Attendees and vendors enjoy another successful Pickle Festival

Sara and Troy Curry weren’t shy about showing off their dance moves, as they were seemingly in their own little world, grooving to music by The Amazing Lounge Lizards during the Pickle Festival Saturday afternoon. Noting that they live in the Winston-Salem area, Sara said, “We drove three hours to get here, and we’re making the most of it.”

This was the first time the couple had attended the Pickle Festival, but it won’t be the last. “This is going to be our annual thing now,” Troy promised, before adding, “They should have this band back every year — they’re good!”

The 39th annual Pickle Festival kicked off on Friday night with three big events — the pickleball tournament, a concert at R & R Brewing by Spare Change, and the Cuke Patch 5K Glow Run — and was in full-swing Saturday, going strong from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The Amazing Lounge Lizards performed on the Main Stage in the Southern Bank Parklet, as did several other bands throughout the day. In addition to the Main Stage, entertainment could be found at the Mount Olive First Pentecostal Holiness Praise Stage, the Hope Extended Stage, and the Mount Olive Tribune Dancers Stage.

The festival also featured numerous activities tailored to the younger set, like rides on the always-popular Pickle Train and performances by the New Bern Puppet Show. Additionally, the area filled with Carnival Rides attracted lots of families, including Fabian and Shelley Montano and their four-year-old son, Martin, who was especially enthusiastic about getting to ride the circus train. This is the third year the Montano family, who recently moved from Mount Olive to Dudley, has been at the festival; “We couldn’t miss it,” Shelley said.

Arriving for their first-ever visit to the Pickle Festival were Samantha and Derrick Reddick, of Jacksonville, and their children, Lydia and Patrick. Their curiosity about the festival having been piqued by advertisements they’d seen in the past, they were excited to finally get the chance to meet up with family here this year. First up on the Reddick’s agenda was food: With their sights set on fried pickles and lemonade, they patiently waited in line with other hungry festival attendees; carnival rides could wait ‘til later.

Kim Price, from Nash County, was visiting the festival with her children for the third time, and after a brief stop to get their photo taken in a pickle-decorated frame, they, too, were headed out in search of fried pickles.

Fried pickles were undeniably one of the most sought-after foods at the festival — alongside other pickle-y goodies like chocolate pickles and strawberry pickle lemonade — but there were plenty of pickle-less options to be had, as well, ranging from kettle corn and gyros to funnel cakes, hot dogs, and crabcake sandwiches.

Audrey Perry, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was attending the festival for the first time with her cousin (and festival third-timer) Mount Olive resident Sharon West, and the food she couldn’t resist was barbecue. She gave the entire festival experience high marks. “Yes, indeedy, I’m enjoying myself,” she enthused. “I love it! I’ve been shopping like crazy.” Among her purchases were a hat, a t-shirt, and — what else — pickles.

Shoppers like Perry had no shortage of items to choose from — vendors lined the streets selling a wide range of products, including hair bows, dog treats, jewelry, t-shirts, hats, marshmallow blowers, candles, stuffed animals, quilts, home décor plaques, candles, and much, much more.

Rock and mineral specimens — among them, agate-filled stones, called “thundereggs” — were available at the Gravel Monkey Geodes booth run by Steve and Pat Clancy, out of Dunn. It was the second year the Clancys had set up shop at the festival, and their tent was right beside the railroad tracks, but they were good-natured about the train (actually, the two trains, one in the morning and one in the afternoon) that ran directly behind them, blowing a loud horn. “They blow the horn when the kids wave at them,” Pat explained. “I think it’s nice of them to do that.”

Kevin and Carole Yoder, of Pineboard Woodworking in Selma, returned to the festival for the third year, selling their hand-crafted wooden toys and birdhouses, many of which were pickle-themed especially for the festival. “We’re the only one here that has pickle cars for sale,” Kevin noted. Their daughter, Joanna Hill, also had some of her artwork for sale in their booth.

A special indoor vending area was set up inside the former education building of the First Baptist Church, now home to the Arts Council of Wayne County, where Arts Council members set up booths, demonstrating and showcasing their work. (A table set up in the center of the room also gave children a place to sit and color, getting them into the creative spirit.)

Visual artist Cent Jones was on hand, displaying her paintings. “It’s always a joy to be at the Pickle Festival,” she said. “We have to wait 364 days for this to happen again. It’s always good to get in front of more eyes. Hopefully, having this will bring more attention to the Arts Council.”

Another indoor area that garnered a lot of attention was the new downtown location of the Mount Olive Pickle Parlor. Not set to open until June 26, the shop offered a special “sneak peak” on festival day, when shoppers were allowed inside a few at a time.

In addition to all the opportunities for shopping, eating, riding rides, and listening to music, simply walking through the festival provided plenty of entertainment, thanks to several roaming artists — the One-Man Band, Organ Grinder Tom, and Jingles the Clown.

Now, if all this — and so much more — was available during the 39th annual Pickle Festival, just imagine what’ll be on tap for the 40th, when organizers are sure to pull out all the stops. It’s surely something for all pickle lovers to look forward to.