The largest pickle festival in Canada touches down in Toronto this weekend, and here are all the briny and beautiful things you can expect.
Taking over Henderson Brewing on Sterling Road this weekend, Picklefest is devoted purely and entirely to pickles and the people who love them.
From homegrown pickle businesses selling crafty concoctions to some of Toronto’s favourite restaurants offering pickle-based dishes, this weekend promises to be a pickle-lover’s dream, whether you like ’em sweet, spicy, sour, or anywhere in between.
Food and drink vendors
The festival is set to feature close to 65 different businesses, from pickle masters, breweries and distilleries to food vendors offering pickle-inspired bites.
Placing, naturally, an emphasis on pickles in all of their glorious forms, the real stars of the show will be the bounty of independent pickle businesses that’ll be showing off their weird and wonderful flavours.
Keep an eye out for Whitby’s Cheeky Pickles, which was founded by lifelong friends Elaine Boland and Tracy Liderri, who churn out crafty flavours like Jerk, Garlic Habanero and Caesar.
Among the host of other pickle vendors, you can expect to see Hamilton’s Marty’s Pickles and Pickled Canadian, both of whom are a must-visit for lovers (such as myself) of crunchy, sour dill pickles, as well as Spade & Spoon, who are proprietors of a slew of different condiments and preserves, beyond their droolworthy pickles.
Other vendors confirmed for the festival include Romi’s Bakery, Moon Milk, Woof Dawg and Chocosol.
If you want to pick up a little something to commemorate the occasion — something that you won’t eat within days of bringing it home, I mean, — Peace & Cotton has teamed up with Henderson to put forward exclusive Picklefest merch, which they’ll be screen printing on-site.
Pickle-themed food and drinks
Beyond the simple delight of the crisp snap of a naked pickle, Picklefest will be home to a selection of different food and drink vendors offering pickle-ified sips and nibbles.
If you’re feeling hungry for more than simply the flood of pickle samples you’ll be able to get your hands on, a number of local restaurants are putting their best pickle forward with salty, dilly dishes.
Chef and TV Personality, Sang Kim, will be cooking up a seriously savoury Kimchi Grilled Cheese, while Terroni will be offering a Panino Mortadello piled high with pickles.
Mamajoun Armenian Pizza will be putting their print on the event by offering a pickle pizza that, if you’re brave enough to try it, will certainly not disappoint.
To wash it all down, there’ll also be a generous helping of pickle-based beverages (both alcoholic and zero-proof) on offer.
Henderson themselves will be offering a Pickled Lager alongside Solly’s Craft Soda’s Pickle and Lime flavour and Spy Cider’s Spicy Dill Cider.
You can also opt for something a little more traditional by sipping a Caesar crafted with Tullamore Dew’s Irish Whiskey and Matt & Steve’s caesar mix.
For the kids (and kids at heart), Henderson will also be operating a pickle lemonade stand. How very CNE.
Games and Entertainment
While, we can all agree, the vast majority of life’s joy is derived directly from pickles, there’ll also be a selection of other fun events and entertainment taking place over the course of the festival to keep the good times rolling.
Both days of the festival will be soundtracked by live music — local Bluegrass band Sterling Road Ramblers on Saturday and local Americana band Peter Graham & The Voyageurs on Sunday — followed by DJs bumping beats throughout the festival.
In a perfectly planned pickle pairing, local pickleball club, The Jar, will also be present, promoting the sport (which has shockingly little to actually do with pickles), alongside what Henderson Co-Founder Adin Wener refers to as “various pickle hype-people walking around,” which I can only assume means people dressed as pickles ready to keep the party going.
You’ll just have to attend the festival to find out for sure.
Home pickler competition
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, the winners of the first-ever Show Us Your Pickle competition — a contest where home picklers from across the city were able to submit their creations to ultimate glory — will be crowned.
It’s one of the absolute can’t-miss moments of the festival.
Picklefest tickets
Picklefest’s organizers are anticipating over 3000 attendees on each day of the festival, so be sure to purchase your tickets through the event’s website in advance to avoid missing out on pickle perfection. Daily tickets start at $15 or you can get a weekend pass for $25. Kids 12 and under get in free.
Picklefest runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, and takes place at Henderson Brewing at 128A Sterling Road.
