FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pittsburg Seafood and Music Festival Comes to a Close After 40 Years
PITTSBURG, CA – 04/21/2025 –
After 40 years of music, food, and community celebration, the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce announces that the Pittsburg Seafood and Music Festival will not return.
Since 1984, the Pittsburg Seafood and Music Festival has served as the city's largest and most recognized event, attracting thousands of attendees from across the region and beyond each year. The festival has long been a point of pride—created to activate Historic Old Town Pittsburg, support local businesses, and position Pittsburg as a vibrant destination for visitors.
However, producing a festival of this caliber—one that showcases Pittsburg in a way that encourages people to return, invest, and explore—requires a significant financial investment. This includes critical services such as police staffing, public works, permitting, and sanitation, in addition to stages, artists, fencing, and every other detail that ensures a fun, safe, and high-caliber event.
Historically, the City of Pittsburg and the Chamber of Commerce partnered to make the event possible. In recent years, that partnership has changed. With the City no longer able to provide support or subsidized services, the full financial burden now falls on the Chamber and its fundraising efforts.
“Without a strong partnership with the City, the cost of city-required services alone makes it impossible to produce a festival that meets the standards our community expects and deserves,” said Wolfgang Croskey, CEO of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce. “We are incredibly proud of the impact this event has had over the years—not just economically, but emotionally. It’s been a tradition that brought people together and showcased the heart of Pittsburg.”
The Chamber's Seafood Festival Committee explored all viable paths to continue the festival in its traditional format. But in order to maintain the scale, safety, and quality the community has come to expect, the financial gap could not be closed.
The Chamber of Commerce remains committed to supporting Pittsburg through business advocacy, economic development, and community programming. Future events that align with available resources and community needs will be explored as part of this transition.
“We are deeply grateful to every volunteer, sponsor, vendor, performer, and attendee who contributed to this event over the last four decades,” Croskey added. “The festival may be ending, but its legacy will continue in the people and businesses it uplifted.”
Pittsburg Seafood and Music Festival Comes to a Close After 40 Years
PITTSBURG, CA – 04/21/2025 –
After 40 years of music, food, and community celebration, the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce announces that the Pittsburg Seafood and Music Festival will not return.
Since 1984, the Pittsburg Seafood and Music Festival has served as the city's largest and most recognized event, attracting thousands of attendees from across the region and beyond each year. The festival has long been a point of pride—created to activate Historic Old Town Pittsburg, support local businesses, and position Pittsburg as a vibrant destination for visitors.
However, producing a festival of this caliber—one that showcases Pittsburg in a way that encourages people to return, invest, and explore—requires a significant financial investment. This includes critical services such as police staffing, public works, permitting, and sanitation, in addition to stages, artists, fencing, and every other detail that ensures a fun, safe, and high-caliber event.
Historically, the City of Pittsburg and the Chamber of Commerce partnered to make the event possible. In recent years, that partnership has changed. With the City no longer able to provide support or subsidized services, the full financial burden now falls on the Chamber and its fundraising efforts.
“Without a strong partnership with the City, the cost of city-required services alone makes it impossible to produce a festival that meets the standards our community expects and deserves,” said Wolfgang Croskey, CEO of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce. “We are incredibly proud of the impact this event has had over the years—not just economically, but emotionally. It’s been a tradition that brought people together and showcased the heart of Pittsburg.”
The Chamber's Seafood Festival Committee explored all viable paths to continue the festival in its traditional format. But in order to maintain the scale, safety, and quality the community has come to expect, the financial gap could not be closed.
The Chamber of Commerce remains committed to supporting Pittsburg through business advocacy, economic development, and community programming. Future events that align with available resources and community needs will be explored as part of this transition.
“We are deeply grateful to every volunteer, sponsor, vendor, performer, and attendee who contributed to this event over the last four decades,” Croskey added. “The festival may be ending, but its legacy will continue in the people and businesses it uplifted.”
