9 Oddly Specific Food Festivals In Pennsylvania

There are hundreds of food festivals across the United States, but Pennsylvania's lineup stands out for its unusual specificity. Instead of the typical barbecue or tacos you'd find at a food truck fest, you'll find festivals solely dedicated to garlic, whoopie pies, and even geese. With Pittsburgh on one side, Philadelphia on the other, and a patchwork of farms, mountains, forests, and small towns in between, every region of PA has its own traditions, often shaped by agriculture, industry, or immigrant influences. Altogether, the Keystone State is home to many uniquely Pennsylvanian food celebrations every year.

Food festivals in PA go way back. German and Polish immigrants brought customs that quickly fused with local cultures, while the Pennsylvania Dutch communities created their own distinct cuisine. Many food festivals are tied to the harvest, which is why late summer and early fall are packed with them. And beyond just eating, food festivals are beloved by locals and tourists alike as a way to connect with their community's farmers, restaurateurs, and shared history.

With so many food festivals in Pennsylvania, the ones that capture the most attention are the oddly specific events that celebrate a single dish or ingredient. Whether you're looking for day trip ideas or you're just really passionate about pickles or peanut butter, Pennsylvania offers something for all kinds of foodies.

Normally, Pittsburgh wouldn't consider itself to be the pickle capital of the world, but for one weekend each summer, it claims that title proudly. Picklesburgh is a free, three-day festival in downtown Pittsburgh dedicated to everything green, crunchy, and briny. You can't miss it – the event is literally marked by a massive Heinz pickle balloon on top of the 6th Street Bridge.

Picklesburgh is much more than a simple food fest. Beyond the live music and dozens of food and souvenir vendors, the festival is packed with events that you truly will not find anywhere else. There's a pickle toss, a mechanical pickle ride, and the dill-cathlon games, which consists of a pickle juice drinking contest, a pickle eating contest, and a pickle bobbing contest.

In addition to traditional jarred pickles, you can expect to find pickle pierogies, pickle-stuffed pretzels, and even pickle ice cream. Wash it down with a pickle juice cocktail or a shot of pickle moonshine if you're feeling brave. Picklesburgh attracts an international audience every year, and it's been voted USA Today's #1 Specialty Food Festival in America for four years straight. In a state full of weird food fests, Picklesburgh might just be the crown jewel.

For more than two centuries, the Juniata River Valley in central Pennsylvania has celebrated Goose Day every September 29th. The idea is simple: Eat goose on Goose Day, and you'll be blessed with good luck for the year ahead. In Lewistown and the surrounding areas of Mifflin and Juniata counties, that superstition has blossomed into a month-long celebration in which the humble goose takes center stage in storefronts, community events, and, of course, on the dinner table.

The origins date back to 1786, when an English settler doing business with a Pennsylvania Dutchman introduced the local community to a custom from back home. In England, September 29 was St. Michaelmas Day, a day associated with settling rents, renewing contracts, and eating goose. The tradition caught on in this region of Pennsylvania, and by the 1970s, local commissioners had formally declared Goose Day an official local holiday.

The goose festivities begin September 1, leading up to the big day. Locals and visitors alike can sip golden goose lattes at cafes, create goose-themed crafts at studio workshops, and join scavenger hunts throughout the month. On "Lucky Friday," the Friday before Goose Day, downtown Lewistown celebrates with live music, a drone light show, and beer gardens. Finally, on September 29 itself, a dozen restaurants in the region serve their own versions of roasted goose dinners. Legend has it that with goose in your belly, you'll never want for money all year long.

"Eat, Drink, Stink" is the motto of Easton Garlic Fest, a two-day festival celebrated on the first weekend of October in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. For more than 20 years, Easton has championed everyone's favorite and smelliest ingredient with a celebration that draws garlic lovers to the city's historic downtown. What began as a small farmers' market event has grown into over 100 vendors and enough garlic to perfume the whole town.

At the heart of the festival are the garlic growers themselves, selling dozens of fresh and unique garlic varieties. But the real fun is the food: Local restaurants and featured chefs serve up garlicky takes on everything from honey-garlic donuts to pasta scooped straight from a big wheel of cheese. For garlicky libations, there's the Stinkin' Beer Tent, where you can sip a Bloody Mary made with garlic puree. Past years have even featured the "Pungent Plaza," with garlic cooking contests guaranteed to ruin your breath for days.

To pair with the food, there's plenty of entertainment. Throughout the weekend, you'll find live music at the Sizzlin' Latin Quarter Stage and kids' theater at the Little Stinkers' Row. Whether you're a garlic purist or just interested in the spectacle, Easton Garlic Fest is the place for all the tastiest and stinkiest of foods.

The McClure Bean Soup Fair is a living piece of Civil War history held in the tiny town of McClure in central Pennsylvania. As the oldest festival on our list, the event traces its roots back to 1883 when Civil War veterans hosted a reunion dinner. In 1891, members of the local Grand Army of the Republic Post (an organization of Union veterans) hosted a public dinner featuring the same bean soup they had eaten during the war, complete with hardtack on the side. More than 130 years later, that tradition is still alive, passed down through generations of McClure families.

The recipe hasn't changed much, either. The soup contains only beef, beans, and suet, all simmered for hours in massive iron kettles over wood fires. Volunteers stir the bubbling cauldrons with massive wooden paddles until the beans break down into a beige, creamy gruel. The taste is ... authentically bland, to say the least. But with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and oyster crackers, it'll keep you full.

