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. New this indoor season, Pickles and Beer is moving to Forge!
Erin and Dan Schettler started Pickles and Beer in 2022. At its core, it is about building community and relationships through pickleball. What started as 5 players meeting on Memorial Day weekend has grown into the largest weekly event in Dane County. Over the summer months, we have had up to 150 people on 12 courts!
All players are encouraged to come. There is leveled play that will meet anyone’s needs or desires. Pickles and Beer provides an excellent opportunity to meet and mix with other players socially and play some pickleball! We organize the play, so all players need to do is sign up to play, then listen for their name to be called and report to that court. Simple and fun.
Over the years, we have found that players also have other common interests. We have joined in watching Badger sporting events and playing card games after playing pickleball. One of the things we are looking forward to most is having pizza, beverages, and snacks in the upstairs venue at Forge!
Lee Whitwell, a professional female pickleball player, coach, and ambassador, wrote:
"It’s not just a sport—it’s a social ecosystem where strangers become partners, partners become friends, and friends become family. Pickleball has done something remarkable—it’s brought every cross-section of life onto the same court. We’re addicted, yes, but not just to the game. We’re addicted to the culture it’s created. We belong. We’re part of something. Our friend groups are growing instead of shrinking. Games turn into coffee, into happy hour, into lifelong friendships. Pickleball has become an extension of our backyard—an open invitation to connect, play, and be seen."
THIS is what Pickles and Beer is all about!
So, please consider joining us for a Pickles and Beer event at Forge on any Friday from November through March. We can’t wait to welcome old friends, make new ones, and extend our pickleball family!