Colorado’s boasted 300 sunny days per year are becoming more consistent as the summer season approaches, and this is all the more reason to spend as much time outside as midterms and finals will allow. The verge of sweet summer freedom and living in as lively of a city as Denver means that no day should be spent without a walk to Wash Park, studying on Beans’s new patio or a trip to Civic Center Park’s returning 79 food trucks for lunch. Beginning May 3 and running through Oct. 6, Civic Center EATS returns to Denver’s central hub.

A ride downtown from DU on the E, F or H light rail lines and then the quick commute on the Free Mall Ride to the south end of 16th Street Mall ends right at Civic Center Park: the heart of Denver’s cultural community. Encircling Civic Center Park is the Denver Public Library, the Denver Art Museum, the State Capitol, the Denver Post, countless shops, restaurants and talented buskers that only continue to embellish the city’s individuality.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., the park hosts practically every impressively gourmet food truck from Denver’s food truck scene. This year’s lineup includes six classic Colorado summer barbeque trucks, Vietnamese cuisine and trucks containing delicious food from the Philippines, the Ukraine, Ethiopia and other places in Africa. Names like “The Bumblebee,” “The Denver Cupcake Truck,” “Lobster Bliss,” “Fat Sully’s Pizza,” “Fire Truck Crepes” and 74 more will adorn the park with craft food. The variety is astonishing, and quite a step up from the past six years since Civic Center EATS’ inauguration.

Within each truck is a unique cultural surprise. This outdoor lunch accompanied by live music in the heart of Denver’s urban setting should without a doubt be placed on every member of the DU community’s summer to-do list.

The food truck lineup and music lineup for each day this summer can be found at civiccenterconservancy.org.