I heart PGH » arts & culture

Needles’ Crowned

Iva — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:03:29 +0000

Deep in the belly of Lawrenceville, in the smoky Blue Moon bar, the Monday night crowd was breathless and rowdy, packed to the gills and glued to the television in anticipation. In any other bar, it would have been the Steelers at the Superbowl or the Penguins in game seven for the Stanley Cup. But no, it was the season finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Pittsburgh’s Sharon Needles was crowned winner of season four of the Drag Race amongst gales of cheers and slopped beers. She distinguishes herself with her flair for horror and sharp wit.

Hooray, Sharon! We’re so proud. Can’t wait to see her back in Pittsburgh, a long summer of touring.

Sharon Needles: The winner of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ (popbytes.com)
Socialite Life’s Interview With Sharon Needles – RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 4 Winner! (socialitelife.com)
Sharon Needles Wins RuPaul’s Drag Race (people.com)
Look At ‘Drag Race’ Winner Sharon Needles’ Beer Mug Gown (sfist.com)

Hello Donny Showtunes Sing-A-Long – March 21st

Lindsay — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:09:39 +0000

A group of enthusiast karaoke singers and showtunes lovers has been working hard to make this event a reality. If you love singing showtunes – then you are going to want to save the date for March 21st!

Hello Donny
Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 9:30pm
Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue

From the organizer…

Tired of the Cellblock Tango? Longing for the Heaven Hop? Just Can’t Help Loving that Man of Mine? We know It’s a Hard Knock Life. Well Good Morning Starshine – because things are Getting Better. And not just for the Ladies Who Lunch.

Hello Donny is your opportunity to come as you are, let it all hang out, and do what you love. That is… if you love singing showtunes.

Inspired by Marie’s Crisis (NYTimes article here) a storied piano bar in New York City’s West Village this monthly sing-along at the Cabaret at
Theater Square will give you and your nearest and dearest the opportunity to belt as one. Absolutely everyone is welcome.

Each evening will be emceed by a local performer, accompanied by a live pianist, and interspersed with a few featured performances to
shake things up. But the most important role – by far – is you.

If you’ve ever sung showtunes…

in the shower

in your car

on the bus

in the street

after a few beers

on or offstage

morning, noon, or night

then it’s so nice to have you back where you belong!!!!

Update on P.Nosa’s Sewing Tour – First Stop Pittsburgh

Lindsay — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:53 +0000

Last week I posted about Paul Nosa’s Sewing Tour project on Kickstarter. Paul is an artist based in Tuscon, AZ who is planning to travel across the country with his solar and bike powered sewing machine.

I posted about the project because the video is awesome (check out the video here) AND he is bringing the tour to Pittsburgh. The first Kickstarter project didn’t reach funding – but he has relaunched the project on Kickstarter here. A few changes to the route – his first stop is Pittsburgh!

Check out his video update here.

Solar Sewing Tour 2012 (makezine.com)

Help Bring Paul Nosa’s Sewing Tour to Pittsburgh

Lindsay — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:23:55 +0000

Sewing Tour 2012 is project that came up on Kickstarter. We have posted some Kickstarter projects here before – Kickstarter is a website that lets your croudsource funding for projects and businesses.

I am sharing this project because it has a really nice little video and I think it is a neat little project. While I don’t do much of it myself, I like sewing and quilting and I like to think that quilts – which were used to tell stories are sort of a precursor to the modern day blog.

Paul Nosa is an artist who creates drawings with a sewing machine. He powers the sewing machine with solar power. He is trying to raise money to take his solar powered sewing machine on a cross country tour this summer. One of the stops is already planned for Pittsburgh.

Here is one of the patches he created with his sewing machine titled Bicycle Over City

Check out his video and maybe lend some support to his tour.

Super S****s and Wild Stuff

Maya — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:39:53 +0000

Two things not to miss in Lawrenceville this weekend:

Super S****s: Art from the Staff of the Andy Warhol Museum opens tomorrow (Friday, January 13 from 6-9pm) at WildCard. Andy Warhol’s Superstars were an elite clique of personalities that gained notoriety and fame through their association with the infamous artist. They were heavily featured in Warhol’s early works and their lives were immersed in the New York City art scene.

The staff of the Andy Warhol Museum are similarly immersed in the Pittsburgh art community. The artists featured in this show all have two things in common: they have worked as caretakers of Warhol’s art by day and as fine artists by night. Super****s opens on Friday January 13th and runs until February 19.

Then on Saturday from 11am – 7pm visit Wild Stuff, a collaborative, pop up vintage sale on Butler Street. Three of the great names in Lawrenceville (Wildcard, Botero Development, and Zombo Gallery) are teaming up for one great event: a Pop-Up Vintage sale featuring some of the bets finds in Pittsburgh. With items for sale ranging from visual art to bathtubs, ladies winter coats to tiki glasses, typewriters to CDs, there’s something for everyone at Wild Stuff!

Starting on Saturday, January 14 and running through Saturday March 31, the ground floor at 4300 Butler St will be full of retro fashion finds, scavenged building materials, furniture, and accessories.

Missing Goats, Profiteroles, Zombie Moms, and Progressive Dinners

Maya — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:30:19 +0000

What is that called when a bunch of seriously good things collide? The opposite of a perfect storm? Maybe we should be calling it a perfect artistic storm for Lawrenceville artists Gab Cody and Sam Turich. The duo have been receiving major accolades lately for their work on Fat Beckett, which just had its world premiere at Quantum Theatre. Add to that their Lawrenceville hit Mombies is screening at the Sprout Fund’s Tenacity tomorrow night. And the Kickstarter launch of their new project – Progression – a narrative film based on the Lawrenceville progressive dinner.

