Planning underway for 38th annual Pickel Festvial; vendors urged to apply soon

Vendors, especially local ones, are being urged to register as soon as possible if they want a shot at securing one of the coveted spots at the 38th annual N.C. Pickle Festival to be be held April 26-27 in downtown Mount Olive.

The festival theme this year will be based on James Bond — an idea festival co-chairman Julie Beck came up with following her trip to England this past year.

Just a month into the application period, 192 vendors already have applied of which 104 have been accepted. Last year’s festival featured about 150 vendors, although more could be added this year.

Vendor locations are not the festival’s only sought after prized offering — 35 applications already have been submitted for the 24 spots in the popular pickle-eating contest. Last year, 98 hopefuls applied prior to the cutoff date.

Those were among the updates discussed Tuesday, Jan. 30, during the first meeting of the N.C. Pickle Festival Planning Committee held at the Mt. Olive Pickle Co.

Coordinated by the North Carolina Pickle Festival, Inc. in partnership with the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, the award-winning festival will be held in downtown Mount Olive from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 26, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 27.

March 15 is the vendor application deadline. A $75 late fee will be charged for applications submitted between March 16 and April 1.

No applications will be accepted after April 1.

Submit a vendor application at https://ncpicklefest.org/vendors/.

“Last year we went up to 150 (vendors), so I don’t know if we want to stay at that number,” said Lauren Branch, who chairs the vendors committee.

Beck said one idea is to move at least part of the car show from North Center Street to the nearby First Baptist Church parking lot.

“If we can make that a reality, then we could ideally have vendors all the way down that part where the car show was,” Beck said. “The tricky part is what access do we have to electricity and water, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t put arts and crafts folks down there who don’t need that kind of stuff.”

That plan just has to be confirmed with the church and car show sponsor to ensure it can be done, she added.

“But I feel if we don’t move all of the car show, that we are going to move at least some of the car show,” Beck said. “So that should at least give us some more (vendor) space, I think.”

The idea of relocating some or all of the large, poplar car show first surfaced last year as a way of possibly expanding the festival footprint. However, it could not be finalized prior to the event.

Branch said some vendor spaces had been added last year on the east side of North Center Street past Wells Fargo.

“So we ended up getting around 150 (vendors) last year,” she said. “The majority of the people that I have (now) are new.”

So not many of the return vendors have not yet applied, Beck said.

Not a lot of them, Branch said.

“It is probably like eight to one,” she added.

That will be some issues in and of itself, Lynn Williams, festival co-chair added, particularly for food vendors and pickle-themed food.

“They just need to be prepared; we need to reinforce to them that we will have a ginormous crowd and to bring enough pickle food items that they don’t run out in the first hour.”

Branch said many of the applicants had asked her about the crowd size that was estimated at close to 50,000 in 2023.

“I let them know and told them they should be prepared,” she said. “I am to the point of having to deny some people because we have too many of one type (of vendor).

“So, we definitely have a lot of people applying. We have a lot more people with pickle stuff.”

To help festival-goers find vendors with pickle-related items, banners will be used again this year.

It is the first year that all vendor applications must be done online.

Also, all vendors with trailers must set up on Friday night, Beck added.

“That way the ones setting up Saturday morning are the ones in the 10 by 10 tents,” Beck said.

The changes are an attempt to streamline the process and make it easier for the vendors, she continued.

Another change from previous festival years is a new town ordinance the town board adopted last August that prohibits pets at the festival.

Service and guide animals are exempt from the ordinance.

Boarding will be available at Bark & Bone for people who are not aware of the ordinance and bring pets.

The decision arose out of safety concerns for festival-goers as well as for the animals, committee members said.

Alerting the public to the no-pet rule will be a priority, members said.

The University of Mount Olive graduation ceremony is also scheduled for Pickle Festival Saturday.

As such, the Pickle Ball tournament will be played in Goldsboro instead of on the UMO tennis courts with indoor court play at the Carver Cultural Center gym on South Breazeale Avenue in Mount Olive.

The Saturday helicopter rides normally staged at the UMO campus might have to be relocated elsewhere on campus, too.

Graduation also means more traffic. Already, the Sleep Inn is booked for that weekend, Beck said.

Plans continue to have free parking at the UMO campus and Bobby Denning Shopping Center on North Breazeale Avenue (U.S. 117 Alt.) where festival-goers can ride a free shuttle to and from the downtown area.

Organizers discussed the possible need for a third location because of the expected heavy traffic.

Last year, Mount Olive’s side streets were packed with parked vehicles — a safety concern for first responders, the festival and the town, they noted.

No decision was reached on a third location

In prior years, entertainment was spread across three stages on Saturday. A fourth stage is planned for this year at the vacant lot on the corner of North Center and East James streets.

The three traditional stages will remain at their usual locations: the dance stage in the vacant lot at the corner of North Center and West College streets; the praise stage in the alleyway behind the Chamber office; and the main stage at the Southern Bank Parklet at South Center and East James streets.

Bands have been confirmed for the main stage for Saturday: Wood & Steele at 9 a.m.; Southern Trouble at 11:25 a.m.; Riggsbee Road at 1:40 p.m.; and Island Time (a Jimmy Buffet tribute band) at 4 p.m.

The Tour de Pickle Bike Ride will also return that Saturday morning.

A beer and wine garden will be set up Saturday featuring R&R Brewing, Country Squire Winery and Cape Fear Distillery.

Steel Country Express will perform from 7 to 10 Friday night in front of Ribeyes Steakhouse on North Center Street.

Other Friday night events will include the Cuke Patch 5K Glow Run from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.; butterfly garden (that will be open Saturday as well); and pay one-price ($12 wrist band) carnival rides from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Steele Memorial Library parking lot at the corner of West Main and north Chestnut streets.

The committee will meet several more times leading up to the festival as it works to finalize plans.

For more information and/or registration, visit ncpicklefest.org.