It’s getting to be about that point of the winter when folks are looking for things to take their minds off the gray, dreary landscape. From travel ideas to films, those things can be found this weekend.

Pittsburgh Travel Showcase

“You don’t need a passport to see the world. The world is coming to you,” say the people who’ve put together the sixth annual Pittsburgh Travel Showcase. Presented by AAA, it’s happening Friday through Sunday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The Pittsburgh Travel Showcase features travel and tourism professionals and information on how to save money on travel. There are vacation seminars focusing on destinations around the world and AAA travel advisers will be there to help attendees plan affordable vacations. There will also be immersive theaters with presentations about exotic travel destinations. Hours are Friday, noon-6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit pittsburghtravelshowcase.com.

2023 Pittsburgh EU Film Festival

A movie theater is always a good place to take refuge on a nasty winter’s day, and the Harris Theater at 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown, provides a substantial opportunity for an escape starting with Friday’s opening of the 2023 Pittsburgh EU Film Festival.

Can't make it to Sundance? No worries, the Pittsburgh EU Film Festival kicks off Friday (Jan 20-26) at the Harris Theater and offers an amazing slate of European films!

Highlights include 'I Never Cry,' a 2021 3RFF selection out of Poland. Buy tix at https://t.co/CFdz4mVHTN. pic.twitter.com/HpJgYpDKZk

— Film Pittsburgh (@FilmPittsburgh) January 18, 2023

It’s presented in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh’s European Studies Center. From Jan. 20-26, eight films will be screened from across the European Union focusing on family, identity, politics and more. Connoisseurs of art-house films can feast on movies from Poland, Hungary, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Slovakia and Spain. A couple of the more intriguing titles include “The Raven and the Seagull” from Denmark, described as an exploration of “the myths and misconceptions between Greenland and Denmark’s peoples and landscapes tenderly recreated and overimagined in this fictionalized tale,” and “Rabiye Kumaz vs. George Bush” from Germany: “Housewife and loving mother Rabiye Kumaz pursues justice against all odds when her son is arrested and detained without trial following the 9/11 attacks.”

Tickets can be purchased at TrustArts.org/Film.

Cass McCombs + Band at The Warhol

Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs is back in Pittsburgh for the first time in eight years, appearing at the Andy Warhol Museum on the North Side Saturday at 7 p.m. It’s part of The Warhol’s Sound Series. The museum doesn’t host a ton of music acts but when it does, it’s usually something or someone intriguing and McCombs is not likely to disappoint.

Catch the @cassmccombs band on the East Coast starting this Friday 1/13! ????

Tickets available @ https://t.co/hoxn89EsA4 pic.twitter.com/My7kNkBNqE

— ANTI RECORDS (@AntiRecords) January 9, 2023

He possesses a sparse, haunting, rustic, Dylan-esque sound. Dylan is often held up as the standard for folk singers, but McCombs has comparable voice and storytelling qualities. He also followed Dylan’s MO of uprooting from his small town — in this case in California as opposed to Minnesota — and heading to New York to make a name for himself. Apparently it worked. An Allmusic.com review of his late 2022 album “Heartmind” said, “McCombs ultimately delivers one of his catchiest and most uplifting albums to date.”

For more information, visit warhol.org.

‘Revolving’ Doors exhibit, Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

The “Revolving Doors” exhibit has just opened at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh at Chatham University. It displays a curated selection of artwork contrasting Jewish cultural life with persistent antisemitism across time, including the Holocaust and antisemitism today. It also features artists’ responses to the attack on the three congregations housed in the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. It’s a tribute to victims and honors survivors. Holocaust Center staff members say the name of the exhibit, “Revolving Doors,” is inspired by a series of collages created by artist Man Ray in 1916-1917. A piece from that series is on display in the exhibit. The term “Revolving Doors” refers to a situation where “solutions to problems last for a short time only, and then the same problems occur again.”

Learn more at hcofpgh.org.

‘Robin Hood: The Game!’ Gemini Children’s Theater

Gemini Children’s Theater in McKees Rocks welcomes families to join them and play along in an interactive and immersive production of “Robin Hood: The Game!” The theater invites folks to watch the story unfold and help Robin and Maid Marian defeat the bullies. Performances begin Jan. 21 and continue through Jan. 29. Gemini Children’s Theater says, “Prince John is tired of Robin Hood always being the hero … in his own story. Though the others do not want to change the classic literature, they agree that they will give Prince John a chance to win at ‘Sherwood Shenanigans,’ a game show that will allow he and the Sherriff of Rotting … Nottingham the opportunity to be the heroes of the story.”

For more information or group tickets, visit geminitheater.org.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---