Thirteen-year-old Sabin Cortes, of Aberdeen is the Big Dill winner in the 2023 pickle costume contest. No word on whether it was the crown or the mustache that allowed him to clinch the win.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Mt. Olive Pickle Co. mascot and costume expert, Ollie Q. Cumber, surveys the pickle costume contestants before selecting the winners.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Decked out in pickle gear from her Mt. Olive hat to her pickle-themed shoes, is the 2022 National Miss United States Agriculture Peoples Choice, Katie Haynes, from Youngsville, NC.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Becky Murphy, left, and Alicen Hogge, are all smiles waiting to take the stage in the Pickle Festival’s first-ever pickle costume contest.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Cucumber look-alike Cassidy Bush, 22, hails from Augusta County, Va. Besides participating in the pickle costume contest on Saturday, she also took part in the Cuke Patch 5K Glow Run on Friday.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Pickle Festival co-chairs Lynn Williams, left, and Julie Beck huddle up with Ollie Q. Cumber to make sure he’s up for the task of judging the pickle costume contest.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Pickle 1, 10-year-old Graham Smith, and Pickle 2, his 9-year-old sister, Morgan, take first place in the contest’s Pair of Pickles category.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Mt. Olive Pickle Co.’s Melissa Kilpatrick is suited up pickle-style in honor of the pickle costume contest, which she organized.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Nineteen-month-old Ava Cooper-McGee, shown here with her mom, Marisa Aleshire, takes home top prize in the pickle costume contest’s Baby Dill category.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Mt. Olive Pickle Co.’s Lynn Williams, right, with back to camera, congratulates winners of the Group of Gherkins category, the Rutland family from the town of North in South Carolina.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
This pickle costume contestant is wearing a pickle while eating a pickle.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
This was the first time in the N.C. Pickle Festival’s almost four-decade history that a pickle costume contest was included on the roster of events. It took place in the Southern Bank Parklet at 1:30 Saturday afternoon, with 13-year-old Sabin Cortes taking top prize in the individual “Big Dill” category. His win earned him a Mt. Olive Pickle Co. gift pack, and a festival t-shirt and hat.
It seemed only natural to add a costume contest, since a number of folks showed up at last year’s festival dressed in pickle garb anyway. Melissa Kilpatrick, with Mt. Olive Pickle Co., organized the event, and the company’s mascot (and obvious costume expert) Ollie Q. Cumber served as the lone judge.
On a stage that had earlier in the day featured the pickle-eating contest, costume contestants gathered in all their pickle finery. Cassidy Bush, 22, from Augusta County, Va., sported your basic pickle pull-over; it looked pretty comfortable and apparently was, since it didn’t hamper her participation the previous evening in the Cuke Patch 5K Glow Run. Becky Murphy and Alicen Hogge went all-in with pickle-emblazoned t-shirts, green tutus, and green-sequined pickles accentuating their make-up. Also sporting a green tutu was contestant Katie Haynes from Youngsville, who happens to be the 2022 National Miss United States Agriculture Peoples Choice; she was in full head-to-toe regalia, from her Mt. Olive hat to her pickle-themed tights, socks and shoes.
It’s hard not to appreciate someone who goes to the trouble to look like a pickle, so all the contestants enjoyed the support of the crowd, but ultimately it was up to Ollie to pick the winners. They were as follows: in the Pair of Pickles category, 10-year-old Graham Smith and his 9-year-old sister, Morgan (they received a Mt. Olive gift pack and $25 gift cards to shop in the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. gift shop); in the Group of Gherkins category, the Rutland family from North, SC — yes, that really is the name of the town — (they received $25 gift cards to shop in the Mt. Olive Pickle Co. gift shop); and in the Baby Dills category, 19-month-old Ava Cooper-McGee, daughter of Marisa Aleshire (she received a stuffed version of Ollie Q. Cumber).
If you’re thinking, hey, I’ve always had a hankering to dress up like a pickle, keep your fingers crossed that the costume contest will become a permanent addition to the festival so that you can take to the stage in 2024.
