Efforts continue to expand Pickle Festival footprint while events, activities are finalized

Expanding the footprint and layout of the N.C. Pickle Festival remains a top priority for festival organizers. However, that focus has not kept them from moving forward on finalizing a number of activities, events, vendors and entertainment.

Coordinated by the North Carolina Pickle Festival, Inc. in partnership with the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, the 37th annual N.C. Pickle Festival will be held from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 28, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 29, in downtown Mount Olive.

Festival co-chairs Julie Beck and Lynn Williams have been talking with a local organization about using its property, located near downtown, to open up the festival footprint.Those talks have gone well, Beck said, and the possibility of using the property looks promising.

Finalizing the layout and possible expanded footprint needs to be completed as soon as possible in order to map out where vendors and activities will be placed.

Beck updated the N.C. Pickle Festival Planning Committee about those efforts during its Monday, Feb. 27, meeting.

Despite waiting on those efforts, planning is ahead of last year when the festival had to be pulled together in just seven weeks. The small planning window was the result of waiting to see how COVID might affect the event.

And while attendance at this year’s festival might not match last year’s 60,000, it is still expected to bring in a large crowd.

Already, the Mount Olive Sleep Inn is booked solid for that weekend, Beck noted.

“We have never had that happen,” she stressed. “They called me about two weeks ago to tell us Sleep Inn is already sold out for Pickle Festival weekend. That is unbelievable for (it) to be sold out (in February). So we will have to direct everybody to Warsaw or Goldsboro.”

To help handle the anticipated massive crowd, organizers are looking at adding more shuttle buses and possibly a second parking location with shuttle buses.

In prior years, parking and free shuttles have been available at the University of Mount Olive. That will be available again this year. A second, and as-of-yet-undecided location, is being considered.

Safety is the driving force behind the changes.

Also being considered are water and misting stations since it can be hot when the festival is held.

First Baptist Church has talked about giving away bottled water, Williams said, adding that she has wondered if churches would like to give away bottled water as well at the water stations for safety reasons.

“Now, we will need to make sure that vendors understand we are doing that, that they would probably not make money off bottled water,” Williams said.

Water giveaways were discontinued several years ago after vendors complained, Beck added.

“But when it is 90 degrees and people are dropping like fls, it is a safety thing,” Williams attested. “Maybe we will put out a note we are looking for churches to give out bottled water during the festival.”

The locations could be marked on the Pickle Festival map, she said.

Williams said another area she wants the committee to work on is offering more places for people to sit.

“It does go back to safety,” she said.

—

The festival offers plenty of free entertainment, a car show, events and activities, food and arts and crafts vendors, pickle-centric events such as a pickle-eating contest and pickle-packing competition and of course, free Mt. Olive pickles.

Five bands have been confirmed.

Southern Trouble, a country music band, will perform a free concert from 7 to 10 p.m., Friday, April 28, in front of Ribeyes Steakhouse. The Cuke Patch 5K Glow will be held that night from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. downtown.

Performing on the main stage Saturday, April 29 will be: TCB (Throwback Collabortaion Band), R&B, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Rivermist, a top-40 band, 11:25 a.m. to 1:25 p.m.; Wild Ride, country music, 1:40 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.; and British Invasion Band, a Beatles tribute band, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

As of Feb. 17, festival organizers had approved 130 vendors and more are expected.

One complaint last year was that people experienced problems finding pickle-centric items.

This year the festival is offering a sponsorship opportunity to place tall banners at each place where some picklely is going on whether it is food or an event, Williams said.

“So when you look down the street you could see all these banners,” she said. “We are going to try to make it a little more obvious. I am trying to find a sponsor who would be willing to have their logo on those banners.”

Also, the festival is working with a company that will help produce the festival brochure and map as well as a digital map, Williams said.

The company also will place QR codes around the festival.

Festival-goers will be able to scan the codes to get a digital map and schedules of right where they are, Williams said.

—

One pickle-centric event will be an expanded pickleball tournament to be played on the University of Mount Olive tennis courts.

“We actually reached out to a couple of gentlemen who work quite a bit promoting pickleball tournaments,” committee member Melissa Kilpatrick said. “They are with Main Street Pickleball. They are using Pickleball Den (https://www.pickleballden.com) which is a popular website for people who are playing pickleball.

“They can register, get updates on the tournament. They are going to do Friday and Saturday. They are connected with some pickleball vendors, like paddle vendors and ball vendors. They are looking to kind of make it a bigger event than what we have had before.”

Skully’s Food Truck will set up at the site both Friday and Saturday. A fresh juice vendor might be there as well, Kilpatrick said.

Organizers are anticipating 200 participants, she said.

“And hopefully once those people finish their matches, they will come on down to the festival and check out everything downtown,” Kilpatrick said.

That is really stepping the festival’s game up, Beck said.

—

A new pickle-themed event this year will be a pickle costume contest.

The contest is the outgrowth of people wearing costumes to the 2023 Pickle Festival, Beck.

“We really liked it,” Beck said. “We don’t know where it came from, but there were tons of it.”

There will categories for groups, children, adults and couples, Kilpatrick said.

Mt. Olive Pickle Co. mascot Ollie Q. Cumber will judge the contest, she said.

It will be held at 1:30 p.m. following the noon pickle-eating contest in the Southern Bank parklet at the corner of East Main and South Center streets.

“I think that we determined rather than have people pre-register like a form, we’ll just promote it on social media and on the website so that people know that we are doing it and to dress up,” Kilpatrick said. “Then just tell them where to go.”

Because of the new event, the popular mascot races has been rescheduled from 2 p.m. to 3p.m. It will be held at the corner of East James and North Center streets.

For more information about the Pickle Festival, visit ncpicklefest.org.