Thank you for your interest in bringing your food truck to the Carolina Renaissance Festival this October and November!
This season, I'm booking three types of service: Weekends Backstage, Tuesday Afternoon Lunches, and Cast Party. All trucks will be required to submit a COI with AI; information will be provided if your truck is booked. You must also agree to and sign the Festival Management's Agreement.
Here are the opportunities:
1) Weekends Backstage, serving the cast and crew. These jobs are weekends during Festival hours. You MUST arrive no later than 8:30am; you may leave anytime between 3:30 and 6:30pm. In the past, most trucks have sold out before 3:30pm. As we've been providing this service for several years now, popularity has grown. Last year's trucks averaged 100-150 lunches. You would be serving the staff of the Renaissance Festival...there are about 1000 staff members but of course, they wouldn't all patronize the truck. However, long lines at the concession stands make it almost impossible for a staff member to purchase lunch there within their allotted break time, so they LOVE having a truck available in the back. *Due to contractual obligations the Festival has with their beverage company, you will NOT be allowed to sell ANY beverages backstage. *Rain or shine. (But if it's REALLY awful out, or it rained very, very hard the day before, be sure to check the Festival's Facebook page to be sure we're open...it doesn't close often, but it has been known to happen in extreme circumstances.) *There is electric available; if you can't plug into the service, you must have a quiet generator.
Here are the two most important things about Weekend Backstage Service: FAST turn-around and price point. 1) Fast Turn-Around: If you have a way people can pre-order for a pick-up at a certain time, that would be wonderful. Trucks that can reliably provide this service are preferred. 2) Price Point: MANY of the staff are volunteers. MANY work for minimum wage. In short, price point matters. Last year, a truck offered a three-tier menu, with prices at $5, $10, and $15. That worked VERY well. Trucks that can offer something similar are preferred. If you need to, and are willing to, create a menu that is (1) limited variety for faster turn-around, or has a couple of specific menu items that can be turned around very quickly, and (2) smaller portions if you need to, to accommodate the lower price offerings, that's absolutely fine. Again, that three-tier system worked well, and is something worth considering.
2) Tuesday Lunches There are hundreds of artisans, entertainers, and workers who live on-site in campers or tents for the run of the Festival. I'm looking for trucks to serve lunch on Tuesday afternoons. This would be outside the backstage area. There are NO restrictions on price points or menu on Tuesday. There are NO restrictions on serving your regular beverages; please do plan on selling drinks. There is NO electricity available, but there is also NO quiet generator requirement. (need hours)
3) Cast Party The evening of November 10. We'll need three trucks with non-conflicting menus. No beverage service. Last year was the first year we did this, and it was very successful. (need hours)
*If you book, please do NOT cancel. I cannot stress this enough. The staff relies on the trucks, and last minute cancellations shake their trust that a truck will be there the next day, so all the subsequent trucks suffer lose revenue because people bring lunch instead. Also, it makes me look bad, which brings me to: *Please do NOT make me look bad. I'm trusted with booking trucks each year because in addition to my own ice cream trucks, I own a business (leather-making) at the Festival. CRF was the first Renaissance Festival in the country to put food trucks backstage because of this. It is very important to me that trucks complete their obligations as scheduled. Don't accept a booking if there is a possibility you won't be able to complete it, and if you find yourself needing to cancel, let me know ASAP so I can try to fill your spot.
If you're interested, complete and submit the form below. The deadline to apply is xxx, a week from today. Thank you, Karen