Organizers set a date for Lansing's Olive Burger Festival. Here's everything we know about it

LANSING — The grand plan for Lansing's very first Olive Burger Festival was cooked up five years ago at a table inside LeRoy's Classic Bar & Grill near the intersection of South Cedar and Baker streets.

James Brains, who had just moved from Eugene, Oregon back to Michigan, and a good friend were eating − you guessed it − olive burgers and pondering how hard it was to find one outside of the mitten state.

"We're sitting there enjoying it and talking about how great olive burgers are," Brains said last fall. "I hadn't had one in years because I'd been in Oregon."

Lansing doesn't celebrate the olive burger. But it should, they agreed.

The salty, beloved concoction − consisting of a hamburger topped with a mixture of mayonnaise, olives and often olive brine − can be found on the menu at long-time Lansing eateries like Weston's Kewpee Sandwich Shop and The Peanut Barrel. They are thought of as a unique culinary staple, but until now mid-Michigan hasn't made them the star of their own event.

This summer Lansing Foodies, the Facebook group with more than 41,000 members that Brains and his wife Erin created, will change that.

Organizers have set a date and secured a venue for Lansing's Olive Burger Festival. Here's everything we know so far about the new event.

What's it all about?

The Olive Burger Festival will celebrate "one of the cornerstone, iconic dishes here in Lansing," said Erin Brains. "We want to make this extremely family friendly."

Lansing Foodies leadership started flushing out the concept before the pandemic but a grant from Global Giving, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, that awarded them a grant through Facebook's 2022 Community Accelerator Program helped boost efforts. Approximately $20,000 of that is helping to fund the event.

Lansing Foodies will begin soliciting sponsors for the festival in the coming weeks, Erin Brains said.

Where will it be held?

The one-day festival will be held from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 24 at Jackson Field.

Lansing Foodies won't utilize the baseball field itself but the entire concourse will be part of the event.

"We got it rented out 360, so all the way around the concourse and we're going to have two stages, so there'll be entertainment on either side of the field," Erin Brains said. "We'll have vendors on either side of the field."

What will the festival offer?

There's room to allow for more than 40 vendors along the field's concourse, Erin Brains said, and while some of them will focus on drinks and non-food items, olive burgers are expected to be the star of the show.

Guests will be able to cast a vote for their favorite recipe and an olive burger eating contest will be held.

"We are working with some local artists to make our logo and make some really cool olive burger art that will be available for people to sport, like cool T-shirts," Erin Brains said.

The festival will feature live entertainment, including music, a selfie booth and a kids' area.

Will local eateries be showcased?

The short answer is yes. Weston's Kewpee Sandwich Shop, which is known for its olive burger, is already involved. Owner Autumn Weston is part of the Olive Burger Festival committee.

And while Erin Brains said organizers are just beginning to line up food vendors for the event, several local restaurant owners said they'd be open to taking part. That includes The Peanut Barrel and Olympic Broil, which has been in Lansing since 1974.

"We will want to be a part of that," said Mike Alexander, who co-owns Olympic Broil with his wife, Maria.

It's possible Slice by Saddleback could take part too, said co-owner Matt Gillett. The business debuted an olive burger pizza earlier this month.

Inspired by the upcoming festival, it featured "an olive sauce base" topped with ground beef, pickles, onions, tomatoes, and more olives, Gillett said. It spent two weeks on the menu, he said, but could come back for the event.

Expect some vendors with olive burgers from outside the Lansing area too, Erin Brains said.

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How much will it cost?

The price of admission hasn't been set yet, Erin Brains said.

"We're still working out the final details on that but it will be around $20," she said. The entry fee will include a set number of food tickets for the vendors at the festival. Additional food tickets will be available for purchase on-site.

Want to volunteer, learn more?

You can learn more about the festival online at www.lansingfoodies.com. Organizers are also encouraging people to sign an online petition advocating for the designation of Lansing as the "Olive Burger Capitol of the World." Lansing Foodies has already collected nearly 1,200 signatures online at www.change.org .

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .