It is hard to beat being at Seven Springs for a festival on a nice summer day, and when the weather is cooperating in August for the annual Wine Festival, you can't really ask for much more.
A few dozen Pennsylvania wineries, free-flowing pours, and the beauty of Seven Springs all around you? We can be down for that!
This one should go without saying, but we love lamb. It is one of our favorite meats, and we are spoiled here in western Pennsylvania to have so many fantastic producers that raise lambs.
As such, it should be no surprise that there is a festival that celebrates all things lamb, and the Western PA Lamb Fest does that and then some at the annual event!
As the cold of winter begins to leave Pittsburgh, there is one thing we always look forward to in order to ring in the start of spring – Phipps Conservatory's Spring Flower Show!
2023's Spring Flower Show has the theme “Five Senses of Splendor” and has experiences for all of the senses!
We visited this one shortly after the show opened and wanted to share some of our favorite rooms and exhibits with you today. As with all of our museum posts, we're only sharing a selection of our favorites because you truly must visit for yourself to experience it all!
In 2022, the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden near Oakdale announced they were hosting a new holiday light experience, aptly named Dazzling Nights, which transformed 65 acres of the property into a gorgeous walkthrough experience.
We, naturally, were quite excited about this one as walk-through Christmas lights in Pittsburgh are few and far between, and hit this one shortly after it opened in November.
While this one comes at a significant premium over just about every other holiday experience in the city, we have to admit, we had quite a good time here all the same!
When it comes to holiday festivities, one of the best places in Pittsburgh to visit is Phipps Conservatory. Their winter flower show, which begins the Friday before Thanksgiving and runs until early January, is a celebration of the holiday season with festive art pieces, an array of gorgeous winter flowers, and some of the most beautifully decorated Christmas trees in Pittsburgh.
The 2022-2023 flower show is themed Holiday Magic and features numerous arctic animals plus those inspired by stories from the North Pole- like the abominable snowman and unicorns!
As members of the conservatory, we got the chance to visit this one on opening day in the 2022-2023 season (running until January 8th, 2023) and wanted to share a few of our favorite rooms here!
Note: The outdoor garden shots were from 2021's show while indoor shots were from this year's 2022-2023 show. As such, there may be some differences outside when you visit this year.
When it comes to concerts in Pittsburgh, many venues have regular shows throughout the year. Some spots, like the Petersen Events Center, host concerts less frequently as this particular venue is primarily used for Pitt basketball games first and foremost.
But clocking in at about 12,000 seats, the Petersen Events Center is a serious stadium (roughly 2/3 the size of PPG Paints Arena) and does attract star talent periodically. While stadium performances are not typically our favorite, we have to admit we loved our show at this particular spot (Billy Strings) and have some thoughts on where to sit, what to consider before visiting, and what to avoid!
So if you plan to attend a concert at the Petersen Events Center soon, keep these tips in mind!
In Pittsburgh, the start of the holiday season is not ambiguous.
It is not after Halloween when department stores put out Christmas decorations (or do they do it before now?). It is not the day after Thanksgiving that many traditionally observe. It is also not the first snow sighting, December 1st, the fall time change, or any other arbitrary benchmark.
This one particular instance should not be up for debate, as the start of the Christmas season in Pittsburgh is Light Up Night-Â the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
In this guide, we want to share some of our favorite tips on how to get the most out of what is perhaps our favorite annual event in Pittsburgh!
Note: Prior to 2021, Light Up Night took place on the Friday before Thanksgiving. Starting that year, Light Up Night became a weekend affair with most of the true Light Up Night festivities taking place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
There was a time in the not-so-distant past that if you brought up the Pittsburgh music scene, odds are good the response you'd get from others was “it is terrible, [city] is better”.
For a while, we thought that too.
But in recent years, the popularity of live music in Pittsburgh has really exploded both for bands that make stops into the city and for our music venues outright. So in this one, we thought we'd round up some of the best Pittsburgh concert venues, what you can expect when visiting, and more!
We've also decided to arrange this one by capacity (from smallest to largest, roughly), just for fun. As with everything on this site, this list only features venues we've personally visited. As we take in more shows in the area, we'll update this guide accordingly!
The Carnegie Science Center on the North Shore is truly a world-class museum in Pittsburgh. This one features an array of science-based exhibits ranging from robotics to water, the human body to sports science, and so much more.
In a recent expansion, the Carnegie Science Center added an extra venue to allow for touring shows to come for limited-time runs in the city and we love visiting these to put our Carnegie Museums membership to good use.
In the summer of 2022, The Science Center welcomes a new exhibit entitled GUITAR: The Instrument That Rocked The World– a touring exhibit with many historical guitars and exhibits showcasing the science of music.
Whether you are a budding guitar player like me, or simply interested in music at large this one is a must-see.
Kennywood's Bites and Pints event is a fun, month-long celebration of all things food and beverage that typically runs from the end of May through June.
As this one runs from Thursdays to Sundays during regular park hours (starting in the afternoon each day), guests can enjoy a la carte purchases or sample their way around the various stations using an aptly named Bites Card.
We were able to visit this one during a pass holder preview night for its second year (thanks to our good friend Alex Eats Too Much) and wanted to share more about what you can expect when attending this one plus give some tips on how to get the most out of a Bites Card purchase!