An estimated 2,000 people streamed into Wareham Village on Saturday to sample food and drinks from local vendors, shop, and enjoy a perfect fall day for the first annual Fall Food Truck Festival.

The festival was sponsored by the Wareham Village and Onset Village Associations, and was their first major collaboration on an event. Although several food trucks pulled out in the days leading up to the festival, Kat Jones and Tracy McGraw, the leaders of the two village associations, were pleased with the event. 

“I think it’s only going to grow,” said McGraw. “It’s a nice crowd. It’s a perfect day.”

Music by the Redneck Front Porch and the Herringbone Band filled the air while attendees enjoyed food from Chef Kev’s, a truck offering clams, pizza by the slice, and many sweet treats. 

Rachel Ross, the baker behind Crazy for Cookies, was serving up a variety of classic and innovative cookies for eager customers. Among her more unusual flavors were caramel apple, lemon coconut, and maple walnut.

“What I usually do is I think of a flavor I really like — like pumpkin, maple, apple — and what flavor would really work as a cookie,” Ross said. She also considers the time of year and the time of day when choosing what flavors to bake: for a morning event, she might choose blueberry scones and cookies that include bacon.

A mother of three, Ross bakes all her cookies in her home kitchen and tastes everything for quality control. While her cookies aren’t available in stores, they can be purchased online at www.crazyforcookies.biz.

JJ’s Sundae Express, a Carver-based ice cream truck that is a fixture in Wareham each summer, was on hand to provide some refreshing frozen desserts.

The truck, which is run by Erin and Bill Russell, is not the typical ice cream truck. While there are some classic novelties on offer, the couple focuses on offering premium ice cream and sundaes. On Saturday, the specials included a hot fudge brownie sundae and a warm apple crisp and caramel sundae. 

Ice cream floats and cones are also a mainstay on the truck, which is a refurbished, turquoise schoolbus. Currently, the Russells own two trucks and are planninf to refurbish a third this winter. For more information, or to book the truck for a party, visit the JJ’s Sundae Express Facebook page or call 508-866-4466.

Onset-based artist Nancy Sawyer’s booth featured an impressive array of her artwork, including photographs of wildlife, nature, and local landmarks, alongside her striking illustrations of fish. Her pen and ink drawings of fish favored by local fisherman are scientific in their accuracy, and her t-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the designs are always bestsellers. 

“My dad was a fisherman, and we grew up on striped bass and bluefish,” said Sawyer, who said her father is her inspiration.
She spends a few months in West Virginia each winter, photographing wildlife and drawing. This year, she is planning on adding fresh-water fish to her repertoire. To contact Sawyer or order her artwork and t-shirts, email nsawyer27@peoplepc.com or call 508-494-2347.

Festival organizers are planning on making the event an annual tradition, and are considering moving it between the Wareham Village location and Onset Pier each year.