Piedmonters and visitors from around the area showed up hungry for last Sunday’s inaugural Food Fest, held in Piedmont Park under blue skies.
“The Food Fest team set out to celebrate the vibrant diversity of the Bay, with the Bay,” said Roger Tsai, the event’s lead organizer. “Judging from the nearly 1,500 attendees from Piedmont as well as San Francisco, Fremont, Oakland, and Berkeley, we’re ecstatic to have broadened our sense of community through this event.”
The new event was pulled together by a group of 13 volunteers who sought to raise cultural awareness through music and food. The volunteers leading the charge — Roger Tsai, Diana Lee, Kala Hale, Judy Jang, Michelle Mazzeo, Kyle Killion, Amy Kelly, David Lau, Tien Teng, Abha Kothari, Ellen Lee, and Lisa Carnazzo — were joined by many more who showed up to work the day of the event.
Organizers say $1,000 raised from the event will be donated to Oakland Bloom, a nonprofit that helps poor and working class immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC chefs start their own food businesses through a business training and incubator program. The leftover funds will be used to support next year’s event.
The event featured seven food trucks, four food booths, a beer and wine pavilion, a kid zone, and a performance stage with four different musical acts.
A map of food and activities and the schedule for musical performances near the check in table 
Each food truck had a Food Story board with their origin story, connection to the food, and fun facts 
A boy collects his order of boba teas from Kiss My Boba 
Long lines at all the food trucks 
Art by local elementary school kids answers the question, “what’s in your bowl?” 
City Councilmember Jen Cavenaugh works the check-in table 
Local chef Robert Dorsey prepares food for his many customers 
Chocolate chip cookies for sale at local business Mo’s Bake Shop 
Inside the Community Hall, aka the Wine and Beer Pavilion 
A little girl tosses a bean bag at the clowns with her dad’s assist 
A young girl tosses a bean bag at the cans in the Kidz Zone 
Oakland Samba Revue plays an eclectic mix of Brazilian Samba 
A mom and her baby dance to the samba music 
Two volunteers make rainbow colored sno-cones 
Two girls color peppers at a table in the “Kidz Zone” 
A little boy tosses rings onto Coca-Cola bottles 
Food Fest reusable tumblers at the event
Incredible event that brought the community together on a beautiful day.