It almost seems like there’s a festival for everything these days, and especially food. One that comes to mind is the event dedicated to all things bacon in Humble earlier this summer.
And then there’s Saturday in Kingwood when fans of the tart, sour flavor of pickles will have their day at the fifth annual In a Pickle Festival at Town Center Park.
The event features just about every kind of pickle-flavored food you can imagine — and pairings of pickle flavoring with other foods you might never have thought of…or wish no one else had, like pickle cupcakes and pickle ice cream. And there will even be some actual pickles made by businesses and home canners alike.
One of them is Krystal Wertman, who makes a variety of canned pickles and jellies for her company, The Jelly Girl. She created the In a Pickle Festival in response to Hurricane Harvey when many business owners like herself were, in fact, in a bit of a pickle themselves.
She tells Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty that, while many homes and businesses in the Kingwood area were flooded, business at the farmer’s market for herself and other vendors suddenly dried up.
“There was no one coming out to the market anymore, and the community it was just really a depressing state,” Wertman said. “And, so I was trying to figure out ways that we could help all the vendors build up their businesses and get the community excited about something.”
She says that first festival drew 8,000-10,000 people and now is in its fifth year.
Pickled Everything
While there are a variety of activities and performances at the festival, like any such event, the main attraction is the pickle products available to sample and buy. Wertman says they have “pickled everything,” including pickle pizza, pickle lemonade, pickle cake pops, pickle ice cream, pickle cupcakes, pickle tea, pickle salsa, pickle marshmallows, pickle popcorn, and a variety of pickled vegetables, like okra.
And, of course, there are even some pickled cucumbers (aka actual pickles), and the festival features 17 different vendors who can and sell different kinds of pickles.
Surprising Combinations
Wertman says some of the flavor combinations that might sound a little questionable — like, perhaps the sweet ones — actually end up being surprisingly good, and she’s never tried something at the that was just awful.
“Whenever we created this festival, they may not have initially thought, ‘Hey, I can make a pickle cupcake, and it will sell. And it will be delicious,’” Wertman said. “And, so any of the items that people make from pickle that you would least expect those ones end up tending to be some of my favorites.”
More than Just the Food
But, aside from bringing joy to all the tart-loving taste buds in attendance, Wertman said she gets the most joy from another aspect of the event.
“The best part is a little bit into that day when I look around and I see everybody just having the best time,” she said. “I have never had anybody there unhappy. Everybody’s walking around with a smile on their face having a great time with their friends and family. And it’s just so nice to bring so much joy to the community that day.”
Wertman is expanding the festival to New Braunfels beginning in the spring of 2025.
This article was originally published by a www.houstonpublicmedia.org . Read the Original article here. .