Picklefest Vancouver | Vancouver's Best Places

Picklefest Vancouver is a food festival celebrating pickles, fermentation and creative flavours with local vendors, live music and unexpected food pairings.

Picklefest brings together food makers, pickle enthusiasts and curious visitors for a day centred around all things fermented. The Vancouver event features more than 40 local vendors offering pickles, sauces, baked goods, prepared foods, beverages and other creative pickled treats.

The festival also includes live music, food and drink vendors, and opportunities to discover unusual combinations and small-batch products. Picklefest is part of a larger Canadian festival series that celebrates fermentation and local food communities in different cities.

Where and When

In 2026 Picklefest Vancouver took place on Saturday, September 12th. It ran from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm at the City Centre Artist Lodge, located at 2111 Main Street in Vancouver.

VIP Early Access this past year began at 10:00 am, which gave VIP ticket holders an additional hour to enter before general admission.

2027 dates, hours and venue details are to be confirmed.

What to Expect

The festival features more than 40 local vendors with the lineup including pickle makers, food producers, restaurants, bakeries, sauce companies, beverage producers and artisans. Vendors that participated at previous events have included JAPADOG, Tacofino, Dozers Donuts, Fraser Valley Cider, Solly’s Craft Soda, Caplansky’s, Matt & Steve’s, Dundarave Olive Company, No Big Dill Canning and The Cure Hot Sauce Co.

Food and drink offerings usually range from pickled products and spicy sauces to prepared dishes, desserts, cider and craft soda. The event focuses on bold flavours and unexpected pairings giving visitors plenty of opportunities to try different products and discover new local food makers.

Live music adds to the festival atmosphere throughout the day. Visitors can also shop from participating vendors and explore a variety of small-batch food products and other creative goods.

Show Us Your Pickle

In 2026 Picklefest also featured the Show Us Your Pickle competition for home picklers. Participants entered their homemade pickles into one of five categories and winners were selected by a panel of pickle-loving judges.

Each participant submitted up to two entries. Submissions primarily consisted of pickled cucumbers, although other pickled vegetables or fruits were also accepted in the Most Creative categories if they met the category requirements and food-safety standards.

The contest was limited to 50 entries at the last event, and the entry fee included one festival ticket. Winners in each category, along with the overall Best in Show winner, were announced live at Picklefest.

Note: Pickle drop-off for the 2026 contest took place in advance between September 4th and 10th. Participants took their entries to Slim’s BBQ at 2301 Main Street in Vancouver.

Admission Rates

In 2026 general admission tickets to Picklefest cost $25 (plus fees) while VIP Early Access tickets cost $35. General admission began at 11:00 am while VIP ticket holders entered at 10:00 am.

Food and drinks were not included with admission and were available for purchase from participating vendors and bars.

In general, additional door tickets are only available if the festival does not sell out, although advance purchase is recommended to guarantee entry.

About Picklefest

Picklefest is a Canadian food festival focused on fermentation, creative flavours and local food makers. The festival was created by Adin and Eli Wener who developed the event from their interest in brining, fermentation and bold flavours.

Picklefest now brings its food-focused celebrations to cities across Canada with each event featuring local vendors and collaborations shaped by the community hosting it. The Vancouver edition offers an opportunity to sample fermented foods, meet local makers and enjoy a day of food and entertainment. Other Picklefest cities in 2026 include Victoria, Calgary, Toronto, Charlottetown, and Edmonton.