PORTSMOUTH— Portsmouth has witnessed a major boom in the food truck industry recently, with new options popping up in parking lots, on streets, at parks, and during events.

To recognize this, one local vendor has been organizing yet another Portsmouth Food Truck Fest, which will take place in one week, welcoming dozens of trucks and vendors. The event is being organized by Keirsten Robinson.

“The event went absolutely fantastic in the spring,” Robinson said of her last event, which took place in the spring. “We had so many people come out and support all our amazing small businesses! For this first fall one, we intend for it to be even bigger and better. We decided to do the fall one because we wanted to have a fun event for the community to attend and come out and have a fun time for the fall season!”

Robinson is the owner of Squeeze the Day Lemonade.

“I’m a mom to two of the sweetest kiddos around and the owner of Squeeze The Day Lemonade,” Robinson said. “We offer over 19 different flavors of fresh, hand-squeezed shaken lemonades that accommodate just about everyone. From Extreme Lemonades with huge, yummy candy toppers for the kids all the way to offering yummy sugar free options and even Splenda and Stevia Sweetener for diabetics.”

The business took Robinson from stay-at-home mom to popular business owner in less than a year. Robinson dedicates her success to the fans of her product.

“This is all because of our amazing lemonade,” Robinson said. “We have so many great local customers who support us and our big dreams and our sweet regulars who order just about one to two times a week. We love setting up at local events to help spread our name and of course spread our sweet, delicious lemonade throughout town.”

Having a love for events and business, Robinson began planning the Food Truck Fest to bring all these new business owners together. Robinson has been organizing events and attending others for well over a year now and is passionate about creating opportunities.

“I got to talking with a few of them, since we had set up at a few of the same local events and they all kept talking about how all the big cities have these huge food truck festivals for their local food truck communities to be able to set up in the community and share what they have to offer,” Robinson said. “Well, I’m the type of person that, once I get something on my mind, I’m pretty adamant about making it happen. So, I did just the thing, thinking I would put together this small, little event and made an event page on Facebook on a night right before I went to bed.”

Robinson sees importance in the growing food truck industry.

“I feel like food trucks help create a vibrant space in a public space in a variety of ways,” Robinson said. “Because they’re pedestrian oriented, they bring more feet onto the street, which can lead to more foot traffic and help a fantastic small community and town from anywhere grow and build! They offer gourmet or specialty foods at affordable prices, making it possible for people to enjoy restaurant-quality meals without having to break the bank.”

The Portsmouth Food Truck Fest is scheduled for September 14 at 11 a.m. in Tracy Park. There is an event page on Facebook with more details.

Those wishing to setup can still register. For $25, vendors receive a 10×10 space. For $55 food trucks are permitted to setup. Interested parties may contact Robinson at 740.876.2698.

The group already set a date for the spring event, planning for April 19.