Mary Pickels stories, Page 28
River City Brass taking show on the road to South AsiaVideo
A River City Brass ensemble is transporting a bit of Pittsburgh’s musical spunk, and looking forward to some cultural inspiration, as part of a performing and educational tour in Dhaka, Bangladesh, this week. Artistic director/conductor James Gourlay and seven musicians — Hakeem Bilal, Gabriel Colby, John Sebastian Vera, Jeffrey Nicodemus,...
‘Icy Lights’ winter block party premieres in Oakland in March
Street curling in Pittsburgh? The Oakland Business Improvement District promises that sport and other entertainment during its first winter-themed block party, “Icy Lights,” from 4-10 p.m. on March 1. Set for the central business district, on Oakland Avenue between Forbes Avenue and Sennott Street, the event will showcase the neighborhood’s...
Don your dancing shoes for Community Kitchen Pittsburgh benefit
Get a head start on Valentine’s Day and support Community Kitchen Pittsburgh’s mission at “Dance With Me” from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Pittsburgh’s Graeme House. The evening of dancing, dining, and cocktails will help support Community Kitchen Pittsburgh programs and students. The nonprofit’s website states it supports the region’s...
Sybarite5 blends chamber music with rock for Carnegie Music Hall performanceVideo
New York-based Sybarite5 showcases musicians whose classical string techniques include a repertoire from David Bowie and Radiohead to Led Zeppelin, as they create their own chamber music performance. Musicians Sami Meridinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass, will perform at 7:30 p.m....
Saint Vincent College Players bring ‘Damn Yankees’ to student center stage
Saint Vincent College Players will present four performances of the musical comedy “Damn Yankees” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, 15 and 16, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Performing Arts Center of the Robert S. Carey Student Center. General admission tickets will be available beginning one hour prior...
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art offers educators free membership
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is offering K-12 educators in Westmoreland County a new free membership program. Educator members receive museum membership benefits at no cost, and can access collection and exhibition-related programming designed specifically for teachers. “We value the teachers and educators in our region and wanted to...
Regional artistic, maker opportunities abound
From sipping while painting to sketching with charcoal, molding hot glass, dyeing fabric or woodworking, opportunities exist for crafts people from novice to advanced to practice their artistic and making skills. Throughout the region, children and adults can find places to let their creative juices flow, with minimal or step-by-step...
Studios, art centers offer creative options to all ‘makers’Video
Andi Sharp has always wanted to have her own art studio. A Kickstarter.com campaign helped her raise the funds to open Studio C in Herminie, her hometown, last November. Sharp defines the studio as a community space where she encourages “makers” of all skill levels to share ideas and where...
Tarot expert, alumna among Pitt at Greensburg’s Written/Spoken series readers
Author/tarot expert Brittany Hailer will read from her new book, “Animal You’ll Surely Become,” and offer a limited number of tarot readings as part of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg’s Written/Spoken series at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 in Village Hall. The event is free and open to the public....
Mt. Pleasant Library hosts annual Valentine’s film, lunchVideo
The Mt. Pleasant Free Public Library will again sponsor its annual Valentine event, “Library, Lunch, Love,” with a Hallmark film at noon on Feb. 8, sponsored by Armstrong. Guests can enjoy lunch and watch the 2017 movie,”Walking the Dog,” on a day when the library is otherwise closed. Armstrong will...
Pittsburgh Glass Center debuts Monmade design exhibition
Pittsburgh Glass Center will hold an opening reception 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 1 for “Modern Meaning: A MONMADE Design Exhibition.” The exhibit, described as featuring dynamic products from producers working in and around Pittsburgh, will remain on view through Feb. 19. According to the glass center, the show challenges...
Artist will discuss metalsmith work at Lunch a l’Art program
Metalsmith Melissa Davenport will present a program at the noon Feb. 21 Lunch a l’Art program at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley. The $15 event includes lunch and presentation. A teaching artist with SAMA and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Davenport combines metal art with...
Ohiopyle State Park celebrates season with annual WinterfestVideo
Skiers, sled riders and snowman builders all are hoping a significant amount of the white stuff is still to come to the region before the winter season ends. So is Barbara Wallace, environmental education specialist with Ohiopyle State Park, where the annual Winterfest is set for 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb....
