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Clear your Saturday plans and prepare your taste buds for an aggressive amount of vinegar: Picklefest Vancouver is back for its second year on September 12, bringing more than 40 food makers, restaurants and artisans to the City Centre Artist Lodge on Main Street.
And no, this is not simply eight hours of standing around comparing pickle size.
The all-ages festival is essentially a love letter to all things brined, fermented, sour, spicy and crunchy, with live music, a licensed drinks selection and vendors stretching the definition of what a pickle festival can be.
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The vendor lineup is kind of a big dill
Some very recognizable Vancouver food names are getting into the pickle spirit this year.
Tacofino, JAPADOG and Rain or Shine are all on the official lineup, alongside Buzzy’s Luncheonette, Caplansky’s, Embers Hong Kong BBQ, Macondo Colombian Cuisine, The Nem, Dozers Donuts and Holy Duck Chili. So expect the day’s eating opportunities to venture considerably further than cucumbers straight from the jar.
The fermentation pros are out in force too. Barrelhouse Brine, BC Brine, Brine and Berry, Hobbs Pickles, I’m Pickled, Kühne Pickles, Mandi’s Mickles, Moonstone Ferments, Mother Love Ferments, No Big Dill Canning, Preserved Canning and Putter’s Pickles are among the specialists coming to the party.
Then things get even more eclectic. The lineup also includes cider, hot sauce, salsa, coffee, chocolate, pastries, craft soda and artisan vendors. Essentially, if you arrive thinking, Surely they can’t pickle-ify that, consider it a challenge issued directly to the exhibitors. The official roster now runs to more than 40 participants.
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Think your homemade pickles can beat Vancouver’s best?
Naturally, a festival devoted to pickles requires competitive pickling.
The Show Us Your Pickle competition invites home picklers to put their prized jars before a judging panel, with winners selected in five categories before one creation is crowned Best in Show. The winners will be announced live during the festival.
Entries have already closed for this Vancouver stop, so if your grandmother’s secret dill recipe could bring grown adults to tears, you’ll have to keep it under wraps until next time. Everyone else is free to spectate and develop extreme opinions about cucumber crunch.
Picklefest runs 11 am to 7 pm on Saturday, September 12, at the City Centre Artist Lodge. General admission is $25 plus fees, while the $35 VIP ticket gets you through the gates at 10 am, an hour before general admission. Food and drinks are purchased separately inside.
Kids 12 and under get in free with a ticket-holding adult, and dogs are welcome on leash, making this one of the rare occasions when you can legitimately tell the entire family you’re taking them out for pickles.
Limited tickets may be available at the door if the event isn’t sold out, but organizers recommend booking ahead.
Picklefest Vancouver 2026
Saturday, September 12, 11 am–7 pm
City Centre Artist Lodge, 2111 Main Street
General admission: $25 plus fees; VIP early entry: $35 plus fees
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