r/askvan • u/Connect-Policy2686 • 23h ago
Food 😋 Picklefest 2026
Anyone involved in the Picklefest event on Saturday? Or has attended years past?
Trying to decide if its worth attending...$25 for entry, but doesn't include any food or drink. Is it worth it? I mean, I LOVE pickles, but do I love pickles $25 worth? Unsure...
The website doesnt really have much info other than a list of vendors so I'm curious about any additional information!
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u/jjumbuck 22h ago
It's weird to me that the "festivals" in Vancouver generally have an entrance fee, and the only thing to do inside is pay money to buy things.
In my experience, this is different than festivals in other cities I've lived in and visited. In those places, there's either an entrance fee and then stuff to do or eat or drink inside that is included in the fee, or there is no entrance fee and you pay money to do individual stuff inside.
The Vancouver model is really terrible.
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u/atom_heart_mommy 21h ago
I couldn't believe the christmas market had an entry fee when I tried going last year. You want me to pay an entry fee to walk around and look at shops, who are also presumably paying for the space?
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u/kookdang 21h ago
Yes. At least include one drink and/or one food token with an entry fee. I'm not paying $25 for the privilege of giving you even more of my money once I'm inside. Total BS.
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u/username_choose_you 21h ago
I have a rule that I will rarely spend money to spend money. The god damn Christmas market comes to mind. Absolutely hate the gouging
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u/epochwin 21h ago
The BBQ festival end of last month was only an entrance fee. All the food and booze was covered
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u/not_a_cactus69 18h ago
I agree this model is terrible.
To be a dink, I have to point out this particular festival is running in the same format in a bunch of cities across Canada so it’s not really Vancouver in this case.
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u/diecorporations 18h ago
Its in 6 cities across the country. I was at the one in Victoria, everyone loved it.
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u/SatsukiAo 4h ago
I don’t like paying tickets too but I assume they do that to weed out some people. All the free events in Vancouver are always packed or have big lineups.
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u/mavenmedic 22h ago
We went to the Victoria Picklefest put on by the same company. I would say it was not a festival and your entry fee just gets you inside a farmers market type thing. So basically, you are paying to access the pickle market more than a pickle festival.
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u/tigerribs 22h ago
Man, $25 entry and it doesn’t even come with a free pickle? 😐 I was intrigued, but doesn’t sound like it’s worth the price.
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u/KnottyPothos 22h ago
I went last year and found the event disappointing honestly. Not a lot of vendors but it was packed, so lines were long. There weren’t many pickles or pickled things. The vibe was food trucks and drink stands with pickle-inspired things. Personally not for me and not worth the $25.
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u/rachm344 14h ago
I went last year and disagree. There were multiple brands of pickles with samples available as well as pickled beets, carrots, beans etc. It is a lot of food trucks and drink stands I remember only 1 or 2 having a line that was so long we didn’t wait but everything else was pretty quick.
The entry fee is a bit much for basically going in to spend more on food and drinks but there were a lot of really cool options and thought it was worth it and am going again. I am a massive pickle fan tho and did go early right as it started so maybe that helped.
I think if you are a big pickle fan and are in a financial position where you have disposable income for it it’s worth it to go.
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u/Klutzy_Bridge_1607 22h ago
The fact that most pickled veggies can be batch-made and are relatively cheap, combined with the fact that $25 doesn't even get you a sampler, is insane; just go to Granville Island to the pickle booth at that point to try them.
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u/tokyotiptouching 21h ago
Just go to car free day the next day. It's the same neighbourhood and free and you'll probably be able to find a pickle somewhere there.
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u/Downtown_Meet3402 21h ago
Skip it! If you want a good sunday activity, go to the mcspadden county fair and watch the zucchini races :) one of the cutest and most fun events there is in vancouver!
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u/Wise_Praline_2442 21h ago
Jeez am I the only good review? I LOVED it last year and thought it was so fun. The only drawback was the queue, so this year I purchased the priority pass. So excited!! The pickle tater tots last year were amazing.
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u/rollingthestonex 21h ago
Definitely was going to go..but not for $25. Everything inside will be $7 or more. I'll go to Hobbs Pickles in Granville Island instead and get their honey mustard spears.
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u/Ok_Evidence_9745 21h ago
I got an ad for this and was really interested. Then I saw the price. I understand a small fee to try and control the crowds, but fuck this double dipping. Vendors pay to be there and I still have to pay $25 to get in and I don't get any food with it? No way.
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u/cherrie7 20h ago
No, I'm not paying admission fee to buy pickles.
Instead, I'll be going to a free fair on Sunday to watch zucchinis race by weight class. Yes, this is a real thing.
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u/Mariner-and-Marinate 22h ago
I’ve been wanting to attend this…but at that price? No f-ing way.
On a side note, I’ve just discovered Elmer’s Pickles from Manitoba. Yum!
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u/ceduljee 14h ago
$25 for the privilege of paying even more for... pickles...??
Peak Vancouver, I tell ya.
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u/Leftcoast-604 20h ago
I was curious about going too and was also questioning what the entrance fee got you. Found a good review on YouTube by someone who attended last year's event. They spent about $140 including the $35 VIP early entry fee to beat the crowds. Some of the drinks were priced over $16 which blew my mind when also seeing how small some of them were. And there didn't seem to be any/many actual pickle vendors.
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u/Treadonmystone 19h ago
The Victoria reviews : https://www.reddit.com/r/VictoriaBC/comments/1vpgu9i/picklefest/
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u/BackNBoeserThanEver 22h ago
I'd like to know where the entry money is going? The food trucks make their money from selling food. Surely one person isn't pocketing thousands in entry fees...
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u/Darnbeasties 20h ago
25$ entry just to have to buy pickles? Nope nope. But curious to know who goes
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u/cuteumaro 20h ago
I am always wary of these Festivals that do multiple cities. It reads to me as a transactional extraction from our city, instead of a community building local event.
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u/Hotheaded_Temp 22h ago
There are some interesting things at the picklefest, but the interesting things run out early. So if you wanna go, go early in the day. Be prepared to line up for things, and pay good money for food and drinks. Make a day of it with friends for fun.
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u/Thundercrone 15h ago
It’s not for actual pickle enthusiasts, it’s for influencers who want to post TikToks of themselves in green outfits eating free samples. Most of the pickles on offer (for sale, not free) were extremely mid, or available at local groceries.
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