All-ages pickle festival with a parade of the pickles, pickle sampling, a pickle-themed gameshow, a pickle RAVE and the World Pickle Eating Championship.
The Big Dill comes to Stateside Live! on Saturday, November 14, which happens to be National Pickle Day. It's a touring pickle festival that started in Baltimore in 2019 and has since grown into what they call "America's Premier Pickle Festival" and "The World's Largest Pickle Party," with over a million fans and a string of sold-out stops. This Philadelphia edition is an all-ages, family-friendly day spread across an indoor arena and an outdoor plaza.
Most of the action centers on Pickle Row, where you'll find more than 100 varieties of pickles with unlimited sampling included in every ticket. There's a 30-foot inflatable pickle arch and a "Parade of the Pickles" to mark the occasion, along with pickle-themed foods and cocktails. The day also includes a world-record attempt for the most people dressed as pickles, so if you've got a costume, this is the time to wear it.
The lineup is as specific as the theme: Preston Elliott leads the Philadelphia Mummers as the Grand Gherkin, and the schedule runs through DJ Smooth, the Pickle Priest, the Pickle RAVE, the Mechanical Pickle, the Pickle Up! gameshow, the Brine Chug Challenge, and the World Pickle Eating Championship. A portion of the proceeds goes to Preston & Steve's Camp Out For Hunger, the WMMR audience's annual food drive that runs from November 16 to 20, 2026.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Philadelphia and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
Doors open at 2 PM. A standard pickle pass is $29.99 and gets you in at 3 PM; a premium pass is $39.99 for 1:30 PM entry; early entry is $59.99 for 12 PM; and the VIP pass is $109.99 for 12 PM entry, for 21+ only. There are Little Gherkin tickets for ages 2 to 13, and children under 2 get in free.
