Buffalo Grove firefighters' Food Truck Festival returning May 13
Buffalo Grove's firefighter's union is inviting everyone to bring their appetite to Mike Rylko Community Park next month to help some special friends of the fire service.
The Buffalo Grove Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Local 3177 is hosting the Fire Up! Food Truck Festival 2023 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 13.
The event will benefit Project Fire Buddies, which teams first responders with children battling pediatric cancer and other serious illnesses.
Fire Buddies firefighters make the children honorary firefighters, visit them at home, play games, read books and make them feel appreciated.
The food truck festival has the local fired up, so much so that it has a dedicated food truck festival committee, said Buffalo Grove Firefighter/Paramedic David Zabilka, who is also the local's secretary.
Already more than $30,000 has been raised from food truck fees and 20 sponsors.
The 20 food trucks will offer a variety of cuisine, including lobster, grilled cheese, pizza, tacos, cookies, popcorn and even a specialty pickle truck.
Soda, which bills itself as "Chicago's premier wedding and corporate band," will perform a mix of classic hits and today's chart toppers, and two local craft beer vendors, Black & Gray and Buffalo Creek, will be on site with some of their most popular offerings.
There also will be activities for children and a balloon animal artist.
The local has donated more than $165,000 to its charitable partners over the last 20 years.
For years, firefighters could be found at the corner of Arlington Heights and Lake-Cook roads taking part in the Fill the Boot campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
That campaign was replaced by the department's first food truck festival in 2019 at Woodland Park, also benefiting MDA.
The COVID-19 pandemic put the festival on hiatus until this year's return.
"We're as excited as everybody to get back to normal post COVID-activities and begin our charitable efforts again," Zabilka said.
For more information, visit the local's Facebook page.