Picklesburgh!

A festival centered around pickles isn't odd—it's just another thing to experience during summers in Pittsburgh. The Picklesburgh festival celebrates all things pickle for two days in July on the Rachel Carson bridge. Even if you don't like pickles (how dare you), the festival is definitely worth scoping out—who doesn't like free live music on a summer day?

I happily attended the festival in July 2015 (where I took the photo above), trying samples and listening to Nevada Color play live while the crowd shuffled past. The giant pickle floating over us all was a great way to remind us that Heinz was the biggest sponsor of the festival.

Although Heinz corporate headquarters is no longer located in Pittsburgh (much to our dismay), its legacy as a Pittsburgh company lives on, and the Heinz-branded pickle is a great reminder of that. The festival was a joint endeavor of big sponsors like Heinz and BNY Mellon as well as little local businesses and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. Participating in Picklesburgh was a great move on Heinz's part, by showing that corporate brands started small and still value contributing to their communities.

If you've never been to this event, you definitely need to go this summer! It's a great way to see big brands and small brands come to life over a shared love of something we all appreciate: food.