GALION — The prep work is the most important part of any good pickle.
Galion’s annual Pickle Run Festival is no different.
The annual festival made a return last year. Through research, a lot of sweat equity and some trial and error, the festival’s appearance, for the first time since 1998, was a success.
“We exceeded our expectations,” said Sarah Capretta, one of the event organizers. “Once we made the decision to do it, it gained a lot of momentum.”
The Pickle Run Festival was moved to the Independence Day weekend to coincide with other holiday events, including the first year of play of the Galion Graders baseball team. The festival lasted two days.
Which isn’t to say it went off without a hitch.
“We really had no idea what to expect last year,” Capretta said. “But when we ran into problems, we just worked through them.”
Attendance totals are difficult to come by, but a crowd estimate of the Graders’ game on the final evening of last year’s festival was 1,000 people.
“I know this, by afternoon on the second day, every vendor who came, was out of food,” she said. “That wasn’t ideal, but they were pleased with the attendance, and every one of them will be back this year.”
A final planning meeting for this year’s festival is slated for June 15 at 6 p.m., at the City Building.
“We want to make sure we are ready,” Capretta said. “But we are so far ahead of where we were last year. We learned a lot and because of how successful we were last year, we have a lot more people offering their help this year.”
Which means Capretta and her band of organizers have managed to farm out many of the items they handled themselves a year ago.
Still, more volunteers would be appreciated and donations to help support the festival are being accepted.
“We’re never going to say no to help” she said. “Anyone who wants to volunteer should come to the meeting.”
Donations can be made to the Galion Community Foundation, with a note saying the donation is for the Pickle Run.
The festival is three days this year, July 1 to 3. The city’s annual fireworks display will cap the party with a 9:45 p.m. display at Heise Park on Sunday. Most events are at Heise Park, but not all. Check out the website for a list of tournaments, and registration and site information.
A complete schedule of events is still being updated. But it is available on the festival’s website. Updates are also available on its Facebook page.
Opening ceremonies are Friday, with other events scheduled leading up to a baseball game between the Galion Graders and the Irish Hills Leprechauns.
Events throughout the weekend include a teen dance at the Heise Park swimming pool; a 5K run; a triathlon; softball, sand volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball and flying disc golf tournaments; a parade, followed by a kids bike parade where participants are encouraged to decorate the rides in patriotic gear; a huge car show; and plenty of food and entertainment.
The popular Anything Goes competition is Saturday at 5 p.m. and pits teams of friends, families and maybe even some corporate squads against one another in goofy games and contests. The Eyes of Freedom: A Lima Company military memorial will be on display at Galion Community Theatre throughout the festival. It is sponsored by the Galion Historical Society.
“We want this to be a kid-friendly, family event,” Capretta said. “My kids were here last year and I hardly saw them and I was never worried about what they were doing.
“This is all about having a good time. There will be so much to do.”
The event used to be a fundraiser for the Galion athletic boosters club. That is no longer the case, although many Galion school district sports teams are using the festival as a means to raise their own funding. They are doing that through their own booths, games, food stands or by organizing tournaments.
“Our goals is for every fundraiser to be successful,” Capretta said.
The festival itself is meant to be self-supporting. However, in the future, organizers would like to be able to help the city or school district with some repairs or upgrades to sporting venues or equipment.
