Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/961176
26 UCW APRIL 4-10, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views Meetings For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Interim Town Clerk Debbie Holland at 910-426-4113. • Citizens Academy every Tuesday through June, 6-8 p.m. • Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Monday, April 9, 12:30 p.m. at the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation center. • Historic Preservation Commission Wednesday, April 11, 5 p.m. • Mayor's Youth Leadership Monday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. • Board of Commissioners Monday, April 16, 7 p.m. • Lake Appearance Commission Tuesday, April 17, 6 p.m. Activities • Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio's, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For more information, call 910-237-1240. • Food truck rodeo ursday, April 5, 5:30 p.m., 5770 Rockfish Rd. • e Crossings at Hope Mills: Open House, Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Promote yourself Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. Food truck rodeos return with warmer weather by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Community involvement opportunities a STAFF REPORT Hope Mills is resuming its suc- cessful experience with Food Truck Rodeos this week, hosting the first event of 2018 on ursday, April 5, in the parking lot behind Town Hall and the Hope Mills Recreation Center at 5770 Rockfish Rd. e rodeo will be held from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. e food truck events were held last year starting in August and con- tinued monthly through November until they were shut down for the winter months. "It started with us trying to come up with creative ways to bring the community together,'' said Chancer McLaughlin of the Hope Mills Devel- opment and Planning Department. Since food trucks are popular in towns all over Cumberland County, town leaders developed a plan to help attract them to Hope Mills. "e main goal was to create an en- vironment that would be supportive of food trucks,'' McLaughlin said. "We don't charge any fees for the trucks.'' McLaughlin said the town also wanted to give them something other than just the lure of a lunch- time crowd. "We felt if we could cre- ate a destination or an event out of it, everybody wins,'' he said. "(If ) we can get people to Hope Mills, more people will come to support the trucks. It's outdoors, and we facili- tate it by putting out lawn chairs and having music.'' McLaughlin said a ursday night was chosen to provide a variety of food trucks an evening that wouldn't conflict with their plans to be at other loca- tions in the county and increase the options available. "ere are so many great ones in Cumberland County, we try to rotate them out,'' he said. "We are very supportive of the food truck community.'' is week's rodeo will follow a traditional structure the town has used in the past. e parking lot behind the recreation center and town hall will be blocked off to allow the food trucks to park and create a pedes- trian area for people to visit the different trucks. e event will feature attractions for children, including free pony rides and bouncy houses. A DJ will provide music. On some occasions in the past the rodeo has offered live bands, but McLaughlin said a DJ will be used for the first event of 2018. He's gotten commitments from six trucks that will appear at this week's event. ey include Fowler's, formerly the Blind Pig; Babann's Southern Fried Chicken; R Burger; and California Taco NC. McLaughlin always tries to have at least two local food trucks taking part. is week's participants will be A Catered Affair by Chef Glenn and Big T's. McLaughlin encourages everyone plan- ning to take part in the rodeo to download the Spokehub app for their smartphones. "It allows you to chat with people leading up to the event and at the event,'' McLaugh- lin said. "We're trying to get creative with marketing.'' ere's also an informational aspect to the event, McLaughlin said. Warriors on the Water, an organization that helps rehabilitate wounded warriors by introducing them to kayaking, has made previous appearances at the rodeos. Now that Hope Mills Lake has been restored, McLaughlin said, they will return to this week's event to share informa- tion about their organization. e Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department will also have a booth at the rodeo, giving out information about upcom- ing events. e best thing about most of the activities is everything will be free, McLaughlin said. "e only thing they have to pay for is the food,'' he said. "We want something that makes it more conducive to families. As opposed to cooking dinner, you can grab something to eat, sit down and relax in a really nice atmosphere.'' EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. The event includes free pony rides and bouncy houses for children. EVENTS