We are so excited to tell you all about Pickle Palooza. It’s a one-day festival happening here on September 12th, completely dedicated to preserving, pickling, and putting up the harvest. We’re hosting this alongside our friends at the Avalon Food Hub who have been an incredible partner to us.

The first thing you need to know is that there’s a pickle-off competition with four categories: ferments, jams and jellies, mustard pickles, and pickled vegetables. For health and safety reasons, only restaurants or home caterers are allowed to participate. If this is you, you can choose to submit to any or all of these categories. Not a ton of folks have entered the ferments category, so please please please send in your ferments.

To enter the competition, we’re looking for a donation of four jars per category. One jar will be judged by our panel, and the others will be available for the public to sample. Message programming@obriendfarm.ca if you want to compete!

Our pickle-off will be judged by pickle judge Todd Perrin and our celebrated pickle judges Ritche Perez and Sarah Stoodley.

Additionally, there will be a vendor market, pickle-themed drinks, farm tours, live music on our front lawn, a pickle-themed art show in the Interpretation Centre, and Pickleball 709 will be on hand to teach people to play pickleball. We’re organizing old-fashioned carnival games and scarecrow decorating, and friend of the farm Susan Furneaux will be on hand teaching folks how to do cucumber prints.

Right now, we’ve locked in wood-fired pickled pizzas, pickle chocolate made by JACOBEAN Craft Chocolates, pickle cupcakes, and more…, but you’ll also be able to purchase empanadas, baked treats, and street corn!

Tickets are only available at the door!