Transport trailer truck promoting mental health at the event. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Something new in the Battlefords

Food Truck Festival and Trade Show kicks off in Battleford

Aug 26, 2022 | 1:24 PM

The Battleford Food Truck Festival and Trade Show officially kicked off Friday at the Battleford Arena.

The event runs for three days, wrapping up on Sunday.

Food trucks were lined up outside the facility, while inside vendors and information booths, a children’s activity centre, live music, and a beer garden were getting started.

Battlefords MLA Jeremy Cockrill said the event is a great way to bring the Battlefords together.

“It’s been a busy summer in Battleford, and in the Battlefords in general there are lots of events coming back,” he said. “It’s really great to see something like this, and vendors coming in from outside the community. It’s something for us to enjoy, and for people to see when they are visiting our community.”

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Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie noted since the Saskatchewan Handcraft Festival ended in 2017 in Battleford, the town has been missing a big festival. So the Food Truck Festival and Trade Show is something new to offer the community.

“Hopefully, this can catch on and replace that void in our community in August. It will give people something to do right before back to school,” he said. ”To bring our communities together is the goal here, I think this will be a great opportunity to accomplish that.”

He noted proceeds of the beer garden at the event will benefit Concern for Youth.

Leslie hopes the Food Truck Festival event can be an annual affair.

The festival was spearhead by town community planner, Paige Hundt, who had a vision for the event, with the support of administration and council.

Discovery Co-op, as well as a number of other supporters, helped make the event possible.

Outside the festival venue, Jay’s Transportation Group has a large trailer truck parked near the roadway promoting mental health, with phone lines to call if anyone needs help.

Neil Lascelle, the branch manager of Jay’s Transportation Group at the Battleford offices, said he hopes the signage can make a difference in helping people in communities wherever it goes.

Neil’s son, Ash, passed away at the age of 15 from mental health issues in 2018, so the matter hits close to home for his family.

“As a company we’re a big supporter of many different organizations,…so we have many of these rolling billboards all over Saskatchewan on our trailers,” Lascelle said. “Mental health has been something that is really personal to myself.”

He said when the company posted information on its blog about mental health the feedback was overwhelming, so he saw a need to do more to increase awareness about the issue.

Lascelle said mental health matters are an increasing concern to people everywhere.

He was involved in selecting the design for the trailer signage that also includes numbers to call to promote mental health, including teen mental health.

“I think we need to get more awareness out there,” Lascelle said.

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW