Food Truck Application - April First Friday

Thank you for your interest in participating in the Crossroads First Fridays Food Truck Plaza located at 1907 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108.

Crossroads First Fridays is one of Kansas City’s most well-attended monthly arts events, regularly welcoming 10,000+ visitors to the Crossroads Arts District each month. This year, we are opening Food Truck Plaza applications, as a curated part of the event, to provide visitors with a wide variety of high-quality local food options!

To keep the experience fresh for attendees and create opportunities for more vendors throughout the season, food trucks will be selected through a monthly curation process. We aim to maintain a balanced variety of cuisines and limit overlapping menu categories.

The Food Truck Plaza accommodates up to 20 food trucks per event.

Applications open on the 1st of the month prior to each event date and remain open until the 15th. Applications are reviewed on the 16th, and all applicants will receive a status update indicating whether they have been approved, waitlisted, or not selected.

2026 First Fridays Food Truck Dates
This application will open for the following Crossroads First Fridays events:

• April First Friday
• May First Friday
• June First Friday
• August First Friday
• September First Friday
• October First Friday
  
  

Please note:

This application is only for food trucks
Food stands, tents, and pop-up food booths are not permitted
No electricity is provided on site

Unless you are personally invited and hosted by a Crossroads gallery or business within the permitted festival boundary, you must complete this application to operate within the Food Truck Plaza.

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⚠️Special Event Notice – Crossroads Night Market

Please note that July First Fridays will not operate under the standard First Fridays format in 2026.

Instead, the Crossroads district will host the Crossroads Night Market, a special multi-week event happening Thursday through Sunday each week from June 11 through July 12, alongside the FIFA Fan Festival at Liberty Memorial.

Due to the larger scale, expanded event schedule, and different operational logistics, food truck participation during this period will be managed through a separate Crossroads Night Market application.

Food trucks cannot apply for June 11 – July 12 dates through this First Fridays application.

A dedicated Night Market Food Truck Application will open soon, and vendors on this list will receive email updates with additional details and instructions on how to apply.

➡️ To be added to our Food Truck Contact List, please email hello@artgardenkc.org 😊

City Compliance

All participating food trucks must be fully compliant with the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s Food Truck Rules and Regulations and adhere to the Guide to Operating a Mobile Unit Food Service.

You must hold a current permit from the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department in order to participate.

Updated permits must be uploaded with this application. Vendors without a valid permit will not be allowed to operate in the Food Truck Plaza.

For more information, please refer to the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department Online Forms and Applications.

 
Event Schedule
Crossroads First Fridays take place April through October.

Load-in: Begins at 2:00 PM
Event hours: 5PM to 9:00 PM

Food trucks will enter the plaza via the North Gate from 19th Street, where event staff will guide you to your assigned parking space.

 
Vendor Fee
The participation fee is $200 per event.

• Fees are only charged after your application has been approved, not when it is submitted.
• Payment will be processed automatically upon approval.

All vendor fees go to the Crossroads Community Association and help support the operational costs of the First Friday event series.

 
Trash & City Requirements
Per City regulations, each food truck must provide:

• One (1) 30-gallon trash can placed at the front or side of the truck for customer use.
• Vendors are responsible for maintaining cleanliness around their service area.
• A dumpster is on-site for trucks to use at the end of the event. Food trucks are required to take their trash to the dumpster - DO NOT place trash in the smaller trash bins. 

 
Waitlist Policy
If selected food trucks cancel or additional space becomes available, vendors on the waitlist may be contacted to fill the open spot.

Waitlisted vendors are not charged unless they are officially moved into an approved spot.

 
Event Cancellation Policy
In the event that First Fridays must be canceled due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, vendors will be notified via email.

Approved food trucks will receive a full refund if the event is canceled prior to load-in or setup.

If severe weather or other conditions require the event to be canceled after food trucks have already set up, vendors will receive a 50% refund.