Picklesburgh

Picklesburghis an annualpickle-themed festival inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It has taken place inDowntown Pittsburghevery summer since 2015 (excluding 2020),originally on theThree Sistersbridges and along theAllegheny Riverfront, before relocating to theBoulevard of the AlliesandPPG Placefor its 2023 installment.
The festival showcases "all thingspickled," including pickle-flavoredbeerandcocktails, pickleice cream, and other pickled foods such asdilly beansandkimchi.It also features live music, children's activities, and an annualpickle juicedrinking competition, the winner of which is crowned the "Mayor of Picklesburgh".The festival's centerpiece is a 35-foot-long (11 m)Heinzpickleballoon.
Picklesburgh was voted the "best specialtyfood festivalin America" inUSA Todayreaders' polls in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The inaugural Picklesburgh festival took place on July 17 and 18, 2015, on theRachel Carson BridgeinDowntown Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.Organized by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, a non-profit organization, and sponsored primarily by Pittsburgh-basedHeinz(nowKraft Heinz), the festival was inspired by Pittsburgh's rich history ofpickling.Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership president Jeremy Waldrup explained that pickles "speak to the ethnic, cultural history of Pittsburgh, as amelting potforEastern Europeanethnic communities",although numerous countries ofWestern culturewith significant diasporas in the United States, likeGermanyandPoland, also employ pickling in their national cuisines. According to Waldrup, the festival was also inspired by the growingfarm-to-tablemovement and the trend ofurban homesteading.
At Picklesburgh 2016, the second annual festival held at Rachel Carson Bridge, Heinz debuted their first new pickle flavors in over 50 years.The 2017 festival was held at the nearbyRoberto Clemente Bridge, where it also took place in 2018 and 2019, gradually taking up more abutting street space each year.Having begun as a two-day festival in 2015, a three-day schedule was established in 2018, which was further expanded to four days in 2024.Picklesburgh was canceled in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in August 2021 with additional safety precautions on theAndy Warhol Bridge.
In 2022, the festival returned to its original locale on the Rachel Carson Bridge, with food vendors along the neighboring 10th Street Bypass.Picklesburgh 2022 drew 90,000 attendees, leading organizers to periodically close the Rachel Carson Bridge to preventovercrowding.Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership director Jack Dougherty remarked, "At times, especially during our peak hours, it would get very crowded and just kind of become a little uncomfortable for everyone in attendance."
In response, for its 2023 installment, the festival was relocated to a larger venue occupying three blocks of theBoulevard of the AlliesbetweenStanwix Streetand Smithfield Street, and alongMarket StreetintoPPG Place.Even with its larger location, Picklesburgh 2023 still saw enormous shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, with attendance more than doubling to 200,000 visitors.Amid mid-summer heat and huge crowds, 16 attendees were hospitalized due toheat exhaustionand other ailments.
Since its founding in 2015, every Picklesburgh festival has featured apickle juicedrinking competition as its headline event.In the competition, contestants race to drink aquart-sizedjarof pickle juice without regurgitating, spilling, or leaving any juice in the jar.The winner is dubbed the "Mayor of Picklesburgh" and receives a belt and a $500 cash prize, as of 2023.
The 2023 champion and reigning "Mayor of Picklesburgh" is Pittsburgh native Dan Koba, who drank the jar of pickle juice in 7 seconds.The all-time record was set at Picklesburgh 2022, whenWisconsin-basedTikTokcontent creator Jalen Franko won the competition by drinking the quart of juice in 4.5 seconds.