AMBOY – Kirstyn Carter wanted to do something different in Amboy.

She racked her brain for ideas and came up with Food Truck Thursday which took place September 7 in the Depot Museum parking lot.

It was a hit.

The community enjoyed the variety of vendors, and the vendors enjoyed the quantity of customers.

The success of the event had many people asking Carter when she was going to set up another. The answer is, once a month throughout April-September 2024.

“I think it’s awesome. I wanted something where the community could come together. It blew my mind that the Food Truck Thursday in September was such a hit,” said Carter, who is a secretary at Amboy High School. “I’m glad people are looking forward to other food truck dates and I’m glad I can do something for the community to bring us all out regularly instead of once a year for Depot Days.

“This is something different everyone can look forward to.”

The food truck dates for 2024 are April 29, May 20, June 17, July 22, August 12, and September 23.

All are Mondays.

“I’m moving it to Mondays, so I don’t take away from businesses in Amboy,” Carter said. “I don’t want to step on toes, but I want to offer some different options. I’ve been booking food trucks for 2024 since the fall of 2023 because they’re starting to cover their schedules. I wanted to make sure I got in there first.”

In mid-December, Carter had eight vendors booked for April 29 including HoneyBee Apiary, Home Grown in Illinois, Taco Guzman, Deebo’s Taco Truck, Philly Factory, Flo’s on Pulaski, JYD’s, and Southwest Taco.

Coqui Comfort will debut in June.

“I’m still looking for other vendors, including BBQ. I still have some other vendors in discussions, but we’re ranging from 5-8 vendors on each of our dates,” Carter said. I’m open to any vendors who want to join. We’re still going to be at Amboy Depot Museum parking lot.

“In September, the vendors were asked for a donation to go toward the museum. This time around, the donations will go to a different organization within the Amboy area each month. We will also have a donation jar at HoneyBee Apiary for extra donations.”

The vendor donations will be $25 for each food truck event and the first organization receiving the donations will be Clipper Kiddies.