These three events give you a chance to check out Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods – South, East and Northwest.

MT. WASHINGTON: A Taste of Mt. Washington

• Thursday, September 29 5-9pm
• $15 per ticket gets you specials and discounts at participating Mt. Washington businesses
• a great way to check out Mt. Washington and to support the Mt. Washington CDC’s Main Streets Program
• Facebook event link – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204919659569779

BELLVUE: Artobert Fest

• Saturday, October 1
• 1-6pm Free block party on Lincoln Ave
• 5-8pm “Art and Wine Walk” down Lincoln Avenue.  Ticket prices are $12 for a single ticket, or $20 per couple. Participating businesses will become individual art galleries as ticket holders enjoy live music, art exhibits, hors d’oeuvres, and complimentary wine tasting.
• 8-10pm Artober Fest After Party at Bite Bistro
• Facebook event link – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179562568778542

POINT BREEZE: Annual Bonfire

• Saturday, October 1 4-10pm
• Street Classical Academy, Corner of Reynolds and Lang
• live music, hayrides in Homewood Cemetary, food vendors (including s’mores)

Image courtesy of Tree Pittsburgh

On Sunday, March 6 from 10am to 2pm at the Double Wide Grill on the South Side you get all you can eat pancakes for $10 and your donation goes directly to benefit Tree Pittsburgh – an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the City’s vitality by restoring and protecting City trees.  Why should you attend?  Well, pancakes are delicious (and there is a vegan option), you get free coffee and potatoes as well, tunes from Big Snow Big Thaw, and street trees are a critical element for a livable urban environment.  Are you one of those people that includes a link on your Facebook page every time Pittsburgh gets voted ‘most livable city’ (possibly including the comment ‘suck it, Portland’)?  Well street trees are a huge part of reducing our City’s pollution* and there is still a long way to go in improving our air quality.  Who knows?  Your $10 just might end up helping to promote Pittsburgh to most livable city in the world!

For more information on Pittsburgh’s urban forest, info on street tree plantings in your neighborhood, and to learn about becoming an official tree tender to help care for Pittsburgh’s trees visit the Tree Pittsburgh’s website!

RSVP for breakfast on Facebook!

*Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing dust and other particulates. Leaves absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide.  In exchange, trees give off vital oxygen.

The Carrick Cornfest was started in the 1970′s and continues as an annual festival this year.  Lots of local organizations will be on hand to celebtate the neighborhoods and enjoy a corn roast.

Phillips Park
Saturday, August 21, Noon-8pm

Facebook Event for Community Cornfest

Entertainment includes:

• traditional opening ceremonies by the award winning Pittsburgh Carrick High School Band
• Bhutanese dancers
• the Shovlin Academy of Irish Dance
• Jeff Martin’s Steel City Jazz Project
• Nadina Bembic’s Nalaladina
• folk singer Cathasaigh
• the rock group The Silent Wire

You have probably walked past many of these house before – now is the chance to take a tour of the insides and back yards of a dozen different abodes in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood.  I know one of the homeowners and she has been working diligently to make sure everything is ready for you to take a peek around her house.  The South Side Home Tour should be extra interesting  -  many of the homes on the South Side look a lot different on the inside than they do on the outside – definitely some hidden gems.

South Side Historic Home Tour
Saturday, May 15, 2010 10am-4pm
Tickets are limited.
Advance Tour Tickets: $14.99
Day of Tour Tickets: $18 (if available)
Order online: http://www.showclix.com/event/9155/ or  by phone: 1.888.71.TICKETS (1.888.718.4253)

Facebook Event Link – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115233098500033#!/event.php?eid=115233098500033

I know that last year there were some soup shortages – this year they will be limiting ticket sales to make sure there is lots of soup for all of the soup hoppers.

• Tickets can be purchased online here – http://www.showclix.com/event/8132/
• Soup Goes Green – All of the bowls and spoons are 100% compostable – containers
• A souper t-shirt – the official soup contest shirts will be printed by Commonwealth Press and I think they will be open for screen printing demos throughout the afternoon.
• Proceeds of the South Side Soup Contest benefit The Brashear Association’s Food Pantry. Please remember to bring your canned food item to help stock the Brashear Association Food Pantry.

South Side Soup Contest
Saturday, Febraury 20, 2010 Noon-3pm
Advanced Registration: $12 donation + a canned good
Day-Of Registration (Unless Sold Out): $15 donation + a canned good

Registration is limited to 1,200- There are less than 400 tickets left- Reserve your space in advance!

How It Works: On February 20th, head to one of the 3 check-in sites listed below to drop off your canned good and pick up your punch card, soup maps and ballots.

Check-In Locations:

• SouthSide Works Cinema @ 425 Cinema Drive
• The Brashear Association @ 2005 Sarah Street
• City Theatre @ 1300 Bingham Street

Facebook Event for the Soup Contest and Be a Fan of the SouthSide on Facebook

All day, every Monday, movie tickets to just about any film is $5. This includes new releases, so make sure you buy your tickets early to ensure your showing doesn’t sell out. Some restrictions apply, for instance, Sony Pictures films are not eligible for Bargain Monday pricing for the first 14 days of the release.

If you’re hungry after the show and you’d like to stick with the theme of Bargain Monday, stroll on down to Fatheads (1805 E. Carson St.) for wing night. Wings are 20 cents and you can get as many as you want, and feel free to mix and match flavors. Wing night specials are also available on Wednesday. Seasonal beers including Troeg’s Mad Elf and Great Lakes Christmas Ale are on tap at Fatheads right now.

