Hey Stamford Food Festival

The city of Stamford Downtown has many exciting events during the summer, and today I am going to tell you all about another one! It is called the Hey Stamford Food Festival, and it will take place over the course of two weekends in August at Mill River Park. The event features a variety of food trucks, vendors, live performances, and many other exciting things. In this post, I will talk about what they have had at the event in the past, work my way through the years, and finish with what they have in store for this year. 

The event first started in 2017, and only lasted one day. There were two headliner performers that year, which were both tribute acts, and they were a 90s act called Fresh Kids of Bel-Air and Back to the Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl. They also had a number of food trucks and restaurants participating in the event, which included the Kona Ice truck, a pizza truck called Dough Girls, local restaurant chain The Granola Bar, and Connecticut food chain Donut Crazy. 

In its second year in 2018, the event got expanded to last a whole weekend. The event also seemed to get bigger this year in almost every aspect. They had two notable headliner performers each day, which were 90s rapper Tone Loc and country singer Dylan Scott. There was also a larger lineup of options for food, with many of the vendors returning from the previous year, along with some new additions like Walter’s Hot Dogs, Hoodoo Brown BBQ from Ridgefield, and Dinosaur BBQ, which is a restaurant that used to be in Stamford. They also had a beer garden that was supplied by The Blind Rhino in Norwalk, and offered guests Guinness, Guinness Blonde, Corona Light, Modelo, and Half Full Brewery. There was also an area for kids to play in that had a fun bus, a bounce house, painting options from Stamford business Pinot’s Palette, and face painting. 

In its third year in 2019, they got several more options for food that I am already familiar with. These included Three Little Pigs BBQ from Hawthorne, New York, Cousins Maine Lobster, and Coalhouse Pizza from Stamford. There were also several vegetarian and vegan options this year, including a vegan pop-up from Vegged Out Events. It also lasted two days again, and it had a headliner on both days, which was Michael Lee from “The Voice” with the BB King Blues Band and a tribute act called Decades Rewind.

Like everything else in 2020, the event got cancelled due to the pandemic, but it returned in 2021, and they pulled out all the stops to celebrate its return. This was its first year of being more than one weekend, and they were long weekends as they both lasted from Thursday to Sunday. They also had an enormous lineup of over 100 food vendors, which included some usual favorites like Kona Ice and Longford’s Ice Cream, and many new additions from the surrounding area like Wrapper’s Delight, John the Baker, Bobo’s Café, and the Mobile Pie Pizza Truck from right here in Mount Kisco. They also had a variety of fun things there for people to enjoy, including happy hour from The Blind Rhino, Slice Slice Baby, which is described as the ultimate Friday night pizza party, something called Parm-A-Palooza presented by Food Network star Christian Petroni, and Ice Cream Sunday. They also had two headliner performers that year, which were a tribute act called One Night of Queen, and iconic rapper Nelly, who I am impressed they were able to get to do a show.

When the event happened again in 2022, they pulled out the stops even more. Like the previous year, it also lasted two weekends that went from Thursday to Sunday. It also had over 50 vendors, with some returning from previous years, such as the Blind Rhino Truck, Longford’s Ice Cream, the Mobile Pie Pizza Truck, some new additions from the area including Fortina and Pieology Pizzeria, and even bigger chains like the Mister Softee ice cream truck and Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs. They also had cooking demonstrations from chef, restauranteur, author, entrepreneur, and television star Todd English and Food Network star and restauranteur Aaron May. There were also appearances from two WWE Superstars, Happy Corbin and Liv Morgan, who were there to raise money and awareness for charity and sign autographs and take photos with fans. Where they really pulled out the stops was with the performers that year, as they had a grand total of four headliners with two performing each weekend. These were a Journey tribute band, the I Love the 90s Tour which featured Young MC, Rob Base, All-4-One, and Vanilla Ice, DJ Pauly D from “Jersey Shore,” and rapper Flo Rida. I am amazed that they were able to book so many headliners in one year over the course of four days. 

In 2023, they decided to scale things back with the event. What I mean is that they did not have any big headliner performers that year, instead choosing to go with local artists, and while the event still lasted two weekends, it now went from Friday to Sunday. They still had a ton of other things though, as there were over 40 food vendors that year. There was also the Women of Stamford marketplace that year, which featured many women-owned local businesses. They also had a variety of fun things happening on each day of the event. These included Pizza Palooza, which was described as Connecticut’s ultimate pizza party, a Food Truck Frenzy that lasted two days, a Taylor Swift dance party, Island Vibes, which featured a pig roast, tropical drinks, and island music, and BBQ in the Park. There was also a special guest at the event that year, which was Teresa Giudice from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”

The event is returning this year, and it will be lasting two weekends again. The first weekend will be from August 15-August 18, while the second weekend will be from August 23-August 25. They are doing something different this year though, as the first weekend is described on the website as being a culinary delight, while the second weekend is described as shifting to a musical focus. The first weekend is kicking off with a Taylor Swift vs. Olivia Rodrigo Dance Party. The next day is going to be PizzaPalooza, which is going to be hosted by TikTok star Julia Molinari, and there will also be a performance by Pop Rocks. The day after that is going to be Food Truck Frenzy, which will also feature the 1st Annual Burger Bash hosted by celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, and featuring a star-studded panel of judges including Melissa Gorga, Adam Richman, Lil’ Mo’ Mozzarella, and Julia Molinari. The last day of the first weekend is Island Vibes, which will have tropical drinks, a pig roast, and more. The second weekend is called Hey Stamford After Dark, which is going to feature food from the region’s top restaurants, food trucks, a beer garden, and live music. While there has only been one announcement for this weekend, it is one that I feel is one of the biggest announcements they have ever made. On Friday August 23, there is going to be a performance from legendary rapper 50 Cent. I am impressed that they were able to book a rapper of his caliber for the event, and it makes me curious as to who else they will book during the second weekend. 

Overall, this is another fun event in Downtown Stamford that is worth going to, so get your tickets and go have some amazing food and go hear some amazing music!