Giant Jump! Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival Moves To Strip District.

PITTSBURGH, PA (PittsburghNewsWire.com) — The City’s signature showcase event in the Fall, Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival, has a new home. Now entering its fourth year, the colorful and colossal cucurbit spectacle takes root in a polished new patch for 2021: the Strip District, or more specifically Railroad Street between 28 and 29 Streets in the area known as “The Stacks at 3 Crossings.”

 

“We are thrilled to host the Monster Pumpkins Festival here in the Strip District. Throughout time, communities have gathered in the fall to celebrate the harvest. The Strip District has long been known for being the place where Pittsburghers get their produce and spirits, so this gathering is a great fit for our neighborhood,” says Pamela Austin, Chair of the Board, Strip District Neighbors.

 

During its first two years, the festival happened on the City’s North Shore, along the Riverwalk between PNC Park and Heinz Field. According to event producer Michael Dongilli, president, Vivid Pittsburgh, keeping it there annually became challenging. “With Pirates, Pitt and Steelers home games and other organizations vying for the same dates and sections of the Riverwalk, it became nail-biting for us to plan or operate effectively and in the best interests of our sponsors who make the event FREE for all spectators.”

 

He added that when the festival launched in 2018, he originally considered the Strip District location first but, with all the construction and development that was scheduled to take place there at the time, a large enough open space wasn’t available.

 

Much of that construction was recently completed, including the 3 Crossings plan—a 20-acre mixed-use development that includes multiple public courtyards and open spaces ideal for staging tents, vendors and exhibits including the obese stars of this festival: Atlantic Giant pumpkins weighing from 1,000 to nearly 3,000 pounds each—and there are, without exaggeration, tons of them!

After contacting Strip District Neighbors, the not-for-profit group established to promote economic growth and quality of life in the City’s most iconic neighborhood, an agreement was reached with Oxford Development Company, who owns/manages the area preferred, to utilize the space annually for the festival.

 

“The open spaces at 75 Hopper Place and The Stacks at 3 Crossings were conceived for events such as this.  We are so pleased to host the Monster Pumpkin Festival and provide a place where families and friends can come together, and highlight this end of the Strip District,” says Megan Stearman, vice president, communications and corporate responsibility, Oxford Development Company.

 

“It’s a nearly perfect footprint, says Dongilli, “with plenty of parking abutting the venue, connections in the back with the Riverfront Trail and unobstructed, but defined, access for crowd management. What we like most is the future potential as the area grows with new residents and retail businesses adding even more ambiance and accenting the attraction of the existing Penn Avenue business corridor.”

 

The family-friendly and FREE festival happens Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 16-17. Details and a complete schedule can be found at: monsterpumpkins.com