| GO TO FINE CHEESE & CHARCUTERIE | ABOUT | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | NEWS HEADLINES | CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS | RETAIL FOODSERVICE |
Pittsburgh Becomes PicklesburghPosted on 6/9/2015
Downtown Picklesburgh, PA – Did you know that Americans consume 26 billion pickles a year, which equals nine pounds of pickles per person? Whether you are among the many pickle fanatics or just simply pickle curious, you’ll want to make the trip to Picklesburgh, a new annual free festival that celebrates pickling in all of its glorious incarnations. For two days in July, the Rachel Carson Bridge in Downtown Pittsburgh will transform into Picklesburgh, highlighted by a giant flying Heinz pickle balloon, custom built by a team that also crafts balloons for Disney and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The event times are Friday, July 17 from 3:00 – 10:00 p.m. and Saturday, July 18 from 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., more information about Picklesburgh can be found at www.picklesburgh.com. Picklesburgh is a culinary celebration that goes beyond the dill pickle to include international dishes and handcrafted foods from local chefs that house-cure pickled vegetables; informative how-to demonstrations that embrace the farm-to-table movement and the rising popularity of DIY canning; a selection of artisan cocktails, many featuring pickled ingredients; fun pickle themed merchandise, live music and even a competitive pickle juice drinking contest. “We believe Pittsburghers will relish this new festival,” said Jeremy Waldrup, President and CEO of the Picklesburgh Downtown Partnership, the organization planning Picklesburgh. “We are so pleased to be partnering with some of Pittsburgh’s most iconic businesses to celebrate Downtown and of course pickles.” Pittsburgh has deep pickle roots among its various ethnic communities as well as commercial production that dates back to the nineteenth century. Popular tours of the H.J. Heinz factory always ended with a pickle pin, and the giant flying pickle is an homage to this beloved collectible. As presenting sponsor of this new festival, H.J. Heinz is celebrating its hometown connection and iconic association with pickling, which continues to this day. “H. J. Heinz is thrilled to help bring this inaugural Pittsburgh event to life,” said Joe Giallanella, brand manager for H. J. Heinz Company. “Pickles are an important part of Heinz’s long-standing heritage and we are excited to share Heinz pickles, vinegar, and other favorite Heinz varieties with visitors to this great event.” Home canning and pickling is becoming increasingly popular and Picklesburgh will include a Demonstration Area presented by Whole Foods Market, known for offering the highest quality supermarket produce, much of it locally sourced. A robust schedule of short “how-to” lessons will show how easy it is to transform produce into tasty dishes that can excite the palette and stretch food dollars by preserving ingredients when they are most plentiful in-season. No celebration would be complete without music, and BNY Mellon is also celebrating its Pittsburgh roots by sponsoring the Picklesburgh stage which will provide the live soundtrack for the Festival. A broad selection of local musicians and genres will grace the stage, all set to the backdrop of a glorious summer festival in Downtown Pittsburgh. Picklesburgh will have something for all taste buds (even those adverse to pickles), with more than 40 vendors including those offering handcrafted ready to eat foods from local chefs and restaurants, many of whom pride themselves on house-cured pickled ingredients; traditional ethnic foods that incorporate pickling such as corned beef, sauerbraten, chow-chow, sauerkraut pierogis, and dilly beans; pickle-infused snack foods like dill flavored popcorn, pickle flavored ice cream and deep-fried pickles; and international foods that utilize traditional pickling methods such as kimchi, chutney and pickled ginger. “The pickle has made something of a comeback. Fueled in part by the artisanal movement, an interest in unprocessed foods, and the trend in ethnic flavors, a new crop of pickle merchants have revitalized the iconic cuke. Borrowing from Eastern European customs and marrying them to those of Indian, Chinese, Korean, and other pickling traditions, the new picklers offer both an urban sophistication and a folksy, homespun allure. Sold at farmer’s markets across the country and in gourmet specialty stores, these new pickle crossbreeds are finding their way onto the menus of trendy, upscale restaurants and pickle bars.” - Business Week Behind the scenes, Picklesburgh is being made possible by the generous support of Future POS, the festival’s official point of sale system. This award-winning hometown tech company is headquartered in Butler PA and is the nation’s fifth largest provider of point-of-sale solutions for hospitality, installed in over 15,000 restaurants in 5 countries around the world. Additional support for Picklesburgh is provided by KDKA-TV, The CW, BOB-FM, and Q92.9. Picklesburgh is brought to you by The Pittsburgh Picklesburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP), a non-profit organization that develops and implements innovative programs and initiatives to enhance the Downtown neighborhood, including some of Pittsburgh’s most successful and imaginative events such as Light Up Night, the Market Square Farmers Market, Downtown Rooftop Shindigs, Urban Suppers, and the Peoples Gas Holiday Market. About the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership |
