Pickle fest rebranded over trademark issue

Organizers working to revive the Downtown Brandon International Pickle Fest this summer have changed the name of the event to the Brandon Brine Bash due to a trademark issue.

The volunteer committee said it will move forward with the new name after receiving notice that “Pickle Fest” is a trademarked title held by Picklefest Canada.

Aly Wowchuk, who is one of the organizers, said the trademark issue forced a name change — but not a change in spirit.

“It’s the same event, we have the same heart and soul, it just has a different name,” she told the Sun.

“We were not sued … we received an email on behalf of Picklefest Canada’s lawyer about the use of ‘Pickle Fest.’ There was a lot of back and forth between lawyers about the use of the name, but ultimately, it was easier for us to move forward and change the name of the Brandon Pickle Fest event.”

The Picklefest Canada website lists events in major cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, B.C., and Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Wowchuk said the new name, Brandon Brine Bash, was chosen in part to stand out in an increasingly crowded field of pickle-themed events.

“With the popularity of pickle festivals across Canada and internationally, almost every variation of ‘pickle party’ or ‘pickle palooza’ has been used,” she said. “We wanted something unique that included Brandon and was easy to find.”

The rebrand also required updates to the festival’s logo, created by local artist Alexander Matheson. While the iconic pickle design has been retained and modernized, references to “Pickle Fest” have been removed.

Wowchuk, one of about eight active volunteers on the committee, said the group began working to revive the beloved festival roughly two years ago, driven largely by community nostalgia for the 1990s event.

“You ask anyone about the downtown pickle festival, and they’ll have some memory or story about it,” she said. “It had such a hold in our culture here in Brandon, even though it only ran for about a decade.”

The original event, organized by the former downtown improvement association, was last held around the turn of the millennium. Since then, repeated calls from residents to bring it back eventually spurred the current grassroots effort.

Despite the setback, Wowchuk said momentum is building again, with plans for live music, food vendors, and a return of quirky contests that defined the original festival, from canning competitions to crowd-favourite games.

“One of the challenges is that everyone remembers something different,” Wowchuk said. “There were so many unique and weird things that happened, it’s hard to narrow down what to bring back.”

Downtown Brandon Biz executive director Emmy Sanderson, whose organization has been working alongside the committee, said the name change is disappointing but not derailing.

“I give the committee a lot of credit, as they didn’t let this stop the event from happening,” Sanderson told the Sun. “I’m confident they can bring back the spirit of Pickle Fest under a different name.”

The downtown community is eager to see the event return and expects strong support once planning resumes publicly, she said.

Organizers are now restarting fundraising efforts, including plans for a traditional Manitoba social, and are seeking sponsors, partners and additional volunteers.

“So many people wanted to see this event happen,” she said. “Volunteering and local partnerships are what make something like this possible.”

The Brandon Brine Bash is currently slated for Aug. 22, with the exact downtown location still to be determined. Organizers said more updates will be shared in the coming weeks as plans solidify.

The Sun’s archive from the late 1990s paints a picture of a lively, well-attended celebration that drew crowds into the heart of downtown.

Princess Park and surrounding streets were filled with families enjoying food vendors, street parties and quirky attractions, including dunk tanks featuring local personalities and oversized pickle mascots entertaining children.

Organizers at the time pointed to packed patios, full seating areas and strong turnout as clear signs the festival had become a signature summer event for the city.

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

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