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06/09/2020 02:05 PMThough the Guilford Fair has been canceled this year due to the pandemic, any resident still longing for a taste of its storied snacks is in luck, with a parade of food trucks lining up this weekend—Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14—at the fairgrounds to offer a drive-through selections of ice cream, fried dough, frozen lemonade, and a bevy of other foods emblematic of Guilford’s beloved fall festival.
Frank Flood, who owns Ultimate Sundae and has been in the food/ice cream truck business for many years, is leading the group that includes many Guilford Fair staples along with newcomers, and will allow residents to partake in a smorgasbord of their favorite treats without worrying about overcrowding.
“Because of COVID, we had to change everything,” Flood. “I said, ‘You know what, let’s do a drive through.’ It took a month of planning just to get the first one off the ground.”
Essentially, the way the festivals function is to have residents wait in their cars, ordering from as many trucks as they want on a single menu, according to Flood. Runners then bring the whole order on a tray, at which point people can be on their way or find a spot to sit in their car, roll the windows down, and enjoy the food and good weather, Flood said.
A nearly identical festival in Harwinton that flood helped run was very successful and was “very smooth,” Flood said, serving about 1,200 cars in two weekends.
Working closely both with his fellow vendors as well as the Guilford Agricultural Society, which owns and operates the fairground, Flood said the festival is the result of weeks of painstaking meetings, planning, and logistics, though the reputation of Guilford’s fair made putting on a good festival here a priority.
“My first two calls were to Guilford and Harwinton,” Flood said. “Myself, I’ve been at those fairs for a number of years. [My] family has been at Guilford for over 40 years.”
Vendors, many of whom depend on fairs and other local gatherings to keep their businesses afloat, were “ecstatic” to be able to offer something during the pandemic, Flood said, and he expects people to be just as happy to have such a unique opportunity for snacking.
The festival will go on rain or shine, Flood said. A downpour in Harwinton saw the vendors swapping out runners, who took turns drying off before returning to their duties, Flood said.
The setup also allows a high level of efficiency, according to Flood, with a wait time of around or less than 20 minutes, even during the busiest times.
“It’s been awesome. People’s reaction is, ‘Oh my gosh I can get the same ice cream I got at the fair,’” Flood said. “It’s more for the people and for the fair—we give back a lot to the fair.”
In fact, Flood said he has already spoken to Guilford Agricultural Society President John Hammarlund about extending the festival for another weekend this month, likely Father’s Day weekend on June 20 and 21, and even about returning for an encore on the scheduled date of the fair at the end of September.
Depending on the state-wide reopening and the status of the pandemic, a September festival might be “much less restricted,” Flood said, though exactly what kind of services or entertainment they might offer is still up in the air.
The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 13 and 14. Vendors that will be present are Low n Slow, Johnny Potato, Chicken Shack, Leo’s Lunch, Debs Café, Ultimate Sundae, Smash Bros. Concessions, and Dad’s Lemonade.