Carlynn Crosby | Creative Loafing Tampa Bay | http://bit.ly/1TXMLvf
Not long after a similar smorgasbord brought hungry sandwich-seeking patrons to Ybor City, the region's latest grilled cheese extravaganza is making its way to St. Petersburg.
We're not upset about it.
From 11:00AM to 6:00PM Sunday, the aptly named St. Pete Grilled Cheese Festival, unrelated to April's Tampa Grilled Cheese Festival, will open to the EDGE District. The free event - which has close to 1,000 RSVPs on Facebook - will feature food trucks and vendors serving up gooey goodness, a full liquor bar and live entertainment in the cobblestone courtyard of Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill (across from the Trop).
The vendors on board include Tom+Chee, Empamamas, Heavy's Food Truck, Pete & Shorty's, Mr. C's Grilled Cheese and Sawadee Thai Food Truck. They'll each showcase specialty menus of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and desserts available for purchase.
In between munching, festgoers may relax under mist tents while listening to live music from acts like Shevonne and The Bad Boys with their families, friends or pups.
The Grilled Cheese Festival, helping raise awareness for Wheels 4 Purple Hearts, also plans to honor retired Marine and Army Corps veteran Mike Fradera, who will receive a customized wheelchair from the nonprofit.