Fat Beckett: (Pittsburgh now– Luxembourg soon.) By Gab Cody in collaboration with Rita Reis. Directed by Sam Turich. The show runs through December 18. It’s a beautiful hilarious piece. Reviews: Pittsburgh Tatler, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh Post Gazette The show is sold out for several nights, but tonight is open and there are still tickets available for closing weekend! Buy tickets here. Student and artist rate available at the door: Buy Fat Beckett Tickets

Progression: Progression is a feature-length narrative film project, set in Lawrenceville, shot in Lawrenceville and about a real-life Lawrenceville institution: the 27-year-old progressive dinner, which began with about 15 friends and has become a community event with more than 150 participants. Written and to-be-directed by Gab Cody and Sam Turich. We need your help! Any amount helps! Visit here to watch a teaser trailer and contribute: Visit Progression on Kickstarter

Tenacity: The Sprout Fund’s 10-year anniversary gala promises to be an incredible event! $25 Balcony Seating now available. Limited seats remain on the main floor. Doors open 7pm; curtain at 8pm. For complete information on performances and event supporters, visit tenacity.sproutfund.org. And– they’re showing Mombies, which is a treat to watch with a big crowd!

Blue Slide Park = BEST PLAYGROUND EVER

Lindsay — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:41:56 +0000

You may have noticed some buzz on the internet about Mac Miller and his new song and album Blue Slide Park. Mac Miller is a hip hop artist who is from Pittsburgh and has recorded a few songs about the area.

Especially because it is the featured album in this weeks iTunes email:

Thanks to Mac Miller for putting Pittsburgh and this park on the map. While we were excited to see Blue Slide Park gain such national attention – a quick search of google revealed that there isn’t much online about the actual Blue Slide Park. For those of you who are new to the area or haven’t heard of the place – Blue Slide Park is a real park and any kid that grew up in the Sq. Hill area will tell you this is THE BEST playground around.

While Pittsburgh has lots of great parks and playgrounds – I think most people who have been there will agree that Blue Slide Park is the best. Yes, there is a giant, blue concrete slide that is built into the hillside. Ok, to an adult, giant might be an exaggeration but it looks giant to kids and yes the slide is blue.

Where is Blue Slide Park? Blue Slide Park is park of Frick Park, located on Beechwood Blvd right by the entrance to the Off-Leash Exercise Area

Here is an image of the Blue Slide from Google Street View:

Please share your stories (and photos) of Blue Slide Park in the comments below.

You can listen to Mac Miller’s song Blue Slide Park on YouTube here – so far no music video for this track yet.

But if you are looking for more Pittsburgh scenery – check out Mac Miller’s video for the song Frick Park Market, which was filmed at the actual Frick Park Market – which is located on the other side of Frick Park from Blue Slide Park. Th

Like Blue Slide Park, the Frick Park Market is an actual place – check out the reviews on Yelp here. If you are looking for a sandwich or to pick up some milk – you should definitely stop by the Frick Park Market on Reynolds in Point Breeze.

You can read more about Mac Miller and his Blue Slide Park …

Mac Miller Talks Being Independent, Wiz Khalifa, ‘Blue Slide Park’ Album [Video] (hiphopwired.com)
Mac Miller Rallies Hip-Hop Cognoscenti for Blue Slide Park (blogs.villagevoice.com)
Mac Miller Breaks Down ‘Frick Park Market’ Video (mtv.com)

Tree Pittsburgh Presents Arbor Aid 2011

Maya — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:28:29 +0000

Arbor Aid is an annual fundraiser for Tree Pittsburgh, an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the City’s vitality by restoring and protecting City trees. This fundraiser has grown over the years into one of Fall’s more fun and unqiue events. Art made from salvaged wood is exhibited, food and drink is plentiful, and entertainment this year is provided by Pairdown, and the Armadillos. And the folks at Tree Pittsburgh know that to make it a true Pittsburgh celebration you need to include an epic Cookie Table … and a Hug a Tree Photo Booth. So strap on your dancing shoes and head over to Guardian Storage Solutions this Friday, October 28th at 9pm.

This Weekend, Party Like its 1984

Lindsay — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:58:16 +0000

Didn’t make it out to the Penn Brewery for their 80′s birthday celebration? Looking for more ways to celebrate the 80′s? You are in lucky. Two words – Purple Rain, Purple Rain!

Yes, this weekend you can bask in the 80s with a celebration of Prince (or if you prefer the artist formerly know as Prince). The Hollywood Theater in Dormont is hosting a Purple Rain Party. Dress as your favorite rock star and head over to the theater for music, prizes and Purple Rain on the big screen.

Purple Rain Party
Where: Hollywood Theater, Dormont
When: Saturday, August 6, 2011 6-9p,
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=231103883567491

(via PopCity Media)

James Brown – Reincarnated – Sat. Night @ August Wilson Center

Lindsay — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:19:01 +0000

Ty Stone aka the Soul of James Brown, will be bringing the soul of James Brown to the August Wilson Center this Saturday night.

The Return of James Brown
Saturday, July 9, 2011
7-10pm
August Wilson Center
Tickets are $25, VIP $50 – click here to purchase tickets online

Click here to view the embedded video.