Never underestimate the power of the mighty pickle.
The cucumbers steeped in a brine of vinegar, salt, spices and sometimes other ingredients drew thousands to the three-day Connecticut Pickle Festival at Mohegan Sun over the weekend.
Once upon a time they were the thing your great grandmother made from an abundance of cucumbers in the garden to offer a mere accent to foods likes hamburgers and sandwiches.
But the pickle industry has evolved and spawned a while new industry of flavors, wardrobe and costumes.
At the weekend festival there were pickles stuffed with cream cheese, sinus-clearing hot ones with spices, pickle-flavored cupcakes, shaved ice, and Kool-Aid pickles.
They even held a pickle juice drinking contest.
“It’s one of those foods that adds a pop to just about everything,” said festival attendee Kim Maldinado. “I can’t get enough of them.”
Another young fan of 12 said, “I can eat half the jar and drink the juice.
Sodium aside, there were plenty of festival goers who wore their pickle love on their bodies and their heads.
A head band with a big dill bobbing over heads was one of the most popular embellishments, as were T-shirts and homemade costumes that screamed “I celebrate” pickles, such as “In my pickle place,” “Dill with it”, “Feed me a pickle, tell me I’m pretty.” They even got risqué, as one man’s shirt read, “Tickle my pickle.”
One showed a cucumber gasping at the sight of a jar of sliced pickles.
Another frequently worn shirt listed an informational chart on different types of pickles – dill, sours, half sours, gherkins, bread and butter pickles. There were plenty of plain green outfits too in various shades.
The lines for pickle samples by various vendors were long, but moved quickly.
Their was a wrestling ring in the middle of the venue featuring wrestlers with pickle symbols, pickle martinis, and lots of food trucks outside offering pickle flavor in dishes where they once never dared to go, such as pizza, French fries, and quesadillas.
One guest said she wasn’t really into the flavor of pickles, but brought the three kids because it was a nice family event.
“It’s fun to see all the happiness around us in celebrating a food that causes so many strong reactions in people whether it’s to savor or pucker,” said Alice Thompson.
Ben Murphy, a self described pickle “addict” says he’s been eating them in abundance for decades and still can’t get enough.
“It makes me happy there’s a whole festival to celebrate this fabulous food and elevate it to beyond being a condiment,” he said.
The event was billed as the largest pickle event of the year in New England and was held at the Earth Expo & Convention Center.