It took Rob Milford about three months to line up food trucks for the Aldergrove Fair.
It wasn’t easy.
Milford, a director of the fair, said some food trucks went out of business during the pandemic, and those that survived are extremely busy now that restrictions have been lifted.
“That has been a huge challenge,” Milford commented.
Still, eight vendors will be participating, which is close to the usual number.
They will feature the popular “Bannock lady,” along with providers of mini-doughnuts, “tornado potatoes,” as well as hotdogs, burgers, wraps, perogies, sno-cones and ice cream.
“We tried to mix it up as much as possible,” Milford told the Langley Advance Times.
Milford said a few food truck operators even shifted their schedules around to fit the fair in, preferring a four-day stint, where they don’t have to relocate, over one-day events.
This year, fair sponsor Pepsi will be providing soft drink and water products to all the vendors, who liked the idea of having someone look after beverages, Milford said.
“It helps them keep their costs down,” Milford explained.
Trucks will be setting up Thursday before the fair commencement at 3 p.m., and remain open all weekend.
This year’s fair will also feature a beverage garden with the traditional Molson Coors selections and three local craft breweries; Aldergrove’s, Locality, Langley’s Trading Post and Langley City’s Farm Country Brewing, as well as local winery Valley Commons in Fort Langley, which is affiliated with Stone Boat Vineyards in the Okanagan.
Locality co-founder Melanie MacInnes was delighted the fair has decided to support and showcase local breweries, calling it “amazing and awesome.”
MacInnes says local brewing is increasing in popularity.
“It’s something that Langley has really embraced,” MacInnes said, with an estimated nine micro-breweries serving the local population.
Locality describes itself as a “field-to-glass” brewery that grows its own barley and hops.
MacInnes likes to refer to Locality’s’ honey lager as a “zero-kilometre” beer — assuming it is consumed at the brewery — as it is made with honey from bees on site, as well as hops and barley grown on location.
While being determinedly local means disruption to the supply chain aren’t as a big a problem, they can still happen, just on a very local scale.
Recent wetter-than-usual weather soaked Locality’s barley field and forced replanting,.
“I think barley in general is going to be tricky [this season],’ MacInnes predicted.
Their old-school approach extends to the equipment used to harvest their crops.
“We use equipment from the 1930s, so we work with the BC Farm Museum [which has loaned expertise in running the older threshing machine and combineused by Locality]. “
Those who want a close-up look at the process will be able to take a tour of the Locality site on Tuesdays, before the fair.
Visitors can book through the online fair site at aldergrovefair.ca/fair.
READ ALSO: A bigger and better Aldergrove Fair is in the works
READ ALSO: Aldergrove Fair heads to the farm
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