Seven food vendors will set up shop at West Bank Bridge Park on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to serve food during the parish’s Independence Day Celebration. The event will also include caricature drawings, face painting and a longer firework display to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the parish’s July 3rd event.
Sweet Joy Delights on Ice, MoFries, Mangia! Eat!, Shenell’s Seafood, Southerns, Daretta’s, Catering, and Taste of Nola on Wheels are included in the food truck lineup this year.
Sweet Joy will serve snowballs. Mangia! Eat! will serve tacos, Mexican corn in a cup, and churros. MoFries will sell loaded fries. Shenell’s Seafood will serve chicken wings, fried fish and hot dogs. Southerns will offer chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, cracklin and fries. Daretta’s Catering will serve hamburgers and cheeseburgers with fries, and Taste of Nola on Wheels will offer snowballs.
Owners of Southerns, Anthony Cruz and Gene Colley, said they are excited to serve food to their neighbors.
“We live in St Charles Parish, so we always look forward to feeding the community we live in,” Cruz said. “We will be serving up our award-winning chicken sandwiches, tenders, cracklins, and glazed beignets for the event.”
Grayson Touchard, a spokesperson for parks and recreation department, said the department’s goal is to keep growing the event each year and welcome even more local food vendors in the future.
“We’re always looking for ways to make this event the best it can be, and bringing in new local food vendors is one way to do just that,” Touchard said.
Touchard encouraged residents to bring lawn chairs. Residents can bring their own ice chests.
“We’re excited to celebrate our 35th annual July 3rd event with you and hope everyone has a wonderful time,” Touchard said.
The celebration begins at 5:30 p.m. with a local Boy Scout troop raising the flag. Gabrielle Touchard will perform the national anthem. Ryan Foret and the Foret Tradition will take the stage at 6 p.m., and fireworks will launch at 9 p.m.
I-310 southbound and northbound off-ramps to River Road (LA 18) will be closed 15 minutes before the fireworks and throughout the show, and River Road (LA 18) will be closed from Ashton Road to the School Board Office.
Residents will not be able to use the bike path, drive, or walk past barricades near the levee during the fireworks assembly and cleanup.
Pets, glass bottles, and poppers are not allowed in West Bank Bridge Park. No alcohol will be sold at the event.
The state fire marshal has ordered that no one be allowed to enter or leave the park for up to 30 minutes before and after the fireworks show.
