The 3rd Annual Broad Ripple Bagel and Deli Pickle Eating contest is set! Mark your calendars and save your appetite for Saturday, September 22, 2007. From 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., owner Ken Richman expects the biggest crowd yet, "at least three times as big as last year," to come out for this annual contest that benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

For a $20 entry fee, contestants will be timed as they eat two large Kosher Pickles on the spot at the Ripple Bagel & Deli. Interested parties can start signing up now or muster up the courage day-of and enter at the last minute! If you want to sign up early, you can request a specific time to compete, and the officials will try to work that out for you as best as possible.

If you're not in the binging or competing mood, you can still get in on the fun. Aside from the entertainment value of watching your friends and neighbors choke down the pickles, you can purchase raffle tickets for great prizes like a new bike or guitar, stainless steel cooler, golf bag, and even Colts tickets. You can purchase raffle tickets at Old Pro Table's (OPT) or at Ripple Bagel & Deli at any time. As the proceeds go to Make-A-Wish Foundation, you'll feel like a winner no matter what. You can also buy a support pickle at virtually any of the bars and stores in Broad Ripple for merely one dollar to show your support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the contestants.

The winner of the Pickle Eating contest (which has been Molly Kearnes for the past two years!) will receive a fantastic pickle trophy and 50-yard line Colts tickets! Intimidated by Ms. Kearnes' record? Not to worry; fortunately for you, she is out of town for this year's contest and is unable to compete.

Radio Now 93.1 personalities will be on-site, as in previous years, to emcee the event and serve as judges. Mr. Richman from the Bagel Deli is staying mum about other celebrity judges that may make an appearance.

"We are trying to get some special celebrity judges, but I can't name names yet, of course. Some judges will be from Radio Now, and Nicole from OPT is helping out a great deal with the whole event, and she'll be working on getting more judges, too."

INTake, Nuvo, Channel 13 News and, of course, the Broad Ripple Gazette will provide additional celebrity media coverage.

Why all the fuss in the first place? "Sometimes Broad Ripple gets perceived as just a place to get drunk, and we want to show people that that's not all we're about. We do give back to the community," says Ken Richman of the Broad Ripple Bagel & Deli.

They are looking for more corporate sponsorships for the event. At $200 per sponsorship, the business will receive one free entry into the contest - great for nominating the Employee of the Month to enter! And, the corporate sponsor to raise the most money can receive free advertising for a year in our local newspapers!

If you want to be a corporate sponsor, contact Brian Hacker or Ken Richman at Broad Ripple Bagel and Deli at (317) 257-8326.