NILES — In addition to beloved downtown restaurants, residents who patronize Main Street this Sunday will have an even larger selection of food to choose from during the second annual Food Truck Sunday event hosted by Relevant Church.

Starting at 12:30 p.m. between Second and Third streets, four different food trucks will line up along Main Street to offer a variety of cuisine, including the Jamaican food truck Cool Runnings, barbeque from Jim’s Smokin’ Café, Venezuelan eats from Sammy Arepas and dessert from the Hawaiian Ice Truck. DJ Steve Cabe will play music throughout the event. The only cost to attend the event is what people pay for food. Children can get a free dessert beverage from the Hawaiian Ice Truck.

Event organizer Rhonda James, who works for Relevant Church, said her goal was to attract people to downtown Niles to enjoy food and the company of their family and friends.

“Everybody likes food trucks,” James said. “We don’t have that kind of thing down here, so we thought it would be a good way to bring the community together.”

James said last year’s event attracted more than 100 people to the downtown to sample food and enjoy the downtown atmosphere.

While acquainting people with Relevant Church during the event does not hurt, James said the overall goal is to host an event that serves the community and give people an opportunity to become better acquainted with the downtown. With a number of new merchants filling vacant storefronts, James said the downtown has a lot to show that people might not be familiar with.

“Just to bring them down, we have some new merchants down here,” James said. “We are just trying to grow downtown Niles.”

Relevant Church is among those relatively new to the downtown. While the church has operated for a number of years, it found a permanent brick and mortar home at 210 E. Main St. in late 2016. Pastor Muta Mwenya and church members renovated the space from a dusty office area to a vibrant church.

James said the church’s legacy is often seen in its community outreach. From volunteer efforts like Serve the City, where people gear up for a day to complete various chores to beautify their city, to their most recent endeavor to hide Easter eggs around the city with the reward of prizes. So, coming up with an event that brings people and food together was just on par with their mission to bring the community together, she said. 

As far as encouraging people to come to the event, James said, “why not?”

With the weather predicted to begin warming up, James said the church is hoping to have more food truck events in the months to come.

“People like there food,” James said.

If you go:

To learn more about the event visit thisisrelevant.cc/events.