Of course, if you're not quite brave enough to try the Civil War cuisine, the event offers plenty of county-fair foods, plus the classic carnival rides, games, a pageant, and a parade. The McClure Bean Soup Fair may not serve up the most glamorous of foods, but it's certainly a one-of-a-kind taste of history.

Every September, the small town of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, hosts the Peanut Butter Festival. This free, weekend-long event began in 1996 thanks to Julia Sabin, a local manager at the nearby Smucker's Peanut Butter Factory. After a devastating flood hit the Redbank Creek community, Sabin suggested a festival to raise spirits and bring people together. Nearly three decades later, it's become one of the sweetest local traditions.

Naturally, peanut butter is always on the vendors' menus. Festival-goers can sample peanut butter in almost every form imaginable: PB-filled pierogies, peanut butter hot dogs, peanut butter wine, and ice cream are just the beginning. Local bakers contribute everything from peanut butter pies and puddings to cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies. Past years have even featured peanut butter soap.

Beyond the food, the festival is packed with small-town charm. There's a peanut butter cook-off, live music from the "Free Peanuts Band," and a rubber duck race down Redbank Creek. Kids can enter the "Cute as a Peanut" contest, while you can also watch the crowning of the annual Peanut Butter Festival queen and princess.

The whoopie pie's origin story is disputed: Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania all claim to have invented it. But any Pennsylvanian will tell you that theirs are the real deal, especially since whoopie pies (sometimes called "gobs" in western PA) are a staple of Pennsylvania Dutch baking. So it makes perfect sense that Lancaster County, the heart of Amish country, would host a festival entirely devoted to this tasty treat.

Held every September at the Hershey Farm Resort, the Whoopie Pie Festival has been delighting dessert lovers since 2003. What started out small has grown into a whoopie wonderland, with hundreds of flavors to sample in a single day. Recent flavor creations have included Magical Unicorn, Shirley Temple, matcha, espresso martini, pistachio, and spicy margarita, offering something for every taste bud.

Beyond the sugar rush, the festival is packed with family-friendly fun. Kids and parents alike can enjoy scavenger hunts, whoopie pie eating competitions, and live entertainment and music throughout the day. The event is free to attend, but true enthusiasts can snag a VIP pass for early entry and exclusive merch.

The Pittston Tomato Festival is a four-day celebration of all things tomato in the small city of Pittston in northeastern Pennsylvania. In the 1920s, produce dealers in New York and New Jersey coined the term "Pittston Tomato" to describe the flavorful tomatoes grown in the region. The soil's natural acidity, caused by local coal deposits, gave these tomatoes a distinct taste that earned Pittston a reputation for high-quality produce.

By the early 1980s, Pittston's public image had dimmed, and locals wanted to find a way to put their town back on the map. They revisited their agricultural history, and in 1984, Pittston held the very first Tomato Festival. Today, the festival has grown into a beloved late-summer tradition, celebrating community pride and the town's signature crop. Highlights include contests for the largest, smallest, ugliest, and most perfect tomatoes; a no-utensils spaghetti-eating competition; and a lively parade and 5K run. Streets are lined with food vendors, offering everything from classic tomato dishes to Italian specialties, showcasing the versatility of the Pittston Tomato.

Every September, the tiny town of Kennett Square in Chester County booms with around 100,000 visitors for its annual Mushroom Festival — a mile-long street fair celebrating the town's most famous crop. The festival has been running for four decades, and today it's packed with mushroom-themed foods, cooking competitions, live entertainment, and plenty of fungi fun.

Kennett Square is often called the "Mushroom Capital of the World". This borough, home to just over 6,000 people, produces about 60% of all mushrooms grown in the U.S. In fact, Pennsylvania is the nation's mushroom powerhouse, with more than 50 commercial farms producing over 500 million pounds of mushrooms every year, thanks in large part to the growers from Kennett Square.

At the Mushroom Festival, you'll find the Mushroom Growers' Tent, where visitors can see mushrooms still growing and talk to expert farmers. Fungi lovers can sample mushroom-themed dishes, from breaded mushrooms to steaming mushroom soup. There's also a fried mushroom eating contest and a "Chopped"-style cooking competition for chefs to get creative with mushrooms. Beyond food, festival goers can shop for crafts and fresh mushrooms to take home from the fest.

Each April, downtown Lititz transforms into a pretzel-lover's paradise during the annual Lititz Pretzel Fest. For a flat fee, attendees can wander through town sampling sweet and savory pretzel creations, enjoying alcoholic tastings, trying their hand at pretzel twisting, and taking in live music, all against the charming backdrop of springtime in Lancaster County. In recent years, tickets have been priced at around $35 and are in limited supply, making this one-day festival the place to be for pretzel fans.

Lititz has a reputation for pretzel-making thanks to Julius Sturgis. In 1861, Sturgis opened the very first commercial pretzel bakery in the United States at 219 East Main Street. The bakery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Sturgis family still holds the title as the oldest pretzel baking family in America today.

Today, the Pretzel Fest honors that history while offering a modern twist (pun intended). From gourmet pretzel bites to creative desserts and craft beverages, the festival celebrates the enduring popularity of one of Pennsylvania's most iconic snacks.