Daniel Carlton, owner of DC Kutz & Styles in downtown Mount Olive, closes his barbershop on Pickle Festival day and temporarily becomes a food vendor, enlisting the help of his wife, Tunika, to sell sausage dogs to festival-goers.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Sisters Winnie Hickel, left, and Lola, from Bunnlevel, munch on free pickles from Mt. Olive Pickle Co.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Folks manning the Bill’s World Famous Lemonade Stand provide a popular thirst-quencher for festival attendees.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Churros, a type of Spanish-inspired fried dough, were among the many sweet treats available at the Pickle Festival.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Ribeyes Steakhouse, in downtown Mount Olive, caters to festival-goers by moving part of their operation outside during the Pickle Festival.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
A favorite at all festivals and fairs, funnel cakes are available in abundance at the Pickle Festival.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Yellow Garden Bake Shop, an online and pop-up only bakery out of Raleigh, offers sweets ranging from traditional chocolate chip cookies and lemon pound cake to Pickle Festival specialties: ‘Sweet Petite’ and ‘Big Dill’ sugar cookies. Madison Guthrie is the owner.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
After an early-morning cloudy start, the sun is out in full-force on Saturday, and lemonade stands provide refreshing relief for thirsty festival attendees.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Fittingly, the area featuring children’s carnival rides also features an array of typical carnival fare.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Free Mt. Olive pickles? Yep! They’re an annual crowd favorite.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
From left, Lee Sexton, Jake Gregg and Brooke Baldwin stay busy manning the popular R & R Brewing tent.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Friends, from left, Irene Bowden, Martha Carlton and Iris McCalop enjoy a festival-fare lunch: Italian sausage, Philly cheesesteak and fries. They attend the Pickle Festival every year.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Folks are in line at The Country Squire tent, where wines are available for tasting and for sale by the cup or bottle. The Country Squire Restautant, Inn & Winery is located outside Warsaw, NC.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Name a food and it’s likely available at the Pickle Festival.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
It’s impossible to imagine anyone leaving the Pickle Festival hungry.(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
You want ribs? The Pickle Festival’s got ‘em!(Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
It would be much easier to list the foods that were missing from the N.C. Pickle Festival rather than trying to list all the scrumptious items that were there. So, here goes: Meatloaf, crème brulee, and spinach casserole. This reporter didn’t see those at the Pickle Festival, but that’s about the only foods she didn’t see.
The Pickle Festival’s namesake food was there in abundance. Every year, Mt. Olive Pickle Co. gives out free pickles, always a winning combination since the only thing better than food is free food. But dills and gherkins were just the tip of the culinary iceberg.
Several other local favorites were also on hand to make sure festival-goers had plenty to eat and drink throughout the day. Ribeyes Steakhouse, with its prime downtown location, had but to move its operation outside its front doors to catch crowds as they walked by. Southern Ground Coffee Shop set up its mobile unit to serve up coffee and non-coffee drinks. And for those wanting to quench their thirst with an adult beverage, R & R Brewing had a tent at the Southern Bank Parklet. (In fact, the area within the Parklet was dubbed a beer and wine garden, and makers and distributors of other types of alcoholic beverages were on hand, as well: Old Nick Williams Distillery out of Lewisville had a tent, as did The Country Squire Restaurant, Inn and Winery out of Warsaw, where wine was available for tasting and for sale by the cup or bottle.)
One Mount Olive business owner, Daniel Carlton wasn’t able to open his downtown barbershop, DC Kutz & Styles, due to lack of parking for his customers during the festival, so he literally took lemons and turned them into lemonade by setting up a tent in the lot next to his barbershop and spending all of Saturday selling sausage dogs, potato chips, and — yes — lemonade, with help from his wife, Tunika, and several other family members.
Beyond local favorites, food vendors came from all around, bringing popular festival fare: corn dogs, turkey legs and corn on the cob. Funnel cakes, doughnuts, cotton candy, deep-fried Oreos and candy apples. If you wanted chicken-on-a-stick, it was yours. How about a lamb gyro? No problem. A Philly cheesesteak? Sure! The problem wasn’t finding something you liked, it was finding too much you liked.
Clearly, the rule of the day (food-wise) when attending the Pickle Festival is this: Pace yourself!
