Head of the Hooch®, hailed as “the last of the great fall regattas,” is held in early November each year on the Riverfront. The air is crisp, the athletes incredible, and seeing a thousand rowing hulls on the water is stunning. And the Market plays a key role in providing arts, crafts and concessions for the event, all weekend long!
As with most of our special events, set up and booth fees are not included with any of our Season Pass offerings. It is a stand-alone event.
The sign up process varies from year to year, but as a general rule, the Market will post on the Vendor Forum asking about vendor interest starting in late September or early October.
If you are one of the vendors chosen to participate in the event, there are some basic considerations that remain the same from year to year:
For Arts and Crafts Vendors
- set up will take place on the aquarium plaza – River Market style
- Arts/Crafts will carry the traditional River Market fee structure (basic setup + 10% of sales)
- As with all of our markets, all tents must be weighted and capable of surviving wind gusts. November in our area can be particularly blustery.
For food trucks:
- load-in for Food Trucks takes place on Chestnut Street, usually the Friday before the Saturday event
- Food Truck fee structure differs significantly from our usual structure - Food Trucks will pay the initial set-up fee, but will pay 20% commission (half goes to the Head of the Hooch® event).
- There is no commission cap for this event for Food Trucks
- Quiet generators only! no loud generators will be allowed
- No tents will be permitted in front of Food Trucks
- Power can be made available to Food Trucks at a cost - this amount varies from year to year
Exact details may vary from year to year, but traditionally the event begins Saturday at dawn, and continues until dusk – tens of thousands of hungry people will want coffee, food and other distractions. Our Arts/Craft market will operate under normal River Market hours, but the Food Trucks need to brace themselves for a long day/weekend.
Stay tuned to the Vendor Forum for announcements about this, and any of our other special events!