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Mars New Year Blast Off Dinner – A Celebration of Mars, In Mars

Any time I think of Mars, PA, it is almost always in tandem with at least one Martian reference of some sort.

As such, I wasn't too surprised to find out that Mars hosts a semi-annual Mars New Year celebration to honor the planet's roughly 687-Earth day revolution around the sun. 

While the actual three-day festivity is taking place a few months after the official new year (which occurs on the Mars spring equinox in the northern hemisphere), the borough hosts an annual dinner as close as possible to the exact Martian New Year (most recently on March 23, 2019).

With a line-up of speakers and Martian references aplenty, we were pretty excited to attend this one as guests of our friends at Butler County Tourism.

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Drury Plaza Pittsburgh Review – A Refreshing Stay Downtown

When it comes to downtown Pittsburgh hotels, we have quite a few with each having their own unique features.

We didn't know much about the Drury Plaza Hotel, located just a few blocks from the convention center, but when we were invited out for a review we were excited all the same.

As we quickly found out, this one has comfortable rooms and some pretty awesome on-site perks!

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Liberty Magic is the Kind of Performing Arts Venue Downtown Needs

A few months ago if you would've asked us if Pittsburgh's Cultural District needed another performing arts venue, we probably would've said no.

With gems like Heinz Hall, the Benedum Center, the O'Reilly Theater, the Byham Theater, the August Wilson Center, and many more (plus a number of awesome free galleries and other art installations), the district already serves up an array of wonderful shows seemingly every night of the week.

But then Liberty Magic opened, and our thoughts changed completely. This one is a welcomed addition to the Cultural District, as we could all truly use some magic in our lives.

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Touring the Historic Harmony Museum and Log Cabins

Harmony, Pennsylvania (30 minutes north of Pittsburgh) is one of our favorite boroughs for a number of reasons. It is quaint, historic, and is home to one of the best restaurants in the region- Harmony Inn.

When it comes to the history, Harmony is rather unique. To celebrate it, the borough has a robust museum that we were really excited to check out.

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Burgh Bits and Bites Saxonburg Tour Review – History & Food

Burgh Bits and Bites is a popular food walking tour company in Pittsburgh with numerous tours throughout the city's neighborhoods.

But this company is also expanding to include tours outside the city limits, and one of their first of this style tour is in the historic borough of Saxonburg- located about 45 minutes northeast of the city.

We were guest of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau on this tour, and share our thoughts of the day out in this one!

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Kentuck Knob is a Stunning House in the Laurel Highlands

When it comes to Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces in southwest Pennsylvania, odds are good you know of the iconic Fallingwater house. But did you know that Wright was also commissioned for a house just a few miles down the roads for friends of the Kaufmann family?

This house is Kentuck Knob- a large, Usonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built for the Hagan family (of local ice cream fame).

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Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel Review – A Historic Stay

The Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel is located in the historic (and architecturally unique) Fulton Building in downtown Pittsburgh.

The building was constructed in 1906, financed by Henry Phipps (namesake of Phipps Conservatory), converted to the Renaissance Hotel in 2001, and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

From its unique arch on the outside to the beautiful rotunda and luxurious rooms on the inside, it doesn't take long to understand why this particular hotel is one of the most popular in the city.

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FEAST at the Carnegie Museums – An Exceptional Dining Experience

The Carnegie Museums in Oakland have an annual dinner series known as FEAST which is a themed a dining experience in conjunction with a current exhibit. During the Carnegie International (running until March 2019), the museum is hosting three unique dinners in order to celebrate topics being presented during the flagship exhibition.

The first dinner was themed after the topic Beauty and hosted by Kate Romane from Black Radish Kitchen- a popular pop-up restaurant that is known for being highly sought after and almost impossible to get a seat at (we've yet to get in ourselves!).

I was invited to check out the dinner series as a guest of the museum, and share the experience of the dinner series in this one!

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The Pennsylvania Market Brings an Array of Shops to the Strip

The Strip District is often considered to be the most vibrant neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and it doesn't take long after a first visit to understand why. The concentration of restaurants, international markets, vendors, and boutique shops is larger there than anywhere else in the city.

Restaurants and businesses open in this neighborhood all the time, as you would expect, and add into the neighborhood's allure bit by bit- each with their own personal touch.

The Pennsylvania Market officially opened in the Strip District in late 2018 and opted to blast beyond being just another restaurant or shop. Instead, this one offers well over a dozen unique shopping, dining, and drinking options all in one beautiful location.

Note: Restaurants and concepts at The Pennsylvania Market may have changed since our initial publication.

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The Forbes Campaign in Western Pennsylvania at Fort Ligonier

When driving through the borough of Ligonier in the Laurel Highlands, you can't miss Fort Ligonier. This imposing, recreated fort is located right in the heart of the town and is a highlight all visitors must check out.

We've got to hand it to this one, it does an exceptional job of bringing the history of southwest Pennsylvania during the 1700s to life!

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