PITTSBURGH — We knew Picklesburgh was returning this year, but now we know all of the details -- and they’re a big dill!

Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership said this year’s festival will include more space, more vendors and more pickle-themed food!

The event, which only takes place in Pittsburgh, was twice named 1 Best Specialty Food Festival in America.

“Picklesburgh is something we look forward to every year, and we’re excited to introduce an expanded footprint that improves the overall experience and offerings for attendees. We want to give everyone more room to browse, enjoy dill-icious food, live local music, and truly relish the energy of this only in Pittsburgh event,” said Jeremy Waldrup, PDP’s President and CEO. “If you’re passionate about pickles, or having your dill debut, this years’ Picklesburgh will have something for you!”

Here’s everything you need to know if you’re planning on heading downtown for the festival:

When & Where

• Friday, July 15 and Saturday July 16, from noon – 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday, July 17 from noon to 6:00 p.m.

This year, it will be on the Rachel Carson (9th Street) bridge and riverside on the 10th Street Bypass, where most of the food vendors will be located.

The Rachel Carson Bridge will be closed for a week starting July 12. The Roberto Clemente is already closed for construction, so the closures could cause some traffic issues for drivers.

There will be no posted detour, but drivers can get around the closure by using Fort Duquesne Boulevard, the Andy Warhol (Seventh Street) Bridge, and Isabella Street.

Food and drinks

Some pickle-themed cuisine you can expect this year includes bacon-wrapped and cheese stuffed pickles, kimchi grilled cheese, pickle swirl fudge, pickle pierogies, pickle lemonade, chocolate-covered pickle popsicles, shrimp ceviche with pickled strawberries, and even pickle cupcakes, donuts, and ice cream.

Many participating restaurants will also serve handcrafted creative cocktails including Pickle Paloma, PickleBerry Mule, Vodka Cucumber Refreshers, and Pickle Rita, starting with a 4:30 p.m. happy hour on Friday and Saturday, and at noon on Sunday.

You’ll also be able to leave with some pickle merchandise, including free Heinz pickle pins!

Click HERE for a full list of vendor

Music

There will be two performance venues: The EZ Pass Main Stage located at one end of the 10th Street Bypass, and the more intimate Pittsburgh Pirates Bridge Stage at the north end of the Rachel Carson Bridge.

The stages will be programmed throughout the festival with a diverse range of genres and local favorites including Sierra Sellers, Nash.V.Ill, Big Blitz, Justin Fabus, Miss Freddye’s Blues Band, Pickup Line, and many others.

For the kids

Here’s something the kids can relish! For some creative pickle-themed arts & crafts, “Li’l Gherkins Kidsplay” will be open until 7:00pm on Friday and Saturday, and 6:00pm on Sunday. There will be free coloring pages, and kids will be able decorate their own pickle necklace or puppet to take home.

Pickle Juice Drinking Contest

Pucker up! Registration for the annual Pickle Juice Drinking Contest opened at noon Wednesday. The contest runs all three days of the festival from July 15 through July 17. The winner will take home $500 in grand prize money and will be crowned the new Mayor of Picklesburgh.

If you’re interested, organizers urge you to sign up fast because slots are limited and tend to fill up quickly.

You can register here on the Picklesburg website

Ahead of the festival

There will be a “Pickles and Giggles Comedy Showcase” at Byham Theater at 8 p.m. on July 14!

Click HERE for more information.

For those who can’t wait for Picklesburg, you can preview the pickle preparations at a ‘Taste of Picklesburgh’ in Downtown Pittsburgh. More than 15 Downtown restaurants will offer a creative array of pickle-themed food and beverages from Friday, July 8th through Thursday, July 14, just ahead of Picklesburgh’s opening day. Participating establishments will also distribute free Heinz Pickle Pins with purchase, while supplies last. Restaurants will feature pickle-themed food and beverages like pickle pizza, pickle stuffed pierogies, Picklesburgh grilled cheese, kisir (a traditional pickle salad), pickle-themed cocktails and more. Select restaurants will also be exclusively serving limited-edition pickle beer from Southern Tier Brewing, made especially for Picklesburgh.

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