A Really Big ‘Dill’ In Rosendale

By: Paula Mitchell   –   Hudson Valley News Network

ROSENDALE—The line never seemed to end at Spacey Tracy’s Gourmet Pickle truck.

The attraction? Deep-fried pickles paired with a mustard sauce.

he delicacy was one of the culinary hotshots at this year’s Rosendale International Pickle Festival on Sunday.

That didn’t surprise Tracy Krawitt, who’s been a vendor at the funky foodie fest for a decade. Each year, the woman behind Spacey Tracey’s said the piquant aperitif goes like gangbusters.

For her, it’s a time to cash in on the big day, with attendance this year projected to exceed 7,000.

“It’s one of the best festivals as far as pickle people go. I love it here,” she said on Sunday afternoon as the line in front of her concession grew longer.

“Pickles are a fun food. You can eat it with just about anything. For most people, it’s gluten-free and fat-free. You can have it salt-free and sugar-free. It’s good for you, and its plain fun.”

Naturally, that’s the goal of organizers, who were relishing their 18th year of pure pickle paradise.

Founders Bill and Cathy Brooks took the idea and ran with it after they discovered pickles really are an international delight.

Years ago, the Rosendale couple hosted dignitaries from Japan and were told their guests were nuts about pickles.

That prompted the pair to reach out to Vlasic and other industry giants for advice, and the next thing they knew, pallets of the prized, preserved cucumbers had arrived at their doorstep.

The love affair with the green spears wasn’t lost on the Brooks, who initially were not big pickle fans.

After they started the festival with a handful of volunteers, the taste grew on them, and they found out pretty fast that they were wildly popular with the general public.

Nowhere is that more clear than at the pickle festival, which drew fans from all over the Northeast on Sunday and close to 30 pickle vendors and 85 overall merchants selling everything from pot holders and bracelets to mittens and soap.

There were even pickle-centric games and good-natured competitions liked the triathlon, which included a pickle-eating contest. Participants were required to consume an entire jar of Mt.Olive Pickle Spears, with the winner earning a gold medal.

Sara McGinty, the president of the Rosendale Chamber of Commerce, said the event was an unequivocal success.

“I think pickles are delicious and peculiar, which kind of describes Rosendale,” she said. “We are a town with a lot of spirit. We’re a town with a great sense of fun, and I think that spirit is the underlying attraction for the pickle fest.”

McGinty said many people return yearly to get a head start on their Christmas shopping, despite inclement weather at past festivals.

“We are intense. It takes a certain kind of hardy, quirky soul to be a regular here, but every year, we double the size of the town during pickle fest. It’s a big day for us,” she said.