PickleStock Returns to Warren County Fairgrounds September 12

Pickles, live country music, contests, local vendors, and family activities will take over the Warren County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 12, as PickleStock returns for its third year.

The free community event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds, 26 Fairground Road in Front Royal. Organizer Liz Coffey said the event has continued to grow while keeping its original goal: giving families a free place to have fun and providing local vendors and small businesses a place to showcase their products.

“It is a community event bringing together vendors and crafters and our gold event partners to offer free events to the community,” Coffey said.

And despite the name, PickleStock is not a pickleball tournament.

Pickles, however, are very much part of the day.

Coffey said people sometimes wonder why not every part of the event involves pickles. She compares the name to Woodstock, noting that the famous music festival was not about wood. For PickleStock, the larger idea is bringing people together for a day of entertainment and community activities — with plenty of pickle-themed fun mixed in.

“That is the point: is it to be pickle-themed,” Coffey said.

Badass Pickles is returning as one of the event’s gold partners and will once again help host some of the day’s most unusual competitions. Those include a brine-chugging contest and a pickle-eating contest.

Visitors can expect pickle-inspired foods and other creations throughout the fairgrounds as well. Coffey said pickle pizza will be among the offerings, and C&C Frozen Treats is expected to make pickle ice cream.

This year’s musical headliner will be the Logan Allen Band, continuing PickleStock’s practice of featuring a different style of music each year.

Coffey said the first year featured rock music, followed by bluegrass last year. Country music will take center stage this time, with the Logan Allen Band scheduled to perform at 3 p.m. and hold a meet-and-greet.

Jig & Jive will perform earlier in the day, while Allstruck Entertainment will provide music throughout the event.

Coffey praised the people and organizations helping make the event possible, noting that much of the work is handled by a small group of organizers and volunteers.

“We are a skeleton crew,” she said, pointing to the help provided by DH Farmstead, the Warren County Fairgrounds and Allstruck Entertainment.

Incredible Inflatables is also participating as a gold event partner. Children will have access to inflatable attractions, including a bounce house and obstacle-course bounce house.

Other entertainment will include stilt walkers and another search for the elusive Pickle Pete.

“Pete’s missing again,” Coffey joked.

Pickle Pete has already been making appearances around the community, including at Front Royal Cardinals games, on Main Street and around local businesses. Festival visitors will get a chance to join the search for him during Pickle Stock.

Adults will have an additional option this year with a beer garden planned as part of the event.

The festival will also feature a wide range of vendors, crafters, food businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Coffey mentioned Badass Pickles, Pepper After Dark, Sipsies, Two Crafty Hookers, Frogs and Flamingos, C&C Frozen Treats, and other businesses among those expected to participate.

Crafty Bees, another event partner, will bring 3D-printed items and other products.

For Coffey, giving small and home-based businesses an affordable place to meet customers remains an important part of the event.

She said many people running small businesses are using the extra income for everyday family expenses, from mortgages and groceries to gasoline, electric bills and their children’s sports.

Coffey said that opportunity was part of the reason she began organizing events in the first place. She wanted vendors to have a place to come together, display what they make and sell directly to members of their community without requiring visitors to buy a ticket just to attend.

Vendor registration remains open, Coffey said, even through the morning of the event.

The fee is $75 for a general event partner and $150 for a food event partner, with the higher food-vendor charge helping cover additional costs associated with those operations.

Nonprofit organizations can participate at no charge.

“We do not want you to take from funds to pay to be able to promote your organization,” Coffey said.

Among the nonprofits expected to attend are Hope Lane Foundation, House of Hope and HARTS.

Coffey also warned prospective vendors to be careful when registering after scammers copied information connected with the event last year. She said several vendors arrived at the fairgrounds last year after being taken in by fraudulent registrations. Organizers found space for them and allowed them to participate.

This year, she is again reminding vendors to register only through the event organizer’s official website and PickleStock Facebook page, rather than sending money to people claiming to represent the festival online.

The Warren County Fairgrounds gives organizers plenty of room to continue adding attractions and vendors, Coffey said.

“We like to spread out,” she said.

That room has helped Pickle Stock grow over its first three years without changing its community-centered approach.

For visitors, there is no admission charge. Families can come for the music and children’s activities, browse the work of local vendors, visit participating nonprofits, sample food or see how they fare in a pickle contest.

Coffey said the goal is simple: keep Pickle Stock a community-based, family-friendly event that gives local residents a place to spend the day together.

Pickle Stock will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Warren County Fairgrounds, 26 Fairground Road in Front Royal. Admission is free.

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