Events

The Best Places to View Pittsburgh Fireworks

Fireworks from Mount Washington

For reasons unknown to us, Pittsburgh is crazy about fireworks.

Fourth of July? Massive fireworks. Randomly scheduled nights during Pirates games? Fireworks. When the Pirates get a home run? Mini-fireworks. A mega-band playing at Acrisure Stadium? There will probably be some fireworks. A celebration to welcome winter and the Christmas season? It's freezing outside, but sure, let's have some fireworks anyway.

If you are wanting to check out these festivities, Pittsburgh will give you a chance to see some good shows roughly ten times per year (give or take based on the Pirates schedule). The only question from there is where you must be in order to have the best view. After exploring the city for several years, we have come up with a list of our favorite spots.

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Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker – a Holiday Treat

The Nutcracker is a classic ballet that is a Christmas tradition for many. With familiar music, hundreds of colorful and dramatic costumes, and a story full of wonder, it's easy to see why this ballet keeps people returning to performances year after year.

The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has been performing The Nutcracker for decades, and yet each year there are new twists to enjoy.

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Oglebay’s Festival of Lights is Worth the Drive to West Virginia

When it comes to Christmas lights near Pittsburgh, one spot comes up as a must-see again, and again, and again- Oglebay's Festival of Lights near Wheeling, West Virginia.

For many years, we had never visited this resort for their holiday display as we generally keep all our exploration of the Pittsburgh metro area confined to within Pennsylvania proper. But due to the popularity of this holiday event, especially within the Pittsburgh marketplace, we made an exception for this gem.

So one chilly early December evening we hopped in our car, made the 75-minute drive to Oglebay, and checked out the Festival of Lights in all its glory!

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Krampusnacht in Market Square Celebrates European Tradition

Krampus Fest is back in Market Square for 2023. It will take place Tuesday, December 5th, starting at 5 pm with a Krampus bar crawl, a Krampus parade (typically at around 7 pm), and music from Sleigher beginning at 7 pm as well.

Krampusnacht is part of holiday folklore in many central and eastern European countries where the horned creature known as Krampus punishes bad children on the night of December 5th (the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas). In some stories, he slaps bad children with birch branches, and in other, more extreme iterations, he may abduct them via a sack on his back to eat them (or engage in other torturous activities). 

In many cases, Krampus appears along with Saint Nicholas (who is dressed in bishop vestments) who rewards children who behaved well throughout the year. 

In modern times, Krampusnacht has become a celebratory festival where Krampus appears in town squares and holiday markets for entertainment purposes, and Pittsburgh gets into the fun with its own Krampusnacht festivities, aptly named Krampus Fest, in Market Square!

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5 Great Activities to Enjoy Christmas in Westmoreland County

Southwest Pennsylvania truly comes alive during the holiday season, and no matter where you look there are a number of great Christmas and seasonal activities to enjoy.

This is especially true in Westmoreland County, one of three counties in the Laurel Highlands, as they are home to some wonderful events ranging from the popular Christmas village Overly's Country Christmas, concerts at the Westmoreland Symphony, and more.

So in this one, we thought it'd be fun to share all the great ways to enjoy Christmas in Westmoreland County!

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30+ Places to Buy Christmas Trees in Pittsburgh

Nothing beats a fresh Christmas tree in your house every holiday season. There is something about going out, picking out a tree, and setting it up in your home that makes us know that Christmas is here (oh, and the smells- you cannot beat the smell of a fresh cut tree).

Thankfully, the market for Christmas trees in Pittsburgh is huge and there are dozens upon dozens of farms and tree sellers all over the metro area.

In this guide, we wanted to share a roundup of every place to buy either pre-cut or cut-your-own Pittsburgh Christmas in the city and greater metro area. This guide is organized by region including within the city limits as well as north, south, east, and west of the city proper. Within each subsection, farms and businesses are organized by proximity to the city from closest to furthest away (at our best estimate, at least).

Notes: We have not visited many of the farms featured in this guide partly because we always purchase a tree as close to our house as possible to minimize driving times. We recommend re-confirming offerings (tree types, pre-cut, cut-your-own, etc), hours, and pricing (plus if cash only) prior to visiting any of the businesses listed below as things change rapidly when it comes to Christmas trees. 

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Drink the Cookie Table is the Kind of Pittsburgh Beer Fest We Love

When it comes to Pittsburgh beer festivals, for a while it felt like we had seen it all. We've been to Beers of the Burgh (100% Western PA focused), Rose All Day (all things rose- beer, wine, and other spirits), and even the Good Wood Festival (where everything must have seen the inside of a barrel) to name a few.

It wasn't until the local beer website and podcast, Fueled by Hops, launched a beer festival in 2021 that we realized we were missing a category. Drink the Cookie Table was focused on all things dessert beer and brought both local and popular national breweries together to share their most devious sweet creations all under the branding of Pittsburgh's favorite wedding tradition- the cookie table. 

We were fortunate enough to attend Drink the Cookie Table as guests of our friends at Fueled by Hops, and share a bit more about what it was like in this one to get you excited for when it (hopefully) returns next!

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Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead – What is the Venue Like?

We were fortunate enough to see not one, but two shows at Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead in the span of roughly one week, and by sheer chance, we bought tickets for the same exact seats for both (I bought tickets for one, Angie for the other). 

This ended up being a pleasant surprise because we quickly learned two things- the balcony seats at Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead are wonderful, and this smaller theater is a true gem for seeing live music!

So in this one, we thought we'd share a bit more about what you can expect from a performance.

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Acrisure Stadium Concerts – Is The Venue Worth It for a Show?

There are conventional tours at amphitheaters like Star Lake. Then there are larger stadium tours, like concerts at PNC Park. And then there are the biggest, most outrageous stadium tours for the world's most famous performers.

In Pittsburgh, only one venue is large enough for an event of this size, and Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) concerts have historically attracted acts like Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Beyonce, U2, and perhaps the most legendary of them all, The Rolling Stones- who we finally got to see at the stadium in 2021.

So in this one, we thought we'd share a bit about what the show was like, thoughts on the seating and sound at the stadium, and other venue-specific points you may want to keep in mind!

Note: Photos in this one were taken at various focal lengths with our phone. True-to-view shots as seen from our seats will be noted in the captions. 

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PedalPGH is a Great Event to Bike Surface Roads in Pittsburgh

PedalPGH is an annual charity bike ride taking place every August (roughly) to help raise money for BikePGH and their local biking initiatives.

For many years, we've watched this one from a distance as we started out primarily as rail-trail bikers who prefer mostly flat rides as opposed to heading out on surface roads. But after building up our experience on bikes, we signed up for PedalPGH and have to admit that this event is a whole lot of fun.

We had so much fun, in fact, that we plan on riding this one yearly!

So in this one, we thought we'd share a bit more about what you can expect from PedalPGH, things to keep in mind, and why signing up is so important outright.

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