The Mount Olive Tribune’s NC Pickle Festival magazine heralded the 40th anniversary this year. Copies of the magazine were all over town. Thursday before the festival, the carnival rides were being set up — a main attraction event for kids and their families on Friday night. Friday morning, cars were lined on the highway just to get into Mount Olive. Maybe undeniably the biggest day of the year for Mount Olive. Trying to find parking was a feat in itself, and if you could park within six blocks, you were lucky.
What a thing to see, hundreds of people walking across Mount Olive at any given time, all to one place. People and vendors packed Downtown Mount Olive; the street and sidewalks were so crowded that at times you could only move at snail’s pace. “I just need to sit down for a moment,” said one woman to her family as they stood on the sidewalk amidst the crowd, something most everybody probably said at some point that day. “I can’t believe there’s so much pickle stuff,” remarked a girl looking at all the different vendors.
There was so much to see. The carnival was must-see, a childhood staple. You could hear a merry organ grinder playing “Viva la Vida” in the street. The Pickle Parlor was the hardest place to get into; an enormous line of people went around and around behind the Parlor and went out into the street. Marc Dobson, a One Man Band, played music along the train tracks. When a drum line started it was none other than the Carolina Panthers Percussion Drum Line, who marched through the vendor-covered streets, with a beat that was infectious. Mount Olive Pickle Company had covered tents for merchandise, and of course, their delicious pickles.
Some people stayed for a few hours, some for the whole day, and slowly, people made their treks back to their cars. As friends and families went back home, and children surely dreamed of dancing pickles in their heads, already we’re looking forward to next year! Here’s to 40 more years, and then some more.
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