Jammin’ Food Truck Fest is coming to Schoenbrunn

The Jammin’ Food Truck Fest will continue this year with a few necessary changes for health and safety. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 5 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“The safety and well-being of all our volunteers, visitors and staff is our top priority,” Dennison Depot Museum executive director Wendy Zucal said. “We would not proceed with this event without sharing our plan with the health department and making sure all proper safety protocols are in place.”

The festival will support the three local museums: Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, which is a National Historic Landmark; Historic Schoenbrunn Village; and The Museum of Clay Industry and Folk Art in Uhrichsville.

Fourteen food trucks are currently scheduled for the event.

“This includes everything from barbecue, to cupcakes, to grilled cheeses,” said Taylur Cunningham, marketing coordinator for the Dennison Depot, which operates all three sites. “We do have some new trucks including the Green Vegetarian, Slammer’s Patty Wagon, Biscotti by the Bunch and Doug’s Donuts.”

Other trucks in attendance will be Smokin’ Rock and Roll, Cheezylicious, Backwoods Smokehouse, Le Macaron, Ross Mountain BBQ, Hunger Squad, Michael’s Confections, Nuthouse, EntICING Cakes and Messdad Concessions.

Organizers are anticipating a couple more trucks will be added prior to the event.

A number of nonfood vendors also are scheduled to attend including Scentsy, Possum Products, Bear’s Craft Cave, Pampered Chef, Perfectly Posh, Beagle Club Creations/Sew Wright, and homemade pies, jams and crafts.

Supporting the three local museums is more important than ever this year.

“All museums have greatly lost income through admissions and events due to the pandemic,” Zucal said. “It also supports the food truck owners and the nonfood vendors who have lost many events due to the pandemic.”

The sites usually host many tours throughout the year in addition to important fundraising events including the popular Colonial Trade Fair event at Schoenbrunn, which had to be canceled this year due to the pandemic.

“Admissions, school and group tours have declined, although we are so happy that we are able to welcome people back in a safe socially distanced way again,” Zucal said.

All the sites are open with social distancing practices and the use of masks required indoors.

The three area sites run by the depot staff provide a wealth of interesting information on area history and its importance.

The Dennison Railroad Depot reflects the WWII heritage of Dennison when 1.3 million service members were served free food by 4,000 working volunteers at the Dennison Depot Salvation Army Servicemen’s Canteen. The depot now houses an interactive museum, restaurant, theater and gift shop in addition to a large model train layout.

Historic Schoenbrunn Village, once home to 300 Delaware Native Americans and Moravian missionaries near New Philadelphia, was first settled in 1772 by Moravian missionary David Zeisberger. The residents drew up Ohio’s first civil code and built the first Christian church and schoolhouse in Ohio. Today, the village offers a number of reconstructed log buildings to explore in addition to a museum, gift shop, a picnic area and hiking trails.

The Museum of Clay Industry and Folk Art in Uhrichsville shows what the times were like when there were 32 clay plants in the area. Clay pipes were vital to building structures and running sewer pipes below the ground. Clay artisans also shaped the material into amazing pieces of folk art and other useful items.

This year’s Jammin’ Food Truck Fest, although scaled down, will still offer a chance to get out and enjoy some delicious food. Discontinued due to the pandemic is the beer garden, live entertainment and games.

“We look forward to bringing them all back next year,” Cunningham said.

Hitchcock Sound will provide music for the event.

The location of the event also has changed from the lower park level of Historic Schoenbrunn Village to the upper-level main entrance just off East High Avenue. Guests can park in the Timken parking lot across from Schoenbrunn’s main entrance. Members of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office will assist with traffic control.

Guests also may enter the Historic Schoenbrunn Village parking area from Delaware Drive and park there as well.

“Due to the statewide mask mandate, we will require masks for everyone attending the event unless you fall into one of the exclusions set by the state,” Cunningham said. “There will be sanitation stations, social distancing and routing of walkways so that we maintain safe distances.”

Sampler cards will be available at a reasonable cost to allow visitors to sample food at participating food trucks. Socially distanced picnic tables will be available, and all food can be packaged to go.

“We are looking forward to providing a safe, fun event where everyone can enjoy some delicious food and browse through the nonfood vendors while enjoying the music,” Cunningham said. “We also encourage preorders through food trucks for guests who want to get their food and go.”

Donations to the museums are greatly appreciated and can be mailed to the Dennison Depot at P.O. Box 11, Dennison, OH 44621.

For more information visit the Jammin’ Food Truck Fest page on Facebook.