Sharing The Best of Pittsburgh and Southwest Pennsylvania
We've been to all manner of holiday experiences in Pittsburgh, but in 2020 it was Allegheny County's North Park that gave us a real holiday surprise- a laser light show!
When we first heard about the laser light show, taking place between December 10th and 20th in 2020, we knew we had to buy tickets for it right away. We snapped up a spot for opening night and eagerly awaited what was in store for us.
There are many reasons to love the holiday season in Pittsburgh, and perhaps one of the most amazing ones is your ability to see many beautiful Christmas lights all over the region.
From the holiday displays downtown, to the many drive-thru light shows, and more, there really is no shortage of impressive Christmas lights in Pittsburgh. So in this one, we wanted to curate all the best places where you can see holiday lights and decorations in the region!
Note: Many of the experiences below are drive-thru light displays such that you can enjoy the holiday lights and decorations from the comfort of your own car. However, we felt we would be doing you a disservice if we didn't mention a few other light viewing opportunities that take place outside of your car as well!
We like to support our local businesses as best we can, and this extends not just to our area restaurants, breweries, and attractions but for our home shopping as well.
Recently we expanded our freezer space and were able to make a bulk purchase of half of a pig from Birch Creek Farmery- located about an hour west of Pittsburgh just outside of Burgettstown. Not only were we big fans of the meat, but it was also wonderful to place a direct order from farmers who are raising their animals right.
Naturally, when we heard that Birch Creek Farmery was starting a dinner series at the farm itself, we were in and bought tickets right away.
You may know of the Doors Open Pittsburgh organization from the annual event of the same name that takes place each October. During this event, dozens of normally private buildings around the city open their doors for the public and is a pretty stellar event all around.
Since the founding of this now-staple event, Doors Open has expanded to included many custom walking tours with varying themes throughout the year. These vary month-to-month, but one caught our eye- the Antique Skyscrapers: Rooftops & Views tour. As getting on top of all of the downtown skyscrapers is a goal of ours, we naturally grabbed tickets to this one right away (as they quickly sold out).
In this one, we wanted to share a bit more about what the tour was like as well as share a few of our favorite photos!
We've been enjoying the great outdoors a lot during 2020's social distancing, and this is something that has not changed as businesses open back up. One indoor spot we were pleased to hear was reopening in the Green Phase is Phipps Conservatory as it is one of the places we love to visit multiple times per year to check out their seasonal flower shows.
The 2020 Summer Flower Show coincided with the botanical garden's reopening and has the theme Back in Bloom. This theme is a celebration of all things nature coinciding with the botanical gardens being welcome back guests who are in need of a little nature therapy.
While the artwork in this show is a bit more subdued compared to other shows, this really allows for the colorful flowers to shine as the focal point. While visiting, be sure to look out for uplifting quotes about nature found throughout the conservatory as well!
As with every review of the flower shows, we wanted to share a few of our favorite rooms from this one. However, as the focus point in this show is purely on the flowers, we have a bit reduced commentary when compared to other articles.
The Good Wood Barrel-Aged Beer Festival is an annual event sponsored by Wigle Whiskey and East End Brewing.
While on the smaller end of beer festivals, this one packs a punch as all beers served have been aged in barrels- our kind of niche beer festival in Pittsburgh!
We're always on the lookout for the best Pittsburgh food truck rallies, and we have to admit that our options for roundups of local food trucks are few and far between.
When they happen, they're often quite small. And when they're free, they often are too crowded or the trucks sell out of food in record time.
So it was with great excitement that we went out to the Monroeville Convention Center one Saturday in January in order to check out the annual Food Truck-a-Palooza event- the largest food truck rally we've been to yet!
Pittsburgh's First Night is an annual New Year's Eve celebration in the Cultural District that features late-night gallery hours, live music, performances at many venues, food trucks, and so much more.
While this one is a ticketed event for a nominal fee ($10 plus fees in 2019), there really is a lot to see and experience in this one.
CRAFT (The Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation) at Chatham University is affiliated with the school's Food Studies program and aims to transform our food systems in Western Pennsylvania through education and outreach. Some of those education opportunities include fantastic food-related workshops and classes hosted at the Eden Hall campus in Gibsonia.
The CRAFT Chatham classes have long been our list to attend, but spaces are limited and they often sell out very quickly. Classes really span the gamut of topics from whole hog butchering, to sourdough bread baking, to Indian food, to fermentation. Instructors are all extremely knowledgeable and talented experts in their field.
We were lucky enough to snag a spot in the recent Kraut, Kimchi, and Lacto-Fermented Pickles class taught by Trevor Ring. Trevor graduated from the Chatham food studies program and also studied with the famous fermentation expert Sandor Katz. Basically, he's very into fermentation and knows what he's talking about!
Phipps Conservatory is known for being one of the largest botanical gardens in the region, and also for their seasonal flower shows that are truly events not to be missed.
For the fall 2019 flower show, Phipps is transporting you to Asia with the theme Japanese Inspirations- recreating numerous festivals all adorned with stunning fall flowers!
As with all of our show reviews, we're not going to share every room in the Conservatory (you'll have to visit yourself to see them all!). Instead, we're going to feature a few of our favorite rooms from the show to highlight a cross-section of the displays!