I did not know that Canada had a nationwide pickle festival, let alone that this year would be its second in Vancouver.
This was a ticketed event held at City Centre Artist Lodge. All ticket holders were granted, a goodie bag that included a mini bag of Old Dutch dill pickle chips, an empty mason jar, and a bottle of pickle flavoured Heinz mayonnaise.
You are also given a passport and instructed that if to get 4 out of 6 stamps, you can redeem it in for a container of pickle flavoured electrolytes by Organika. I came in with the intention to try as many unique pickle items as I could, so definitely met this criteria.
We had VIP tickets which granted is an hour earlier entry. Although, other than the ability to explore the space and connect with vendors an hour before the rest of the crowd, the VIP tickets weren’t really worth the additional fee.
There was enough going on, with plenty of vendors to chat with, so that wait times were minimal. Once again, all tickets only included entry and the goodie bags. Outside of this, everything that you wanted to drink or try was out of pocket.
There were cocktail booths featuring brine and pickle juice from local vendors. We started off with Jim Collins with pickle juice. This addition made the cocktail savoury, which is something I prefer.
We also tried a dill cider which was easier drinking by comparison. The fruit cider was available in flavours like habanero pineapple and guava with the add on addition of dill. The leaves and oil floated at the top of the beverage, noticeable enough for me to name them dill sprinkles.
And naturally, there was a booth specializing in Caesars. When I think of pickle and cocktails, Caesar is the first to come to mind. These were made using Matt & Steve’s ready to drink canned Cesar cocktails and a self serve garnish bar. With the latter, you had the ability to add in pickled green beans, asparagus, pickle spears, and pickle coins.
For food, we had a dill pickled pretzel with a side of dill pickle garlic, aïoli. I love the double downing on pickles.
I really enjoyed the pickle protein pastry. It was a swirl of a danish filled with dill and topped with a dollop of pickle infused cream, and additional chopped up pieces of pickle. It was both delicious and filling.
Other vendors on site included Japadog with their Japanese style hotdogs and options for pickle toppings. And the neighbouring Mount Pleasant Vintage with a pickle aïoli for their tater tots and fried chicken.
Dank Mart, one of my favourite spots for unique snacks was also on location today. Their booth was filled with pickle flavoured chips, corn nuts, puffs, and candies. Here, I picked up a pack of pickle juice filled pickle gummy. It certainly look like a pickle, but lacked the pickle flavour, more for novelty and show them for taste.
I did like their pickle chocolate bar made in collaboration with local speciality chocolatiers Hype Chocolate. This was a milk and white chocolate mixed bar with actual pickles and pickle juice. It wasn’t overly pickley, so for those who aren’t a big fan of pickles you can still find this enjoyable as a chocolate bar. For more pickling I got one of their chocolate dipped pickles.
Majority of the vendors were pickling experts. With local and homespun jars of pickles, cucumber, beets, onions, etc. Booth offered samples so you could try before you buy. Once again as this festival also included fermentation and brine-ing so there were venous sampling mustard, kombucha, and kefir, as well as olives and tapenade.
Unexpected was my favourite, local, luxury candle brand: Ollie & Co. They prepared a limited edition, unique to the event day, dill pickle candle made from a medley of pickle essences. This was a blend of pickles that came together to produce a unique scent that did not overwhelm or overpower. I marvelled at the creativity, but didn’t pick up any of it. Instead, I got a couple of their travel ready, roller ball perfumes, and my guest grabbed one of their trademark “Raincouver” candles.
One of the most impressive vendors was Rain and Shine, preparing a dill pickled ice cream. This was a vanilla based ice cream with actual chunks of pickles embedded throughout. Mostly sweet, I did enjoy the bits of pickles that I got to chew through. This was surprisingly easy-going, and really enjoyable with a sugar cone.
I found the event’s passport program very clever. Where attendees were invited to purchase a food item, a drink, a jarred pickle, or any sort of merchandise; and upon collecting 4 out of 6 stamps were able to redeem it in for pickle flavoured electrolytes from Organika, as well as be entered to win their surprise draw. I got a stamp for my dress to impress pickle themed outfit with my olive earrings and skewered olive T-shirt, plus olive coloured jacket. And my guest posted on social media, which qualified her by spreading the word of Pickle Fest.
The event went from 11am to 7pm for regular ticket holders. I did not stay for the duration of the eight hours, but they were also events and entertainment like pickle bobbing, and the best pickle contest on centre stage. I actually entered the “show us your pickle contest” where home cooks prepare their own pickle and enter it under 5 different pickle categories to win prizes. During the writing of this post, I have not heard back, so am thinking that I probably didn’t win.
Overall, this was a fun event and a great way to discover new creations, for those like me, who enjoy a unique treat.
