FoCo Food Truck Rally showcases local business, creativity

Sofia Raikow

Members of the Fort Collins community walk in City Park next to a long row of food trucks and sit in the nearby grass, enjoying food at the weekly FOCO Food Truck Rally Aug. 26.

Carlee Elders, Staff Reporter

Huddled under a small Mishawaka-branded tent, local Fort Collins cover band The Honey Roses plays Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” for a growing crowd of people. A young woman sitting near, wearing a blue shirt and black shorts fit for an outdoor outing, stands and starts dancing to the beat.

Water-filled clouds covered the sky since the band began their concert. As the woman danced, the sun emerged from behind the clouds, the rays of light brightening up Fort Collins’ City Park.

Following the end of the song, the lead singer acknowledged the woman’s enthusiasm and dedicated the next cover, Arctic Monkeys’ “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor,” to her. She squealed happily and restarted her dance.

This small, heartwarming moment is one of many examples of why the FOCO Food Truck Rally is a must-attend summer event.

Fort Collins residents Elizabeth Movinsky and Sam Lumsden stand by a row of food trucks, waiting for their food to be served at the Food Truck Rally in City Park, a weekly event that brings food trucks to Fort Collins in the summer months Aug. 26. “We’re doing a music grad program meet-up,” Movinksy said. (Collegian | Sofia Raikow)

The event takes place every Tuesday at City Park from 5:30 p.m. to dusk, routinely yielding a massive crowd of people.

Dogs on leashes happily pranced beside their owners. Parents playfully ran with their kids. Family members and friends reunited and created a circle of lawn chairs, with a picnic blanket in the middle as a resting place for their truck food.

The Fort Collins Food Truck Rally is not just an event but a community, and the woman who made it possible is Sarah Ladley, the owner and organizer.

In 2011, Ladley started her independent business, Ba-Nom-a-Nom, as a booth, which she converted into a food truck a year later.

At the time, there was a limit to the number of trucks that could park in one place in Fort Collins — a maximum of four. Ladley would have made an hour trek into Denver to get proper business, an inconvenience for someone who also worked full-time at a hospital.
“It brings me so much joy. Just being there creates that sense of community.” –Sarah Ladley, FOCO Food Truck Rally creator and organizer
But Ladley is a woman of passion. She loved and wanted to continue running Ba-Nom-a-Nom, and she wanted other food trucks in the same situation to have a local outlet to conduct their business as well.

“Food truck workers are the hardest working people I’ve seen in my life,” Ladley said.

And so she took the matter to the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Departments. The result of her efforts was the FoCo Food Truck Rally.

It started in 2013 with four trucks. As of 2025, Ladley has provided an outlet for 51 vendors to conduct their businesses and for local bands to play in front of a large crowd.

Ladley never expected the rally would become such a success. “It brings me so much joy,” Ladley said. “Just being there creates that sense of community.”

Ashley Zwick, a Colorado State University senior, carries food and a drink she purchased at a barbecue station at City Park during the weekly Food Truck Rally for community members to go to the park and try new foods Aug. 26. “Community is what brings me to the food truck rally,” Zwick said. (Collegian | Sofia Raikow)

The FOCO Food Truck Rally is not limited to food trucks. On Sept. 2, two different vendors were present.

The first was Chez Flora Houseplant Co., an independent business brought to life from Colorado State University alumna Nika Linn’s passion for plant life.

Parked at the rally was Linn’s “plant bus,” a modern converted shuttle with a vintage-chic decorated interior where she sells Colorado-based plants and other small goodies, including a variety of cute planting pots, camping mugs and jewelry.

Linn said she wants to connect and share her passion with her customers. When a customer is interested in a plant, Linn eagerly shares her knowledge of each one and explains in detail how to take care of it.

The other business was a nonprofit traveling library called The Stained Page Project, run by Ezmay Newman.

They conduct their business from a converted 1946 Willys Overland Jeep, hand-decorated with stained glass windows, an oversized wooden book with their mission statement written in golden cursive and pull-out bookshelves that house the books anyone is free to take home.

Their business, Newman said, is built on their belief that, “art, literature (and) community really need to come together.”

Despite not selling food, both Linn and Newman’s businesses fit seamlessly into the rally’s fun and inviting atmosphere. If you meet either of them, you will immediately feel welcome.

Fort Collins resident Roni Lockwood approaches a food truck to order a meal at the weekly Food Truck Rally at City Park, a community event happening every Tuesday afternoon in the summertime for people to spend time in the park and eat food Aug. 26. (Collegian | Sofia Raikow)

When attendees were asked how they found out about the FOCO Food Truck Rally, the answer was always by recommendation.

Sofi Slaugh was attending the event with her dog, Luna, for the first time, persuaded by her friends Megan (or Morgan?) Gardner and Emma Smith, who had both visited before.

Gardner said she loves the rally’s atmosphere.

“It’s good to see people outside and not in their houses all the time,” Gardner said while sitting in the grass.

Smith pointed out the variety of options the event provides.

Her choice? Some mouthwatering fried chicken and waffles. Gardner, on the opposite end, enjoyed some “amazing” pork dumplings.

The final day in 2025 for the FoCo Food Truck Rally is Sept. 16.

Reach Carlee Elders at life@collegian.com or on social media @rmcollegian.