The Cleveland Pickle Fest takes place in Mall B, offering local pickle vendors with free samples, pickle foods and pickle beer.
2023 DATE: September 23, 2023
Location: Mall B
300 St Clair Ave NE
Cleveland, OH 44114
Website: https://clevelandpicklefest.com/
****
This post documents my experience on September 17, 2022.
As the sun shined down on Mall B in downtown Cleveland…
…festival fans were being lured by the melodies of Billy Likes Soda…
…as they made their way to the entrance gates…
…to celebrate the Cleveland Pickle Fest put on by the Greater Cleveland Volunteers.
Some guests were definitely dressed for the festival…
…but, for those who weren’t, there was a merchandise booth right passed the entrance…
…offering plenty of great pickle socks, shirts and hats to accessorize with…
…while guests could also shop among vendors for pickle accessories (LinaBags)…
…or win pickle prizes (Raphael’s School of Beauty Culture)…
…via a cute pickle-spinning wheel.
Most festival goers weren’t as concerned as wearing pickles…
…as they were consuming them (Randy’s Pickles).
That’s why pickle vendors came ready with plenty of free pickle samples (Crazy Cucumber/Bold Pickins)…
…which pickle fans were excited for (Whiskey Dick’s Pickle Co.)…
…eventually purchasing the ones they enjoyed the best.
But as the sampling continued, lines began to grow (Mr. Crisp)…
…and really grow.
Fortunately, kids, could take advantage of the arts and crafts tent.
And, if those lines were too long for the adults, they could also try pickle hot sauce (Haff’s Hot Sauce)…
…fermented beverages (Happy Pickler)…
…olive oils (The Olive Tap)…
…or even nab some edibles to make the lines less intense (Dik Whip).
This might be helpful for some of the food vendor lines as well…
…one which sold these creative Picklerita mocktail and PickleMacTini concoctions (Dina Colada)…
…and was an immediate and obvious hit.
Speaking of food, food trucks and vendors could be found on one side of the festival grounds…
…but many weren’t that pickle-forward with tacos, wings, egg rolls (Barrio/P and P)…
…shish kabobs (Meaty Sticks)…
…and regular lemonade.
Some of the better themed choices included the Pickle Dog (Stray Dog)…
…Pop Culture CLE‘s pickle cotton candy, ice cream…
…and popsicle…
…some awesome pickle baked goods, including pickle scones and pickle sourdough (Angelicious/Wild Glory Bakery)…
…and, of course, in the beer area…
…there was one type a pickle beer.
The VIP section, on the other hand, offered exclusive pickle beer flavors not available to regular ticket holders…
…and, I admit, they did look happier there.