MAYOR OF PICKLESBURGH

Fifth annual festival celebrates city’s roots in pickle production

Joe George, of West Mifflin, yells out to the crowd as he’s awarded the title of Mayor of Picklesburgh after winning the Picklesburgh pickle juice drinking contest for the second year in a row Sunday in Downtown. George chugged 32 ounces of pickle juice in just over six seconds. Story on

People seemed as pleased as a pregnant woman at a pickle festival. Heather Leighlitner was a pregnant woman at the Picklesburgh festival.

As she strolled on a sunshiny Sunday afternoon from the North Shore toward Downtown on the Clemente Bridge, which was absolutely packed with people and purveyors of all things pickled, she split with her mother- in- law, Beth Leighlitner, a pickled chicken pretzel.

“It’s REALLY good,” said

Heather Leighlitner, a festival first- timer from York, Pa., who noted that she’s due to deliver on Sept. 2.

“Labor Day,” noted her motherinlaw, who lives in Cheswick and who agreed about the pretzel and the festival, “It’s REALLY good!”

People came from across the region and beyond for this year’s fifth- annual party to celebrate Pittsburgh’s “deep pickle roots” going back to the 1800s and H. J. Heinz. Having been named this spring the Best Specialty Food Festival in the U. S. in a USA Today reader popularity poll, the festival-on- the- bridge was pumped to also push into Downtown along Fort Duquesne Boulevard, doubling its footprint.

“I think we doubled the crowd. That’s what it feels like,” said Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which co- sponsors the event with Kraft Heinz Co.

He said the PDP used geofencing this year to measure attendance — they’ll know later this week — based on the number of cell phones inside the fest, which is fenced in in part because people are partaking of pickle beer, spirits and cocktails.

But what was in their plastic green Picklesburgh cups wasn’t why, in the mid- 80s heat, South Fayette’s Dale and Donna Clark were sporting knit “Pickles” caps. Their son lives in Portland, Maine, home of the Portland Pickles baseball team. Could there be a better occasion to wear such hats than this fest?

“We love it. It’s Pittsburgh!” he said, between explaining to other Pittsburghers where they got the swag.

People wore this year’s free gold- colored Heinz pickle pins ( marking the company’s 150th year) and all kinds of pickle Tshirts — “Dill with it” — and hats — “PGHKLE” — and much more

green than you would expect at a Pittsburgh event that’s not the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Nemi Shulz sported a really green dress as she, like everybody else it seemed, had her photo taken beneath the giant Heinz pickle balloon floating over the middle of the bridge.

Unlike everybody else, she also took a photo of her friend David Watkins holding two jars of chilled pickles that he brought with him in an insulated bag from Columbus, Ohio, where he’s president of Ben’s Best kosher pickles.

“I’ve been in the pickle business since 1977,” said Mr. Watkins, who explained that when he realized he didn’t have to harvest cucumbers Sunday, he decided to drive over and check out the fest.

The couple said they had split a pickle in a waffle cone — what? — and picked up her jar of pickles pendants.

The Godsave family of Canada found themselves in a pickle fest having come from Burlington, Ontario, to Pittsburgh for the Dude Perfect show (those guys hit Picklesburgh, too). Twelve-yearold Alexandra got first crack at a local organic pickle on a stick.

“That’s so salty!” she exclaimed before handing it to her 10-year-old brother, Harrison, who at first didn’t bite, and then when he did, made a sour face and spit.

There were unusual tastes, for sure — peanut butter pickle cookies, hot pickle popcorn, pickled nachos, pickle egg rolls, pickled dill pierogies, chocolate-covered pickles. The Pittsburgh Pickle Co. offered a Cinn-a-Pickle Parfait, made with vanilla pudding, graham-cracker crust and its cinnamon-apple cider pickles.

“It’s kind of a crazy idea,” the young man at the pickle sampling station acknowledged, “but it will change your life.”

That local company supplied the 32-ounce jars of “pickle juice” that 10 finalists chugged Sunday afternoon while vying for the title of “Mayor of Picklesburgh.” Even presented ice cold, company co-owner Will Patterson said, a quart of pickle brine is “a LOT.” Hence, every jar was accompanied by a barf bag.

West Mifflin’s Joe George downed his jar in 6.12 seconds to retain his title, bestowed on him with appropriate drama by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

Mr. George whooped it up but was humble in victory, thanking his family for supporting him and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership for providing this great event.

The PDP’s Mr. Waldrup thanked him for not throwing up.