Mount Olive cancels annual Pickle Festival for 2nd year in a row

Posted: Jan 21, 2021 / 09:24 PM EST / Updated: Jan 21, 2021 / 09:35 PM EST

FILE – This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which cause COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. According to two new studies released on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, people who have antibodies from infection with the coronavirus seem less likely to get a second infection for several months and maybe longer. (NIAID-RML via AP)

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (WNCN) – For the second year in a row, Mount Olive canceled the in-person aspects of its annual Pickle Festival. The organizers cited concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a news release said Thursday.

Instead, the festival will hold a series of virtual events. There will be an online pickle-eating contest, a recipe contest, and a drive-in movie.

“A year ago in mid-March, when we completely canceled the 2020 festival, we did not ever imagine that we would have a similar conversation for 2021. But, here we are,” festival co-chair Lynn Williams said in the release.

Co-chair Julie Beck added: “We know we will eventually return, hopefully in 2022. But that is just not where we are now.”