Officials of Butler Downtown frequently get asked about the schedule for its summer event series Foodie Fridays.

The wait is over this Friday, when the Main Street event will debut, bringing almost a dozen food trucks and vendors to the city. Krista Washkau, chairwoman of Butler Downtown’s promotions committee, said the event series is meant to give local residents a reason to go downtown.

“We want residents to have something different on top of the local offerings,” she said. “I get to talk to more people about what's going on and it's a really good introduction to downtown.”

Foodie Fridays are scheduled to take place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on the third Friday of each month through August. Washkau said some vendors will be consistent over the months while others will rotate in and out. The action will be based on Main Street, and other vendors will be located in the city’s parking lot.

Butler Downtown, a nonprofit, began managing the event last year, but it was founded several years ago by former Butler Mayor Ben Smith. The event was not held in 2020, but Washkau said the social media post announcing the return of Foodie Fridays last year got the most engagement of any post made by Butler Downtown.

She predicted that the Friday events this year will be just as popular as last year, when people crowded the sidewalks tracking down the source of their favorite scents.

“That post was seen by 16,000 people so Foodie Fridays draw a lot of people,” Washkau said of the social media post. “We have a lot of interest, we've got a lot of local people coming again.”

Washkau also said Butler Downtown invites the brick-and-mortar businesses to promote themselves as well during Foodie Fridays.

“It not only drives business to the vendors we invite, it draws visitors to restaurants,” she said. “A lot of what we do supports the business community and people respond to that.”

For more information on Foodie Fridays, visit Butler Downtown’s Facebook page.