Pickles & Beer at McGaw Park

Pickles and Beer is a social gathering of pickleball players of all ages and ability levels that meets every Friday night of the year. During the warm-weather months, the event is held outdoors at McGaw Park in Fitchburg.

Pickles and Beer was started in 2022 by Erin and Dan Schettler, who have graciously volunteered their time to run the event! Pickles and Beer is jointly supported by both the Capital Area Pickleball Association (CAPA) and the City of Fitchburg. You don’t have to be a member of CAPA or a resident of Fitchburg to attend.

Each week, the event draws anywhere from approximately 40-100 pickleball players. If you would like to attend, you are encouraged to RSVP in advance on playtimescheduler.com, but doing so is not required. Feel free to just show up! Pickles and Beer provides an excellent opportunity to meet and mix with other players socially and play some pickleball! Picnic tables are provided, but table seating is limited, so feel free to bring your own lawn chair or canvas chair to sit on. Please also feel free to bring and share beverages and snacks (which should be consumed outside the court area).

Once you arrive, you will see a whiteboard with dry erase markers in different colors attached to the court fence. The whiteboard is divided into many boxes. The different colors of markers correspond to different levels of player ability. You just write your name in a box with other players of similar ability levels, and as soon as a court frees up, you go out and play a single game to 11 (win by 2) with the other folks whose names are written in your box.