Picklefest is coming to Calgary on August 29. The secret ingredient is people

By David Sklar

(AJNews) – What started as an unexpected discovery on the streets of New York has grown into a celebration of food, family and community that is now spreading across Canada.

More than a decade ago, Adin Wener stumbled across a pickle festival while visiting New York with his cousin. Watching thousands of people celebrate something as simple as pickles sparked an idea. “I’d never seen people happier,” Wener recalled on the Chai There podcast. “I turned to my wife and said, ‘I have to bring this to Toronto.'”

Today, Picklefest has expanded beyond Ontario and is making its Calgary debut this summer and its Edmonton debut this fall – and there are still vender opportunities available.

Despite its name, Wener insists the festival isn’t really about pickles. “What I love is the human connection and the stories people have about pickles, their families, their grandparents,” he said. “It’s less about the ferment and more about the human connection people have with pickles.”

Those stories often begin with immigration. For many Jewish, Ukrainian, Italian, Korean and countless other families, fermentation wasn’t a culinary trend, it was a necessity, preserving food through the winter and creating traditions that were passed from one generation to the next.

“Everybody has a pickle story,” Wener said.

His own family has long had its own pickle traditions. Wener recalls his uncle making pickles every year, while his father would bring home jars after the family’s annual pickling day. As children, he and his siblings were allowed just one pickle a day, making each one feel special.

Today that family spirit remains central to Picklefest. His wife, Kate, runs the home pickling competition, while their sons have become involved in the family’s growing businesses, including Solly’s Craft Soda, named after one of them.

“It’s been the most fulfilling summer of my life,” Wener said of working alongside his family.

One memory, however, stands above the rest.

The first Picklefest took place in Toronto just two weeks after the October 7 attacks in Israel. Wener remembers many members of the Jewish community thanking him for creating a reason to leave their homes, reconnect with friends and simply be together.

“It was a relief,” he recalled. “People thanked me for putting something lighthearted on…that brought people together.” For Wener, that moment reinforced what Picklefest had become. It wasn’t simply a food festival. It was a place where people could reconnect with one another during an extraordinarily difficult time.

The pickles may be the attraction, but for Wener, they’re simply the excuse. The real ingredient behind Picklefest has always been people.

Picklefest Calgary
When: Aug. 29, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Where: Big Rock Brewery, 5555 76 Ave. S.E., Calgary

Picklefest Edmonton
When: Oct. 17, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Where: Fan Park at ICE District, 10128 104 Ave. N.W., Edmonton

To buy tickets and/or for vender information go to picklefestcanada.com.

David Sklar is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter