Spring Food Truck Rodeo at Durham Central Park!

Come downtown for our Spring Food Truck Rodeo, one of the longest standing events at DCP! Our rodeos feature trucks and drink vendors of all types for you to enjoy in the park or as you’re passing through. Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeos aren’t just a great place to relax and eat great local street food, they also support Durham Central Park. These events raise much needed funds that help to operate, beautify, program and improve the park’s five acres.

April 14th will feature exciting activities to celebrate the Lao Solar New Year! String ceremony, flower crown making with the Scrap Exchange, face painting, muay thai demonstration, a thai cooking class, Bull City Inflatables, DJ and more will be on the lawn!

Sign up for our newsletter to get our Rodeo map, updates on non-profit part times and family activities, and be the first to get the truck lineup!

Volunteer at our rodeos! We rely on volunteers to help make Rodeos happen. Because we appreciate all our volunteers, they can earn credit hours and Truck Bucks to spend with any vendor. We have jobs for all ages and abilities- set up, staffing the table, breakdown and keeping our event waste-free. Click here to sign up to volunteer!

No matter what, Food Truck Rodeos are rain or shine.

Although most trucks accept credit cards, an ATM machine is on site if needed.

If you need to park nearby, the lots to our South and West are open

Though dogs are welcome, please keep them on regular (not retractable) leashes

So that you get maximum enjoyment, bring a blanket or a lawn chair so that you can experience a quintessential Durham afternoon with friends and family.

Looking for or trucks that participate? Have other questions? Check the Food Truck Rodeo FAQ

The April Rodeo features a celebration of the Solar New Year!

It is a tradition of several Southeast Asian countries including Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and India. So, we have been working with the owners of Lao Lao Food Truck to bring a Solar New Year celebration to the rodeo! The Solar New Year celebration will happen on the lawn at the north end of the pavilion (next to the apartment building and Glass Jug). Many thanks to Brandy and family from Lao Lao Food Truck for helping to bring this wonderful celebration to the rodeo!

Solar New Year Celebration Schedule:

12PM - Arrival- flower garland activity with Scrap Exchange and a Great Good Space - the string ceremony area ( in Lao culture during a celebration it is traditional to exchange and tie string bracelets on wrist of friends and family while saying well wishes for the New Year)

1:00PM - Cooking class with Mew from Eat Thai Raleigh

1:30PM - Muay Thai Demo courtesy of Jai Su Muay Thai

3:00PM - Water blessing and Dance (in Lao culture it is tradition to share water blessing over our friends and family from a bowl)

In addition to the Solar New Year celebration, we will have local Southeast Asian Artists and organizations, a bounce house for the kids (thank you Bull City Inflatables!), a face painter, and DJ Soul will be spinning tunes and, of course, all our amazing Food Trucks will be providing great food and drink!

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Durham Central Park, 501 Foster Street, Durham, United States