If you’re on the other side of the river, the AMC Loews Waterfront Theatre offers $5.00 showings all day, Monday through Thursday.

All this talk of movies making you hungry for popcorn? Make sure you print out your Popalot Card from Pittsburgh Popcorn Company for a free small bag of heavenly goodness after purchasing 9 bags of any size. Each week, both Pittsburgh Popcorn Company locations feature different flavors. One is usually seasonal and the other is a bit more non-traditional. Through December 3, 2009, the Strip District (209 21st St) store is featuring Gingerbread Cookie Corn and Spicy Southwest Cheddar. Through December 1, 2009, at the downtown (822 Liberty Ave) store, you can pick up Pumpkin Spice or Dill Pickle. If you feel like sharing the popcorn love, they ship nationwide!

Photo by Jennie Roth.

Get ready for a vertical hike – Pittsburgh is home to thousands of city steps that help people get up and down the hills around this city.  Each year the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association organizes a self guided tour of some of the different steps and points of interest around the slopes.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 – Noon to 4pm
Register at 21st and Josephine Streets – UPMC South Side Lot

Walkers will enjoy all of these features as they tour, at their own pace, approximately 2,700 steps and the intertwining streets and sidewalks that connect them. The courses have changed to offer a different perspective of the South Side Slopes. Trekkers should find the routes pedestrian friendly, especially as they explore the middle areas of the Slopes neighborhood.

The South Side Slopes may quite possibly have the most steps of any neighborhood in the United States. After all, it is home to nearly 10% of the 712 sets of steps within Pittsburgh, which has the most steps of any city in the country. The city with the next greatest amount of steps is the Ohio River town of Cincinnati, followed by

Image by peterp via Flickr

San Francisco. The steps of the combined cities, however, do not equal those in Pittsburgh. Altogether, some 66 out of the city’s 88 neighborhoods have steps. These hundreds of public stairways give tribute to the many hillside neighborhoods.

For the past 10 year a group of dedicated volunteers has been working to bring back the grandness to Grandview Park – and the timing is perfect.  The park will celebrate its 100th birthday this Saturday, October 3rd with a big community birthday party.

From 15211.org:

The Friends of Grandview Park will host a birthday celebration in the park (499 Bailey Ave., Mt. Washington, 15211), on Sat., Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be activities for all ages ranging from artists and food vendors to musicians and children’s entertainment. Kids will be able to climb to the top of a life-size fort to see the city.

More info on the Park and the birthday Celebration from the Post-Gazette and the Green Tree Times

Grandview Park is part of the larger Grand View Scenic Byway Park.

I saw this on the Venture Outdoors blog this week and thought it was worth sharing.

Visit Pittsburgh has a poll on their site – vote on a name for the new park or suggest a name – deadline is August 31, 2009. Cast your vote and enter to win a night at the Renaissance hotel.

Cast Your Vote, Submit Your Big Idea, and Enter the Prize Drawing!

Pittsburghers know Mt. Washington provides the perfect vantage point of the city’s legendary three rivers and triangular urban center. Just an incline ride away from downtown and the place to dine with out-of-town guests, Mt. Washington now has a green side to show off, too. And we need your help to give this lush urban wilderness a name.

The new park that crosses Mt. Washington, Duquesne Heights and Allentown, offers 235 acres of green woodlands, trails, playgrounds, playing fields and majestic views from all sides. It’s the perfect place for Pittsburghers and visitors to hike across hillsides on quiet, sun-dappled paths or take yoga lessons, watch free movies, or enjoy a festival. Now consider: What name can describe this regional treasure? Something, perhaps, that combines the present with the area’s rich past and highlights the Park’s wild and green character, urban setting and spectacular view.

Click here to cast your vote at Visit Pittsburgh

Here is an interesting video that is a) amusing and b) gives some history of the park.

Woo Hoo! Spring has sprung and the urban hike folks are back with their first hike of 2009.  This is one of my favorite PGH activities – totally laid back group – you don’t need to be a hiking expert.  I am looking forward to checking out Allentown, Beltzhoover and Knoxville neighborhoods – I may even bring along the dog to enjoy the nice weather on Satruday.

Spring cleaning?! You can do that later. Take a hike with us instead!
Urban Hike is kicking off its 2009 season with a walk on the Hilltop. We’ll see parts of Allentown, Beltzhoover, Knoxville and that enigmatic area called Mt. Oliver (is it a neighborhood? A borough? A province? A state of mind?). Join us April 25th at 11 am under the clock at the intersection of Brownsville Road and Amanda Avenue. Free parking is available on Amanda and several other side streets. The hike should last about three hours; you’re welcome to join us afterwards for lunch at a local restaurant.

Since we’re starting a new season, now might be a good time to answer some FAQs:
What does it cost? Nothing! Awesome, right?
When do I have to RSVP? You don’t! Wow!
Can I bring my dog? Only if he/she can take a bunch of strangers calling him/her the cutest dog in the universe, yes you are! Oh, and sometimes on our hikes we stop at places that might not be dog-friendly. But we usually don’t stop for long.
Other questions? E-mail info@urbanhike.org.

If you want to RSVP here is the Hilltop Urban Hike on Facebook.

Some related blog posts about walking through neighborhoods…

• Join Us: The First Annual Millions Walking Tour of NYC Indie Book Stores (themillionsblog.com)
• A Brief Intermission: A Stroll Down Fruitvale Avenue (vindelatable.blogspot.com)
• Hiking in Hong Kong (guardian.co.uk)