Picklefest founder Adin Wener says the idea for the festival came to him when he stumbled across a pickle festival several years ago on the streets of New York City. “I said to my wife, ‘Look how happy everybody is,’” Wener told CTV News. “Everybody was smiling.” The concept has blossomed ever since Wener started Canada’s first Picklefest in Toronto in 2023, spreading to five other Canadian cities. It comes to Calgary on Aug. 29. Big Rock Brewery will host the Calgary event — a natural fit as beer is fermented — and kimchi, kombucha and other fermented items are part of Picklefest too. Wener is the founder of Henderson Brewery in Toronto and Picklefest is among his more recent entrepreneurial ventures. “Beer, to be honest, is a tough go,” he said. “Less people are drinking and the beer festival — where it seemed like every weekend before COVID there was a beer festival — we really wanted to do something else experiential. So, we really latched on to Picklefest.”
