This year's Picklesburgh festival will have an expanded layout across Downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has announced an expanded layout for this year's upcoming Picklesburgh festival.
This year's festival will be held from July 11 to July 13, and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership says the expanded layout will make for "its most ambitious footprint to date."
"This is no longer a street festival. This is a downtown festival," said Jeremy Waldrup, CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. "So you're going to see restaurants opening up their doors and spilling out onto sidewalks and streets."
While organizers are staying tight-lipped for now about what's in store for the 10-year anniversary, fans can expect the return of all their favorites.
"Oh, we've been excited since last Picklesburgh, since the end of it," said Logan Ryan, a longtime fan of the festival.
A new location for Picklesburgh
When the festival returns this summer for its 10th anniversary, Picklesburgh will be held on the Roberto Clemente and Andy Warhol bridges, in Allegheny Landing on the North Shore, along Fort Duquesne Boulevard and a stretch of 6th Street, in the Heinz Hall courtyard, in Market Square, and in PPG Plaza.
The crowd has grown from 20,000 in its early years to now over a quarter million pickle lovers, and organizers knew it was time to "dill" with the crowd size.
"I am done trying to read the tea leaves on this event," Waldrup said. "Every year, we've kind of hit capacity and every year, we've grown."
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership says the expanded footprint will help to support the growth of the event, safety for crowds, and an enhanced festival experience.
"Picklesburgh brings tens of thousands of people to Downtown each year, and has raised Pittsburgh's profile as a summer destination," said Waldrup. "With this expanded footprint, featuring two of our city's most iconic bridges and beautiful PPG Plaza, we can't wait to DILL-iver the best festival experience possible. As a signature event for Pittsburgh and the region, with fans from near and far, it's exciting to see the festival continue to grow and evolve."
Picklesburgh was first held in 2015, and since then, it has become one of the largest festivals in all of the Pittsburgh area.
Picklesburgh sees continued growth over a decade
What started as a small business celebration and niche festival has become one of the most anticipated events in the city.
At the center of it is the Pittsburgh Pickle Company.
"We started our company the same year that Picklesburgh began, and the festival's yearly arrival has always kept us on our toes, forcing us to fine-tune our approach and keep things fresh, new, and exciting," said John Patterson, CEO of Pittsburgh Pickle. "Picklesburgh has become a backdrop for the story that is our company. As I've said a thousand times before, there's no more perfect place on the planet than Pittsburgh to start a pickle company. Pickles are made here."
Since starting a decade ago, the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership said that there has been a nearly 1000% increase in attendance, a 114% increase in vendors, 95,000 pickle beers served, 14,000 pickle balloons sold, and 800 quarts of pickle juice consumed.
With a new, expanded footprint coming this year, the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel is offering a "Picklesburgh Package" for guests coming into the city for the event.
You can learn more on the Picklesburgh website right here.