Beverly’s Birthdays founder gets surprise party from ‘Returning the Favor’Video
Megs Yunn is used to throwing birthday parties for others, founding Beverly’s Birthdays in 2011 to ensure homeless children in the region get to celebrate their special day. Mike Rowe, who spearheads “Returning the Favor,” which streams on Facebook, thought it was time for Yunn to have a celebration of...
Carnegie Science Center offers big screen Oscars’ watch party
Enjoy Hollywood’s biggest night of the year as you rate the gowns, discuss the red carpet interviews and cheer or jeer the winners of the 91st Academy Awards, all on the Rangos Giant Cinema at the Carnegie Science Center, 1 Allegheny Ave., Pittsburgh. There will be glitz, glam and refreshments...
Can Hempfield’s Gigi Thomas ‘Bake It Like Buddy?’ Tune in to find out
Hempfield professional baker Gigi Thomas, owner of Gigi’s Signature Bakery, and her husband, non-baker Randy Thomas, will appear on “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro’s television show “Bake It Like Buddy” at 9 p.m. Feb. 16. The couple will compete against another husband and wife team from Chester, Pa., according to Discovery...
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra presents Valentine’s weekend concert
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra presents a Valentine’s weekend performance, “Heart Strings,” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Bartók’s “Romanian Folk Dances” will be followed by Chee-Yun performing Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto,” and the evening concludes with Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 4.” Violinist Chee-Yun has...
OCA Pittsburgh celebrates Lunar New Year with performances, banquet, parade
The fourth annual Pittsburgh Lunar New Year celebration will kick off on Feb. 2 with a 2:30-4:30 p.m. event featuring cultural performances and martial arts at the Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Pittsburgh. This special celebration is included with regular museum admission. Featured performances will include Chinese...
Point Park University student turns assignment into benefit for kids
Point Park University student and grandmother Christina Wonnacott, 65, saw a way to turn a classroom assignment into a way to help others. “I needed to create a four-minute film for my screenwriting class and thought, ‘Why not make a promotional film that an organization could use to increase awareness...
‘Cubcake Wars’ to help Norwin Lions support Kitty Sack Project
The Norwin Lions will hold their seventh annual Cubcake Wars fundraising event from 1-4 p.m. March 3 in the Norwin High School cafeteria. Numerous bakers will make “cubcakes,” available for a $2 donation, all the while competing for best cubcake, best decorations and most funds raised for best in show....
Human trafficking happens everywhere, Blackburn Center program notesVideo
Local residents may be surprised or shocked to learn that human trafficking happens in Westmoreland County. According to Human Rights First, human trafficking enslaves nearly 25 million people a year worldwide, exploiting victims for sex or labor, sometimes both. The Blackburn Center is collaborating with Reunion Presbyterian Church and the...
West Overton site plans opening reception for World War II exhibitVideo
West Overton Village and Museums will hold an opening reception from 3-6 p.m. Feb. 9 as it hosts the traveling exhibition “We Can Do It! WWII.” As the nation commemorates the 75th anniversary of World War II, the 500-square foot exhibit, created by the Senator John Heinz History Center, will...
John Mayer bringing 2019 world tour to PittsburghVideo
Musician John Mayer will bring his 2019 world tour to Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on July 28. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning at noon Feb. 1 through Ticketmaster.com American Express card members can purchase tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 29 through 10 p.m. Jan....
Westmoreland YWCA founder Kuyat dedicated life to service, education, family
Aside from her children, Reta Snodgrass Kuyat’s proudest accomplishment was founding the YWCA Westmoreland County. “Mom started with meetings in our house, and then in a tiny storefront on Main Street across from church,” said her daughter, Karen Nagy of Oakland Park, Fla. Her mother was ahead of her time,...
Preview of Pittsburgh Opera’s telling of POW’s story set at Soldiers & Sailors
In celebration of Pittsburgh Opera’s upcoming premiere of “Glory Denied,” the company will hold a musical preview at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 in Oakland. “Glory Denied” tells the story of Colonel Jim Thompson, America’s longest-held prisoner of war, who spent nearly nine...
