‘A giant festival of pickles’: Picklesburgh sees large crowds for day 2 of the festival

PITTSBURGH — Large crowds filled Downtown Pittsburgh enjoying day two of Picklesburgh Friday.

“Look at this - all the brine, all the dill, said Zach of Cleveland, Ohio.

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From the giant signature Heinz pickle balloon to the pickled food, the unique four-day festival is a pickle takeover.

“I had a pickle platter,” said Paige who was there with her father.

Festivalgoer Benny Hennessy said, “We tried the chocolate-covered pickle. That was pretty good.”

Zach said he’d visited Pittsburgh before but had never been to Picklesburgh until Friday.

“We had a dill-pickled pretzel, pretty good too, buttery- pickle in the pretzel,” he said. “You can’t get any better than that.”

There are even pickles on pizza.

“The pickle pizza from Iron Born was really good,” Hennessy said.

Many people showed their love for the briny treat on their clothes. One woman’s shirt read, “I love pickles.”

“[I] got some merchandise, got a little pin. Rep the brand, Heinz,” Zach said.

Picklesburgh was back Downtown for its ninth year. Walking along the Boulevard of the Allies, you’ll find some new additions, such as the Olympickle Games and IC pickle beer.

“We had a pickle flight - six different pickles, all excellent,” said Zach. “I had a couple light refreshing beverages, pickled themed.”

For the first time ever, A Taste of Picklesburgh includes both shops and restaurants.

“We’re making BBQ pulled pork, BBQ beef and pickled kimchi and bread and butter pickles,” said Rob, a Hyeholde Restaurant employee. “I’m trying to get some of that pickled lemonade.”

There’s more than enough pickle-flavored food to go around and even taste test.

“I’m a pickle lover,” Hennessy said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of people out here that love pickles.”

First-timer Zach from Cleveland said he’d definitely come back to Picklesburgh next year.

“It’s a giant festival of pickles. It sells itself,” he said. “I don’t know what else you need.”

Last year the festival saw a record turnout of 200,000 attendees. The crowds this year could be another record-breaker.

This year, organizers added a fourth day to enjoy all things pickles. Picklesburgh kicked off on Thursday and ends on Sunday, July 21.

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