Food Truck/Tent Application

📅 Date: July 16, 17, 18, 2026
📍 Location: Downtown Blenheim, Ontario
⏰ Time: Thursday and Friday - 9:00 am to 11:00 pm. Saturday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
🌐 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blenheimcherryfest

Thank you for your interest in Blenheim Cherryfest. If you've been a vendor with us in the past, you are not automatically accepted to this event. Vendors must apply every year.

The Food Truck application includes anyone making and serving food out of a truck OR a tent. It also includes any businesses/non-profit organizations selling hot food & drinks that are prepared or consumed on site, like hot dogs, popcorn, hot chocolate, fries, etc.

Acceptance Criteria

To be considered for acceptance, you must:

1. Be available for all three days of Cherryfest. You may not attend for only one or two days.

2. Have high-quality products and packaging

3. Submit high-quality photos

4. Not be sharing a spot with another vendor (unless you apply together)

5. Be in good standing, based on behaviour at previous events (this includes cancelling with no warning, being rude to volunteers/guests/security/police/other vendors, having prohibited items in your tent, not responding to our e-mails, not following instructions, etc)

6. Sell within one 10x10 tent or have an approved spots for trailers/vans

7. Be inspected by your local Public Health Unit

8. Follow ALL Public Health requirements if you are selling food. This includes proper waste water collection and disposal.

9. Be willing to fill out the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit's food form, if accepted

10. Not sell alcohol. There is a licensed area at Cherryfest, however, it is currently limited to existing partners.

Before Applying

Read the application in full to ensure you understand our process. Incomplete application forms will not be reviewed. Remember the requirements you indicate in your application as these will be used during our planning process. If our process is unclear, please e-mail us before applying.

After You Apply
We highly recommend you check your junk mail if you're expecting a response from us. We are not responsible for missed deadlines due to e-mails going into junk/spam folders.

Deadline
Because we receive hundreds of applications, we will keep applications open until June 1. After that time, we will only accept new applications if spots open up in under represented categories.

Acceptances
Due to the number of applications we receive, not everyone will be accepted. Being accepted in the past is not a guarantee you will be accepted to this event.

If you've been a vendor with us in the past but are not accepted to this event, please know that we appreciate you and enjoyed having you as a vendor! We want to give more vendors like you the chance to be at this event, too.

Vendors will be selected based on criteria outlined in the application below.

Fees

• $300 for a 10'x10' spot for three days

• $500 for trailers/vans for three days

If accepted, you will receive instructions for how to pay your fee. Payment is due within one week of acceptance. 

PUBLIC HEALTH UNIT FORM

You will be required to fill out Chatham-Kent's Public Health Unit Food Form, if accepted. You can view this form here: https://www.chatham-kent.ca/apply/Documents/2b.%20Special%20Event%20Food%20Vendor%20Notification%20Form.pdf

Kindness Policy

Our goal is to create an event atmosphere that is joyful, accepting, and welcoming of all guests and participants. To do this, we expect all vendors, volunteers, community groups, downtown businesses, guests, and organizers to:

• Respect each other and treat each other with kindness

• Respect Police Officers, Security Guards, and Volunteers when they’re doing their job to keep us all safe

• Not use hate speech, name calling, or offensive language

• Not hand out literature that promotes discrimination towards a certain group or groups

• Solve problems together in a calm, collaborative manner

• Be kind, understanding, and work together with everyone 

Individuals who show aggressive behaviour, ignore our policies and safety measures, and/or are disrespectful towards others will not be accepted to future events.

Safety Policy

All roads in our event space are closed to all traffic, with some exceptions. As soon as the roads are closed, Downtown Blenheim becomes a pedestrian-only space (not including emergency vehicle access if necessary). 

Barricades are in place not only to stop traffic from coming in but also to inform drivers that the road is closed. If a vendor moves a barricade to drive around it, anyone behind them will think they can also drive in. Very quickly, several vehicles begin to enter the event space. We have implemented drive-in time during setup for food trucks and vendors who request it for accessibility reasons. This process ensures that vendors know where to enter and where to exit and this process is supervised by an organizer.

The safety of you, our guests, volunteers, and ourselves is of greatest importance. We can only achieve this if everyone reads and follows our instructions.

Anyone who doesn’t follow our instructions during setup and takedown will not be accepted to future events and depending on the situation, may not be welcome to participate in the event at all. We will have police officers and security guards monitoring as many entrance and exit points to ensure that all participants are following our instructions. Volunteers will also keep us informed. We ask that you respect all volunteers, police, security, and organizers during the entire event, especially during setup and takedown.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is this taking place outside?

Yes. The entire event takes place outdoors in the heart of downtown Blenheim. Because this event takes place outdoors, we cannot guarantee weather. Please keep this in mind before submitting an application.

2. Is there hydro? Can I bring a generator?

Generators are permitted for food trucks.

3. I have a question about the event/application process. What is the best way to reach the organizers?

If you have any questions about the application process or are experiencing problems filling out the form, please email blenheimcherryfest@gmail.com.

4. Why must I attend all three days?

Cherryfest is a three day event and we have a designated layout that must be approved to meet municipal and provincial requirements. Having vendors choose to attend only a portion of the event makes this difficult for our group of volunteers to arrange. In addition, we have vendors who are eager to attend all three days.