Mouth watering event to be held this Saturday
In a pickle of what to do this Spring Break weekend?
If the answer is yes, then you might want to let those salivary glands point you in the right direction.
That direction would be to neighboring New Braunfels for the inaugural In a Pickle Festival. The festival is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday at the Comal County Fairgrounds.
The much-anticipated festival dubbed “all things pickled” is anticipated to be a sold-out crowd of about 30,000 people. The unique and flavorful event will host a wide range of fun from foods such as pickle cotton candy and ice cream to several pickle-themed contests.
Although this will be the first time the pickle festival will be held in New Braunfels, it’s not the first time that the event has been organized and hosted by Founder Krystal Wertman.
“We are actually in the Kingwood, Texas area and we created this festival seven years ago to bring liveliness back to Kingwood after Hurricane Harvey. I’m actually a vendor in the Kingwood area selling jelly and pickles and of course, it flooded all of Kingwood so all the businesses shut down — the homes and this was just a way to kind of revitalize the community and we also help bring awareness to the non-profit, Hunter Syndrome which we have two young males affected by it here in our area which is unheard of – it is so rare so that’s how we got started,” said Wertman.
Wertman says overtime, it was the popularity of those canning jars used in the selling of her jelly that helped originate the idea for a full fledged festival surrounding pickles.
“I actually am the Jelly Girl. I started out as jelly, and everybody sees those Mason jars and they are like I want pickles. So, I made pickles with my grandma growing up and I thought well for sure, I can introduce the pickle and so, we created our first pickle called the Crazy pickle. It’s a sweet dill pickle combined and then, we also created the Money Pickle. After starting the pickle festival, I tried so many pickles, and I wanted the perfect pickle, and we found it and it was right on the money and it’s called the Money Pickle. It’s a super crunchy deli style kosher dill pickle,” said Wertman.
With a vision to host the festival outside of Kingwood, Wertman says she loved the Hill Country area and its ability to host an even larger event.
She says this new space in New Braunfels not only gives rise to the popularity of pickles but again allows them to offer more.
“So, we actually have around 50 vendors who just sell pickles alone. We have around 220 vendors all together. We have been able to incorporate a couple of exciting new things that we haven’t had at Kingwood. We have a live chainsaw – the carving of pickles and we also have an influencer, The Pickle Guy, is going to come out and do meet and greet and he is going to be our canning judge as well. So, those are a couple of extra things that we were able to fit in there that we are not able to have in Kingwood,” said Wertman.
And more pickle fun is exactly what Wertman is preparing for with a fun filled schedule starting off bright and early Saturday.
“We kickoff the festival with a 5K through Athlete Guild. They are putting together 5K. People can go to their website to register. There is last minute registration and then we have the Pickle Pet Parade at 12 o’clock and then we have the meet and greet with the Pickle Guy from 12 to 12:30. We have the kids coloring contest which is free to enter at 12:20 p.m. We have the home canning and pickling contest which starts at 1:20. All entries must be received by 12:20 at the information desk. We do have a kids’ pickle eating contest sponsored by Ricos. That starts at 1:40. We have the kids pickle juice drinking contest at 2 o’clock. That is a free contest for them to enter,” said Wertman.
Unfortunately, Wertman says there are no more spots for adults looking to enter the pickle eating or pickle juice contests. Crowds, however, are still needed to cheer them on at 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively.
Wertman says that same afternoon will continue with live music featuring the band the Bluebonnet Bastards plus more pickle sampling and other live entertainment available throughout the grounds.
Tickets are $15 a person. Two kids ages 12 and under are free per adult ticket purchased. While tickets can be purchased at the gate, Wertman encourages folks to get them online as this is expected to be a sold-out event. Tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite.com. The Comal County Fairgrounds is located at 701 Common St.