Big Dill: Picklesburgh festival gets a new downtown Pittsburgh location
PITTSBURGH – Picklesburgh is ready for its a new location.
Pittsburgh's one-of-a-kind celebration of all things pickle will take place July 21-23 on the Boulevard of The Allies downtown, with the signature 35-foot Heinz pickle flag at PPG Plaza.
The new site is an expansion to accommodate the growing scale and popularity of the beloved tradition, according to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP).
The entertainment lineup features Pittsburgh stalwarts and a couple bands − Mean Blue Planets and Water Trash − with Beaver County ties.
Entertainment lineup
Stanwix Street Stage
Friday
Noon: The Evergreens '60's to '90s covers.
1 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
1:30: p.m. Allissa
2:30 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
3 p.m.: Megan Paullet
4 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
4:30 p.m.: Casey Catone
5:30 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
6 p.m.: 3 Beach/Reggae music
7 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
7:30 p.m. Cisco Kid (rock)
9 p.m.: JVK (rock)
Saturday
Noon: KEA (soul)
1 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
1:30 p.m.: The Polkamaniacs (polka)
2:30 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
3 p.m.: NASH.V.ILL
4 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
4:30 p.m.: Bryana Appley
5:30 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
6 p.m.: Elias Khouri (rock)
7 p.m.: pickle juice drinking
7:30 p.m.: Jack Swing (rock)
9 p.m. Pickup Line (covers)
Sunday
Noon: Water Trash (indie rock)
2 p.m.: pickle juice drinking championship
2:30 p.m.: Come September (covers)
4:30 p.m.: Bill Henry Band (R&B)
Smithfield Stage Schedule
Friday
Noon: Zen Strings (covers)
2 p.m.: Clint Bleil Quartet (jazz)
4 p.m.: Soulful Femme (blues)
6:30 p.m.: Pierce Dipner (blues)
9 p.m.: Mason & Mr. Business (indie folk)
Saturday
Noon: Mean Blue Planets (funk rock)
2:30 p.m.: Right Turn Clyde (rock)
5 p.m.: Isaiah Small
6:30 p.m.: Justin Fabus (country)
9 p.m.: Mirage Soul
Sunday
Noon: "The Appalachian Soul Man" Aristotle Jones
2 p.m.: coolRaf (hip hop)
4 p.m.: Miss Freddye's Blues Band
5:15 p.m.: Jordan Montgomery (hip hop)
Launched in 2015, Picklesburgh has emerged as one of Pittsburgh’s signature events, having just been recognized by USA Today as #1 Best Specialty Food Festival in America for the third consecutive time and featured as a ‘Signature Event’ by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Tourism Office. It continues to build momentum and attract both national and international attention. And #Picklesburgh continues to be a social media phenomenon, with 30 million views on TikTok last year.
Festival honored: Picklesburgh named No. 1 specialty food fest in America
Due to its growing popularity, the scale of the event has grown every year since its launch. In 2022, the footprint expanded onto the 10th St. Bypass, which increased the footprint by an additional 35 percent, stretching for more than a half-mile end-to-end. Last year’s record-setting attendance outpaced even this most recent expansion, increasing by about 60%.
"While the growing scale has presented highly valuable opportunities for participating vendors, restaurants and the Downtown neighborhood, it has also presented logistical challenges related to increased crowding, particularly on the bridge where the event has been traditionally held," a PDP press release said. "Given this trajectory, we are excited to unveil a major relocation of this year’s festival. After much consideration and collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh and our new neighbors, we are relocating the event to one of the city’s major thoroughfares, the Boulevard of the Allies, from Stanwix Street to Smithfield Street."
“Picklesburgh brings tens of thousands to downtown every year, and those numbers are steadily growing," Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership said. "With the new location and footprint, we want to ensure we continue to DILL-iver the best Picklesburgh experience as possible for all the pickle-loving masses.”
Additionally, there are plans to incorporate the adjacent surface parking lots along the Boulevard into the footprint. These lots, along with the width of the roadbed, length of the footprint, and multiple entry and exit points along the footprint, will allow for a more comfortable experience for visitors.
Deploying the Giant Pickle at PPG Plaza celebrates one of Pittsburgh’s most magnificent modern structures and further reinforces the organic connection between the site, which is home to Kraft-Heinz local headquarters, and this uniquely Pittsburgh event, the press release said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Picklesburgh gets a new downtown Pittsburgh location
