Planning for Pickle Run

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GALION — Organizers of the Pickle Run Festival are giving local residents something to look forward to in the middle of a cold winter.

The annual mid-summer celebation has been scheduled for July 2-3 at Heise Park in Galion, according to Sarah Capretta, a member of the planning committee. Event listings for the festival itself and the car and cycle show were posted to the festival’s Facebook page this week.

The vast majority of events held during the Pickle Run Festival were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a few events were still staged, Capretta said.

“Even though the festival was canceled, we did partner with the city to have some food vendors and we had our car show,” Capretta said. “We were able to socially distance during the car show. This year, we’re hopeful that we can have a lot of the same things that we’ve had in the past. Some of the events are held in conjunction with other organizations so it depends on which ones participate.

“For example, on Friday night, we would normally have a glow run, so if the (Galion Community Center) YMCA is comfortable having an in-person run, then we’ll plan on having that,” she noted. “We have our car show planned for Saturday (July 3). We’re still planning our sand volleyball tournament, which we had last year. All the proceeds from that go to the (Galion High School) volleyball program. We’re also planning to have fireworks.”

Organizers are inviting local groups to adopt flower beds at Heise Park as part of a beautification effort, which Capretta said was initiated in 2020.

“We’re doing that again this year to try to get the park fixed up, not only for the Pickle Run, but just in general for the summer,” she said. “A lot of people drive through the park and so we want it to look good. We’re working with a bunch of different organizations to do a park clean-up.”

Capretta said it’s unclear at this point whether the parade will be staged due to uncertainty about COVID-19 restrictions at the time of the festival.

The Pickle Run Festival was revived in 2015 after an 18-year hiatus and has enjoyed success, Capretta said.

“Every year we try to make modifications based off of previous years and what worked well,” she said. “Pretty quickly after the event happens, we look back and determine what things were successful and what things didn’t go quite as well. We try to build on the things that were successful and add new things every year to keep it fresh for people and keep them coming back year after year. Obviously, the fireworks is one of the big events that draws a lot of people in every year. We had done all kinds of eating contests (in 2019) that were really popular, so it was really disappointing not to be able to do those things last year.”

For information about the festival, visit Pickle Run Festival on Facebook or email [email protected].

Planning is underway for the 2021 Pickle Run Festival. The mid-summer celebration is scheduled for the weekend of July 2-3 at Heise Park in Galion. The Pickle Run Car & Cycle Show will once again be staged as part of the weekend celebration. It’s scheduled for July 3. For information about the 2021 Pickle Run Festival, visit Pickle Run Festival on Facebook.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/02/web1_IMG_6223.jpgPlanning is underway for the 2021 Pickle Run Festival. The mid-summer celebration is scheduled for the weekend of July 2-3 at Heise Park in Galion. The Pickle Run Car & Cycle Show will once again be staged as part of the weekend celebration. It’s scheduled for July 3. For information about the 2021 Pickle Run Festival, visit Pickle Run Festival on Facebook. File photo | AIM Media Midwest
Festival set for July 2-3

By Andrew Carter

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