Rather than heating up the grill this Independence Day, head to Riverfront Park for the annual July 4th Food Truck Festival and Fireworks. This free event runs from 3-9pm but select trucks will begin serving at 1pm, and trust us, you will want to take advantage of this extra belly stuffing time! Read on for more details on everything the festival has to offer.
Food Trucks
With 40+ food trucks stationed along RiverFront Park, you’ll need the foodie guide to plan how to eat your way through the festival! Fifteen trucks are new to the festival this year and some of them are rolling into Harrisburg for the first time! Food items include artisanal grilled cheese, brisket and pulled pork sandwiches, burritos, tacos, pasta alfredo and cannolis, coconut butterfly shrimp and crab cakes.
Festival favorites such as specialty burgers, fresh cut fries, kettle corn, cotton 
candy, fried oreos and funnel cakes will be available along with Farm Show milkshakes! Gluten free, vegetarian and vegan menu items will be available. A foodie guide with a complete list of menu items is available here.
What’s for lunch? Select trucks will arrive early at 1pm to serve lunch. Check the Facebook event for a list of participating trucks. (Please note all other festival activities will not begin until 3pm.)
Fireworks
At 9:15pm, the City will launch the largest fireworks show in Central PA. Launched from the tip of City Island, all of RiverFront Park offers a breathtaking view of the spectacular fireworks display.
Kids Zone
While you’re enjoying the live music and tasting your way through the festival, the kids can stop by the Kids Zone for free face painting, balloons, patriotic handprint crafts and more. Captain America, Wonder Woman and several other superheroes will be there to meet and take Instagram-worthy photos with kids from 5-9pm.
Live Music
The non-stop entertainment starts at 3pm with the Shrimp Ryan Jig Band. The festival has a full line-up of regional and national acts performing a wide variety of your favorite hits and originals. The complete schedule for the live music stage is available here.
Wine Garden
New to the festival this year is a wine garden featuring local vineyards including Nissley Vineyards, J&P Winery, Bouchette Vineyards, 5 Schmucks Winery and the Winery at Hunters Valley. The local vineyards will offer wine for purchase by the glass or a bottle to take home. Lawn games, seating and acoustic music will also be available.
Parking
Street parking on July 4th is FREE! Parking on City Island will be $5 and a special $10 event parking rate is available in the Market Square garage from 10am – 10pm. Handicapped parking will be available at State and Front Streets.
