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A new buzz caught Oklahoma Christian University students’ attention when they heard about a new food truck festival in the Edmond area.
Food truck festivals have been popping up around the Oklahoma City area for some time now. One of the most popular festivals is H&8th Night Market.
Junior Emma Axtell has attended multiple food truck-oriented gatherings in the metro area, including H&8th and LIVE on the Plaza.
“It’s just a cool way to enjoy the city and see what Oklahoma City has to offer,” Axtell said about the festivals.
Modeled after H&8th, Edmond’s festival Heard on Hurd is hosted by Edmond’s Citizens Bank downtown and brings the casual enjoyment of food truck festivals closer to campus.
Heard on Hurd held its inaugural event Sept. 20 in Downtown Edmond between Main Street and Hurd Street. Live music performances and seven pop-up shops accompanied the food trucks to transform the gathering into a full-scale festival.
“I’m very excited there is a local food truck festival in Edmond now,” Axtell said. “As much as I love LIVE on the Plaza and H&8th, the drive there and back is a bit of a hassle. It is great to know that there’s a festival close by.”
According to the Heard on Hurd Facebook page, the festival, scheduled for its second time on Oct. 18, is “family-friendly, pet-friendly and hipster-friendly.”
“I was disappointed I could not go to the first Heard on Hurd, but my family went and only had great things to say about it,” Axtell said. “I’m already planning on going to the next one so I can experience food trucks here in Edmond.”
Besides attending the local festivals, Axtell expressed interest in having food trucks on campus for events during the school year in order to bring them even closer.
“I think it would be cool, and the best part about it is its completely free if you want it to be,” Axtell said. “You don’t have to pay to go. You don’t have to pay unless you want to buy something. It’s low cost, which is kind of nice, especially for college students.”
Junior Vivian Edmunson, Oklahoma Christian executive homecoming director, hopes to create an environment similar to the popular food truck festivals at homecoming this year, Nov. 14-15.
“We’re looking at having about four or five food trucks for the Friday night event of homecoming,” Edmunson said. “It’s still kind of in the works.”
Food trucks could bring something new to an annual Oklahoma Christian event, according to Edmunson.
“I think it goes along with the theme really well, because it’s a 90s theme,” Edmunson said. “We’re trying to do a big block party, and so I think it will be really good. And, I think it will bring a lot of people that wouldn’t normally go to homecoming events out and about… it will be really cool.”
Dean of Students Neil Arter said food trucks have provided food for activities at Oklahoma Christian before.
“We’ve done some of those before at events,” Arter said. “We’ve had just one truck out for certain events, like at the beginning of school we have had some concerts during those first weeks, and we’ve had food trucks out then.”
Arter said he would be supportive of having a festival on campus in the future.
“I’d love it,” Arter said. “I think it’s a great idea. I don’t see a reason why we couldn’t do it here.”
Axtell said having food trucks on campus would be a good way to share Oklahoma City culture with students from other areas.
“There are a lot of students here from Oklahoma, but, at the same time, there are a lot of students that aren’t from Oklahoma,” Axtell said. “I think it would just be a cool way for them to see, you know, ‘Hey, Oklahoma is not just Edmond.’ You’ve got all of these other cool things that you can experience while you’re here.”
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