Pickles and pickleball brought thousands of residents together 8 a.m. Saturday to attend the first-ever Grand Prairie Pickle Fest.
The free event featured pickle-themed food, costumes and activities. A t-shirt booth, a petting zoo, an inflatable carnival, pickleball and a pickle eating contest were also available for attendees to participate in.
Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen, said they wanted to combine the city’s love for pickleball and pickles by hosting an event that has both. Seeing the success of Mansfield’s Pickle Parade, Jensen thought they should try an event of their own.
“It really doesn't matter if it's pickles or pickleball. Getting our community together as one is so important,” he said. “If you know anything about Grand Prairie, we used to not have anything. In fact, we all went to Arlington and Dallas to eat, to do anything. We finally have our own things.”
Along with pickle-themed food and drinks, vendors also sold pickle merchandise such as T-shirts, cups and bags. Upbeat music played in the background as attendees lined up to get their chance to play Pickleball.
Chris Michalski, assistant director of Parks and Recreation, said that Grand Prairie City Council aimed to attract more people to come to the Old Central Business District, one of their initiatives being the Pickle Fest. The event originally planned to have space for 70 vendors. When 160 groups applied, they added 60 more vendors to accommodate.
“I think [Pickle Fest] was a sense of relief to the community to come out and do something like that,” he said. “Our focus is trying to enhance downtown, to have people come here,”
As the pickle-eating competition started, a large crowd gathered and cheered on the competitors. The competitors quickly ate sweet and spicy pickles.
Laura Meyer, Pickle Fest attendee, said she wore a handmade pickle-themed costume and that her love of plain, sour and dill pickles is what drew her to the event.
“I'm just excited to see people having a good time with pickles,” she said.
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