Don your Sunday best for bloody mary festival
Pittsburgh is upping its brunch game this weekend with its firstever Sunday Best Bloody Mary Festival.
The festival, which will be held Sunday at Heinz Lofts on the North Side, is the brainchild of Danielle Mashuda and Erin Andrezejewski, who run the Winslo6 event-planning firm. Ms. Andrezejewski is from Buffalo, N.Y., and the two went to a bloody mary festival last year when they were in her hometown for a visit.
“We realized Pittsburgh had never had one,” Ms. Mashuda said. And they decided to change that.
A bloody mary festival is a good fit for Pittsburgh “because we have such great brunch restaurants,” Ms. Mashuda said. “The bloody mary bar at Meat & Potatoes is awesome. Industry [Public House] is awesome.”
The first iteration will be small “so we can execute it 100 percent,” Ms. Mashuda said. But even at that, they duo is planning to sell 700 tickets, and they’re near that goal already. The VIP session sold out in three days.
They wanted to find 13 bloody mary makers and wound up with 14. They’ve had to turn four more away with promises that they can participate next year when the event is relocated to a larger facility.
The bloody mary makers are Alla Famiglia, Pig Iron Public House, Meat & Potatoes, The Beerhive, Superior Motors, Birmingham Bridge Tavern, Industry Public House, Luke Wholey’s Wild Alaskan Grille, NOLA on the Square, Piper’s Pub, Harris Grill, Bigham Tavern, Ember & Vine, and Park Bruges. Attendees will get a bloody mary sample from each and can then vote for their favorite. The top vote-getter will later be revealed on social media. Pittsburgh Smokehouse is also planning to bring some
interesting add-ins that people can enjoy in their bloody marys.
Bloody mary-themed vendors will sell hot sauces, salsas and pickles. Brunch staples can be purchased at two food trucks — Pub Chip Shop and Pittsburgh Smokehouse — and one food stand — Wise County Biscuits. There also will be live music and a photo booth.
The “Sunday Best” name came about because the duo would like attendees to wear their Sunday best to the event.
General admission will be from noon to 3 p.m. VIP ticketholders will be able to arrive an hour earlier to enjoy a VIP lounge, bloody mary and brunch items from Alla Famiglia. General admission tickets are $40, and designated driver tickets are $20. The event is for ages 21 and up only.
Partial proceeds from the event will benefit Lending Hearts, a nonprofit organization that raises funds and awareness for pediatric cancer.
Tickets are expected to sell out, and they can be bought at pghsundaybest.com.