Food Carts Bring Fresh Flavors To Local Farm Festivals

By Guest Author: Matt Wastradowski

Growing up in the Chicagoland area, Alexandra Feuerstein remembers her father, Allen, looking for a summertime side hustle to supplement his income as a teacher. Before long, he started selling kettle corn, funnel cakes and apple cider donuts at soccer tournaments, pumpkin patches and other community fairs.

Alexandra helped out while in college but figured she’d left the family business behind when she graduated, moved to Oregon and became a teacher. But in 2019, she brought Allen to see the colorful blooms of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival — where her life took a surprising twist.

Ever the entrepreneur, Allen noticed that none of the Wooden Shoe vendors served dessert — and sensed an opportunity. He eventually convinced Alexandra to start her own booth and, in 2021, loaded up a trailer stuffed with donut-frying equipment and drove west to help her launch Deliciosa.

Today, the Deliciosa stall is an iconic stop at the springtime festival and at other celebrations across Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory. In fact, it's one of several stalls, booths and food trucks that bring local flavors to popular events around the region. Sometimes, these chefs only appear at seasonal events, drawing devoted diners year after year and offering exclusive opportunities to enjoy a diverse lineup of cuisines.

If you’re getting hungry, keep reading for more on the filling fare you’ll find at farm festivals in Mt. Hood Territory.

Delicious donuts and pizza can be found at Deliciosa.

Every spring, Deliciosa is one of a handful of local businesses at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.

Initially, Alexandra and Allen sold only apple cider donuts — a treat typically available for a few weeks every autumn at markets and harvest festivals. For Alexandra, that was part of the appeal. “You don't see them very often,” she says.

Deliciosa eventually expanded into pizza and today offers a variety of personal pies — cooked in an oven that’s partly wood-fired and partly powered by propane — with dough that’s made fresh each morning and throughout the day.

Other vendors at the festival may change from year to year but in the past have served hand-dipped corn dogs, tender barbecue, Mexican dishes, ice cream and chicken bowls.

The tulip festival isn't your only chance to see the farm's colorful blooms. In 2025, Wooden Shoe will host their Summer Flowers celebration between late July and late August — centered around a 10-acre field of sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias and other seasonal flowers. The event will also feature u-pick flowers, a sunflower maze, photo ops and — of course — a handful of vendors.

Between August and September, nearly 50 acres of dahlias erupt in vibrant reds, pinks, purples and myriad other colors across several fields during the Swan Island Dahlia Festival — showcasing more than 375 varieties of the namesake flower near Canby.

Highlights include live music on weekends, classes and workshops, an on-site gift shop and fare from local outfits.

In 2025, the festival's culinary lineup includes fresh-squeezed lemonade and other sweet treats from Sugar Lips Donuts, so-called "chicken sundaes" from The Chop Spot (where chicken bowls are adorned with creative ingredients and a gravy topping), hulking burritos from Blazing Taco and classic American fare using local produce at The Feedshack. Check out the Swan Island Dahlia Festival events calendar for a day-by-day breakdown of when each food truck will be open.

Flowers and food carts pair perfectly every season.

Just outside Wilsonville, Yesteryear Farms celebrates the changing seasons of the Willamette Valley with a number of family-friendly events — many of which feature a range of cuisines from local entrepreneurs.

Every August, Yesteryear invites visitors to stroll through more than two acres of sunflowers — where roughly 30 varieties light up the fields in brilliant yellow hues. In fall, the farm hosts a corn maze and pumpkin patch — and invites families to cut their own Christmas trees each winter.

A number of local food trucks serve visitors throughout each seasonal celebration. Vendors vary by event but, in the past, have dished pizza, tamales, barbecue and apple cider donuts. Keep an eye on the Yesteryear Farms Facebook page, where updated food truck schedules are shared for each festival.

Every autumn, the Molalla-based Willamette Valley Melon Company puts on its Fall Festival and Harvest Celebration — one of the region's most joyous and fun-filled celebrations.

The full-day event features tractor tours, a corn maze, u-pick pumpkins, pumpkin painting, an artisan market and the farm's famous Pumpkin Glow — when dozens of jack-o'-lanterns light up at once after the sun goes down. A handful of vendors keep visitors full at the annual festival. In the past, they’ve prepared burgers, sandwiches, barbecue, kettle corn and more.

Not far from Wilsonville, the family-run Frog Pond Farm shows visitors a fun time while sharing what’s unique about each season in the Willamette Valley — letting little ones interact with more than 80 animals in spring and summer, opening its u-pick pumpkin patch every autumn and hosting a holiday market alongside opportunities to purchase pre-cut Christmas trees, garland and wreaths in winter.

Between mid-September and Halloween, during Frog Pond's annual Pumpkin Patch, a number of vendors join the fray. Selection may change from year to year but in the past has included barbecue, tacos and yes, even pizza and doughnuts from Deliciosa.

You never know who might join you in line at Frog Pond Farm.