Second year of the pizza fest means the second year I've joined in. There's some noticeable improvements this time around, though with some room for tinkering. This year the number of pizza vendors grew from 12 to 16. I will still say few of the truly elite pizza makers were here, but honestly I've changed my tune on this a little. You can always find the most successful pizza makers at one (or more) of their brick and mortar locations around town. Whereas the caterers and food trucks are often working their heart out to win you over in a heavily saturated market. So this year I steered clear of the big names at this festival that everyone knows and loves (Spinato's, Rosati's, Z Pizza, & La Piazza to name a few) and instead opted to use what room I had in my stomach for the little guys. The caterers and food truck operators who are cranking out their own best pies. I think if you attend the Pizza Festival at some point down the road, you'll agree that many of these small outfits can put out a great product that can stand up to the titans of the industry.
Most the of pizza vendors this year were selling slices for $3 or $4 each. Most were also selling whole pies for anywhere from $12 to $20. There were a few vendors who didn't offer slices, which is annoying. I still feel like Epic (the company that puts on this event) is missing the boat here by not just having patrons buy tickets for slices instead of making everyone scramble for change in their pockets as is the case now. In addition to pizza, a number of local breweries were dishing out suds, a number of dessert vendors were also on hand, and there was plenty of chairs and tables to sit down and enjoy pizza with your friends and family (probably the biggest improvement from last year). I liked Civic Space Park as a venue last year as it has a lot of character and is steps from the rail. Moving it to Hance Park this year was probably a necessary move to accommodate the growing number of vendors and to allow more folks to partake. They still cap the event (both this year and last year sold out 48 hours in advance) so keep in mind you'll want to get your tix in advance. Also as with last year there's a game area with cornhole toss, life size connect four, and other shenanigans. Hance Park also sets up as a nice natural amphitheater for the main music stage where music is playing at the Festival from start to finish.
So here's my biggest words of advice if you're coming next time around: 1) Buy your tix at least a few days in advance (try a week in advance if possible just to be safe), 2) Bring only cash as few (if any) of the vendors take cards or have a Square system, 3) Bring $20 in cash minimum as that will get you a drink and about 4-5 slices (or in my case no drinks and 6 slices), 4) Park at the Library or along Portland Street as you should have plenty of space in both areas to do so, and 5) wear sunscreen as there are few shaded areas & the weather has been sunny and in the upper 70s both years I've been.
So if you love pizza and want to discover some new pizza creations (or do the opposite of me and grab a few slices of reliable standbys) the Phoenix Pizza Festival is a popular event that is growing by the year. Down the road I hope they incorporate some pizza competitions as well as more vendor options to make the event that much better. And hopefully Epic is able to fine tune their organization of this event with each passing year. Here's to pizza!