Experience Princeton previews global food festival and World Cup watch parties

Experience Princeton, a nonprofit business organization, will host three World Cup-themed events this June and July. It is one of 34 New Jersey organizations that were awarded grants through the NJ World Cup Community Initiative.

Having kicked off on Thursday, the World Cup will be played at stadiums across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. MetLife Stadium, temporarily renamed New York New Jersey Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J., will host eight matches, including the final on July 19. Lincoln Financial Field, referred to as Philadelphia Stadium for the tournament, will host six matches.

“When we planned our dates, we were very intentional to pick places where our date was either one or two days before or after a game,” Experience Princeton Executive Director Robin Lapidus told The Daily Princetonian. “We did that because we wanted to be sure that people who are here for a game but came early or plan to stay would be able to do a little destination tourism.”

Lapidus shared details on each of the planned events, including a new “passport program” for Princeton restaurants, and described how her organization was approaching the events to highlight the different cuisines offered in Princeton.

Experience Princeton was allocated $50,000 for the events, officially titled “Welcome World! Princeton’s Global Food Festival & World Cup Watch Parties 2026.” 

The first event will be held Saturday at the Princeton Battle Monument Park and will screen the 1 p.m. game between the Netherlands and Sweden on an LED billboard truck. There will be some festival concessions available, such as cotton candy and fried dough, but the new “passport to Princeton’s global cuisine” will serve as the focus for food options, Lapidus said.

The passport, which will launch on Saturday and run through October, will allow registered users to gain points by visiting any of the 115 food establishments throughout Princeton, Lapidus said. The prizes for those who earn enough points will be food-related, including Experience Princeton digital gift cards that can be used at over 70 businesses around Princeton.

The initiative aims to drive foot traffic directly to businesses across the municipality. 

“We probably have more restaurants than anybody would guess because they’re not all centrally located,” Lapidus said. “We don’t think that everyone knows that Princeton is so blessed with diverse cuisine, and that is really what we want to tell the world about ourselves at this moment.”

The second event, set for June 28 in the Princeton Shopping Center courtyard, will screen a Round of 32 game with a yet-to-be-determined matchup on an LED wall.

The restaurants in the shopping center, including Wonder Pho, Nomad Pizza, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, and over a dozen other options, will be serving food outside their storefronts.

The final event on July 14 will be held at Palmer Square. A section of Hulfish Street near the square will be closed off for the event. Marking Bastille Day, the celebration will be French-themed, a nod to Princeton’s sister city relationship with Colmar, France. 

“We will have a heavy emphasis on French food and French chefs, which we have many of in our community,” Lapidus said. French food locations in Princeton include Kristine’s, The Blue Bears Special Meals, and Chez Alice Patisserie.

Lapidus said she is optimistic about the economic impact of the World Cup, and noted that Princeton’s location could make it a destination for fans traveling in the area.

Experience Princeton will launch a promotional campaign on Monday, leading up to the first event.

“We will boost our ads to what we would call the ‘drive market,’ which in this case is really the people at the New York New Jersey games and the Philadelphia games,” Lapidus said.

In addition to the Experience Princeton events, three Princeton businesses and organizations — Homestead Princeton, Tortuga’s Mexican Village, and the Princeton Festival — are participating in the Welcome World Rewards Program during the World Cup in the New York-New Jersey region.

The rewards program is intended to help bring the economic impact of the games across the two states by letting fans earn points when they go to participating businesses. Prizes for those with sufficient points include merchandise from various local sports teams and 70 free tickets to World Cup games.

Miguel Perez, a co-owner of Tortuga’s Mexican Village, told the ‘Prince’ he joined the program to “help welcome visitors to the community.” However, he was underwhelmed by Princeton’s excitement for the World Cup. “The hype isn’t as much as I wanted it to be.”

Perez said “one or two” visitors have said they came to the restaurant for the rewards program, which launched on June 1. He said that the program could be better advertised to increase awareness.

“I feel like many people haven’t heard of it,” Perez said of the program. “I basically have to tell people, ‘Oh, this is the program, this is the rewards.’”

Ron Menapace, the co-owner of Homestead Princeton, said that “we have not had any customers specifically identify themselves as participating in the Welcome World Rewards Program” in a statement to the ‘Prince.’ However, he noted, “matches have just started.”

“We chose to participate because we believe major events like the World Cup create a wonderful opportunity to welcome visitors to our community, showcase local businesses, and highlight what makes Princeton such a unique destination,” Homestead Princeton co-owner Kristin Menapace wrote in a statement.

Ryan Buschman is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Haddonfield, N.J., and can be reached at rb8146[at]princeton.edu.

Oliver Wu is the assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading town coverage, focused on the Municipality of Princeton and beyond. He is from Stony Brook, N.Y., and can be reached at oliver.wu[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

A correction was made on June 15, 2026: A previous version of this article referred to the “New York-New York” region instead of the “New York-New Jersey” region. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error.