Brandon Brine Bash postponed until fall 2027

Pickle lovers in Brandon and across Westman will have to wait another year for the return of the city’s iconic downtown pickle festival.

The Brandon Brine Bash has been postponed to the fall of 2027, organizers announced in a news release late Wednesday.

Downtown Brandon Biz executive director Emmy Sanderson said the postponement was driven largely by the amount of time consumed by a trademark dispute surrounding the event’s former name.

“The issue got sorted out, but it took so long to sort it out — and not on the part of anyone in Brandon — that by the time we were ready to move ahead with planning, there just wasn’t enough time to do the event justice,” she told the Sun.

Sanderson, who is also a member of the festival planning committee, said planning for a festival of that scale typically needs to begin six months to a year in advance, but the trademark challenge “ate up most of that” timeline.

The event, formerly known as the Downtown Brandon International Pickle Fest, had been scheduled to return to the Wheat City on Aug. 22.

In an interview in May, organizer Aly Wowchuk said the committee decided to rebrand the event after receiving notice from lawyers representing Picklefest Canada regarding the use of the “Pickle Fest” name.

Despite the uncertainty, Sanderson said the volunteer committee continued meeting regularly and hoped to keep the 2026 date alive. However, once the legal matter was resolved, there were only a few months left to organize permits, vendors, entertainment, infrastructure, sponsorships, grants, advertising, merchandise and other logistics.

“Two months or less is not enough time to do it properly,” she said.

Sanderson said the festival will not disappear from the public’s mind during the extended wait.

“We can still keep our logo, which is very familiar to people,” she said. “The rebranded logo is still familiar and holds that nostalgia, and we’ll just move forward like any other event.”

She said that public-facing promotion, sponsorship efforts and advertising are expected to ramp up again by next spring.

“I think the community will be supportive. I’m not worried about that,” she said.

Sanderson said feedback so far suggests residents understand the situation was beyond the committee’s control.

“It was completely unexpected. It was really disappointing, and the whole incident certainly wasn’t in the spirit of what we were trying to do,” she said. “The committee members that managed it did a great job, and we just have to move forward in the best positive way we can.”

In the news release, organizers said the name “Brandon Brine Bash” has now been officially registered with the Manitoba Companies Office, with assistance from Epp Law Offices.

While acknowledging the disappointment of another delay, the committee said it wants the festival’s eventual return to meet the expectations of residents who have been waiting years to see it revived.

“A good pickle takes time and love to ferment, and our volunteers are eager to start planning again,” the release said.

The planned 2027 event is expected to feature downtown activities, local entertainment, pickle-themed food vendors and quirky competitions reminiscent of the original festival.

Organizers also announced that part of any profits from the 2027 event will be donated to the Brandon Bear Clan, an Indigenous-led volunteer organization that supports vulnerable residents in downtown Brandon.

The grassroots effort to revive the beloved 1990s downtown pickle festival started about two years ago.

The original Downtown Brandon International Pickle Fest, organized by the former downtown improvement association, became a signature summer attraction in the late 1990s, drawing large crowds to Princess Park and surrounding streets for food vendors, street parties, live entertainment and offbeat pickle-themed contests.

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