RECAP OF PICKLEPALOOZA 2021

First Ever Picklepalooza! A Big Success For Senior Services.

In 2019 Senior Services decided to try a fresh, new concept for special event fundraising and to develop a new Pickleball event. Since charitable tournaments are very common, the planning committee decided to create something a bit different. The concept of making Picklepalooza a week-long festival came to fruition.

Picklepalooza was designed to be a series of community events to celebrate the sport. Events were open to anyone, of any age and skill level. Numerous companies stepped up to be event sponsors and to organize teams. The festival would begin with a simple community fair hosted at Senior Services followed by 3 days dedicated to various industries such as healthcare, legal services and corporate/small businesses who competed against each other in social, round robin style matches. Each challenge day ended with a mingling party on the rooftop at Chicken N’Pickle. The festival would end with a semi-formal cocktail party celebrating the weeks’ events. All plans were in place to launch Picklepalooza the week of April 18 – 25, 2020.

But the Covid 19 pandemic hit in March and changed all plans.

After 4 attempts at rescheduling, Picklepalooza was officially launched September 18 – September 23, 2021. While Covid outbreaks did force alterations to the schedule, and cancellation of the Celebration Party, the Challenge Matches were a big hit with players and sponsors. The festival generated $53,000 to support all programs of Senior Services.

Plans are in the works now for Picklepalooza 2022 with the intent to make it even bigger and better. Early discussions include the return of a competitive tournament (formally known as the Heartland Games Pickleball Tournament) for players 50 years or better. Also in the works is a competitive tournament for all ages in addition to adding more industries to compete at the Challenge Matches at Chicken N’ Pickle.

Senior Services would like to extend a sincere thank you to all our sponsors for their patience and support. Without them the festival would have never taken place.

PICKLEPALOOZA 2021 SPONSORS