Things to do in Western Pa.: March 24, 2021

Literature is in the spotlight this week, with award-winning writers in conversation and reading from their works.

There’s also new art, dance, film and music to enjoy.

For the kids, there’s an ‘eggs-citing” adventure on the grounds of an area museum.

The details are here, in this week’s Big List.

Architecture

• It’s a breeze: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation will host a virtual tour of Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze section, once an enclave of wealthy industrialists, at 6 p.m. March 31 on Zoom. The tour will feature the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh New Church, nearby main street shops and Engine House No. 16, now home to Fireman Creative. Fee is $7.50.

Registration: phlf.org

Art

• Friday happenings: The Westmoreland Museum of American Art has two virtual programs scheduled for Friday:

• BOOM Lunch Break, 2 p.m. Artists in residence Anqwenique and D.S. Kinsel, BOOM Concepts co-founder Thomas Agnew and The Westmoreland’s Director/CEO Anne Kraybill will discuss works created during the artists’ residency, and what’s next for the artists and the BOOM Concepts partnership. Program is free; registration is required.

• Drag Queen Art Critique, 7 p.m. Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder will provide a tongue-in-cheek take on works from the Greensburg museum’s collection. Registration is pay-what-you-can.

Details: thewestmoreland.org

• Intersections: “Identities and the American Experience: Project I, elise michaux” an exhibition of photos and short videos by elise michaux, is showing through Friday in the Harlan Gallery in the Seton Hill University Arts Building in downtown Greensburg. “Project 1” is the first in a series of exhibitions that intersect race, gender and sexual orientation through the process of art.

Gallery hours are 1-8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 1-3 p.m. Fridays.

• Picture This at the Library: “Reflective Roles,” with recent works by Maura Taylor, will run March 29-May 13 in the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, 237 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg. Exhibit is sponsored by Greensburg Art Center. Library hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays and Saturdays and 2-6 p.m. Thursdays; capacity is limited.

Details: greensburgartcenter.org

• Public art: Work by Pittsburgh artist Danielle Robinson is on display through mid-May at 608 S. Millvale Ave. and Lima Way in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield section, as part of a collaboration between the sidewall public art project and BOOM Concepts.

• “Low Water”: Carnegie Museum of Art has partnered with Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment initiative on a video featuring Eric Crosby, the museum’s Henry J. Heinz II Director, sharing the history behind Joan Mitchell’s 1969 painting, “Low Water,” which was first exhibited in the 1970 Carnegie International and then acquired by the museum.

Masterpiece Moment videos showcase curated artworks from museums around the country. The CMOA video can be viewed at bankofamerica.com or youtube.com.

Conversation

• Future imagined: Carnegie Mellon University’s Miller ICA salon series will host a conversation between writer Cathy Park Hong and facilitator Dana Bishop-Root at 7:30 p.m. today on Zoom and Facebook. Hong is the author of “Minor Feelings,” an exploration of Asian American consciousness and the struggle to be human. The salon series focuses on life beyond the pandemic.

Details: miller-ica.cmu.edu

Dance

• Old favorites: Indiana University of Pennsylvania Dance Theater Company and Percussion Ensemble will present “An Evening of Dance and Percussion: Legacy,” livestreaming at 7 p.m. Saturday. Program features nine favorites from percussion and dance repertoire dating back to 2009, performed by past and present company members and select community dancers.

Livestream fee is $12; to order, call 724-357-2787 or visit iup.edu/livelyarts.

Film

• Migrant experience: “The Rest,” a film by Chinese director and artist Ai Weiwei, is available for viewing through Friday as part of the CMU International Film Festival. Told from the migrants’ perspective, the film focuses on upheaval experienced by people making their way to Europe from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and various African countries.

Fee is $5; register here.

• Signature event: Pittsburgh Film Office will host its annual “Lights! Glamour! Action!” fundraiser as an online event at 8 p.m. April 24, with a virtual photo booth, celebrity speakers, musical entertainment and the award winners for the movie lines video contest. All donations made to the Pittsburgh Film Office through April 23 will receive an invitation via email link; to donate, visit pghfilm.org.

Kids’ stuff

• Eggs-citing event: A free Easter egg hunt for children of all ages will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art-Ligonier Valley, off Route 711 south of the borough. The socially distanced event will be held rain or shine. Kids will be able to exchange eggs for toys or treats; hands-on activities will be offered.

Registration is required at sama-art.org.

• What’s that sound?: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Fiddlesticks Family Concert Series is offering a “Sound All Around” activities kit for children ages 3-8. Activities help kids investigate sounds around us and how they are made. Order deadline is April 16 for $10 kit to be shipped in late April.

Details: pittsburghsymphony.org

Music

• Free music: Alt-rock band Pack will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday in Greensburg’s The Palace Theatre, as part of the weekly VIP Experience livestream concert series featuring regional acts. The free concert will stream on The Palace Theatre and Westmoreland Cultural Trust Facebook pages.

Details: thepalacetheatre.org

• Cabaret: Students in Seton Hill University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present two recorded performances of the romantic comedy music of Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. “I Believe in Love” will stream at 8 p.m. Friday; “Make Your Own Party” will stream at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Free or “pay-what-you-can” tickets for the streams are available at alumni.setonhill.edu.

• “Bohemian Inspirations”: The latest installment in Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Front Row virtual experience is “Barnatan Plays Mozart.” Manfred Honeck conducts the program, featuring pianist Inon Barnatan and also including works by Bartok, Bela Kovacs and Dvorak.

A ticket is $15 at pittsburghsymphony.org.

Theater

• Audio stories: Quantum Theatre will present “10 for 21,” an audio experience based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century work, “The Decameron,” a series of tales told by people sheltering in a villa near Florence, Italy, to escape the Black Death. Quantum’s production features 10 actors telling tales on walks through iconic Pittsburgh locations. “10 for 21” will be available beginning April 5 at quantumtheatre.com.

Written word

• Winning line-up: The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will host a virtual reading at 8 p.m. Thursday, featuring a line-up of award-winning writers, including thriller/mystery writer William M. Boyle; Beth Ann Fennelly, poet laureate of Mississippi; poet and educator Nancy Krygowski; short story writer Deesha Philyaw; and Pitt-Greensburg student Krystal Keller.

Advance registration for the Zoom gathering is required here.