Hold the Picklesburgh: The beloved Pittsburgh festival is canceled
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No dill.
Picklesburgh is the latest summer event to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year would have been the sixth annual celebration of all things pickled.
Voted the No. 1 specialty food festival in America in a USA Today readers’ poll for two years in a row, Picklesburgh attracted thousands of people over three days.
With outdoor gatherings of more than 250 prohibited by the state, the event can’t be held.
The event, presented by Heinz and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, is expected to return in July 2021.
There’s still a way to get a taste of the festival.
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced more than a dozen restaurants will offer a variety of pickle-themed food and beverages from July 30 to Aug. 1. They are calling it “Taste of Picklesburgh.” There will be pickle pizza, pickled seafood, pickle-themed cocktails and, of course, fried pickles among the pickle-bilities available for takeout, delivery and in-house dining, according to a release.
Some establishments will have free pickle pins and there will be some available at the Market Square Farmer’s Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 30. Pickle fudge will be on sale, for those who dare.
“While large gatherings are not an option, this is the safest and most comfortable way for pickle enthusiasts to enjoy ‘Picklesburgh’ Downtown,” said Jeremy Waldrup, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s president and CEO. “True to form, Downtown chefs and bartenders have crafted new and creative concoctions to help us celebrate this signature Pittsburgh event in a safe and responsible way.”
“While nothing can replace the experience of being at the festival, this gives us an opportunity to celebrate this hometown event at a time when we can all use a little something to celebrate,” said Spencer Warren, owner of The Warren, a Downtown bar and restaurant.
Over its first five years, the festival became so popular that organizers added more space to accommodate the large crowds on the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
Planners extended the footprint onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard, between Stanwix and Seventh streets. They added more pickle juice-drinking contest preliminary rounds, and five times the beer. They also moved the entertainment stage.
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The festival crowns a “Mayor of Picklesburgh” in a pickle juice drinking contest. The contest requires drinking a quart of pickle juice fastest without spilling – and they must keep it down.
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