WINCHENDON –The fourth annual Winchendon Food Truck Festival returns to G.A.R. Park on Saturday, June 28, from 12 to 7 p.m., offering a day full of food, live music, and community fun to kick off summer.

Visitors can enjoy a variety of food trucks serving favorites such as mac and cheese and barbecue, local musicians competing in a Battle of the Bands, and artisan vendors with booths throughout the park. The festival will also feature lawn games, craft beer and a wine garden.

This year, the event was moved from its traditional Friday evening to a full-day Saturday event to allow more people to join in on the festivities.

Mark Gallant, owner of WooTrucks, a food truck service and commercial kitchen that supplies trucks for the festival, confirmed that 15 food trucks will participate this year.

“Anything less than 12, I don’t call it a food truck festival,” Gallant said. “So 15 is good. It pretty much fills the place.”

Returning favorites include Mac Daddy, DogFather, Easy Street Tacos and Travelin’ Bones BBQ. Other trucks scheduled are The Taco Dude, BerrySweets, Birds Nest Italian Street Food, Potato Potato and Uncle Joey’s Cannoli.

The festival is designed to be family-friendly, with plenty of food options and activities.

“You’ll see kids all around,” Gallant said. “That’s why food like Mac Daddy’s mac and cheese and The DogFather’s hot dogs are such hits. There are also games like cornhole to keep everyone entertained.”

Gallant explained that the event fills G.A.R. Park, which spans nearly a full city block. Two surrounding streets will be closed off to line food trucks on opposite sides, creating plenty of space for visitors to explore.

“A lot of people come,” Gallant said. “It started out as a quick Friday night thing. With each passing year, I added more trucks, and now it’s about as big as it’s gonna get.”

He added that the level of community support has always stood out.

“I remember being really surprised that first year by how many people showed up,” he said. “Sometimes you go to a town like this and it’s just a few people. But Winchendon really stands behind it.”

Live music will fill the park throughout the day, with a Battle of the Bands taking center stage. Performances begin at 12 p.m. and continue through the afternoon, wrapping up with 2024 champions Down Daizy taking the stage at 5:45 p.m. to defend their title.

Other competing bands include The Faceless Hobos, Sheep Dip, Rock 201 and Plead the 5th. Each band will perform in the park’s gazebo, with the winner, decided by audience vote, announced at 7 p.m. to close out the festival.

The event is sponsored by WooTrucks and organized by the Winchendon Parks and Recreation Commission. Admission is free.

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. The festival takes place at G.A.R. Park, 52 Murdock Ave., Winchendon. For updates, follow Winchendon Parks and Recreation on Facebook.