It is that time of year… soup season… and it is really soup season this winter. This Saturday is the 6th annual South Side Soup Contest.  Soup Hoppers get to stop by different locations along Carson Street and sample soup between Noon-3pm and vote on the best soups of the afternoon.

Do you know about $5.00 Bargain Monday at the South Side Works Cinema? You should!

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.

Homemade Ho Hos, originally uploaded by IheartPGH.

I was finishing lunch with Friend of IheartPGH who suggested that we check out the newest coffee shop on the south side. Big Dog Coffee is located on Sarah street near the South Side works. This place is beautiful – the counter is an old wooden antique, bright walls, comfortable seats (I am sitting in a rocking chair as I write this), there is a patio for outside seating when the weather is a bit warmer. The main room has a lovely fire place – if IheartPGH was a podcast I would be recording the sound of a crackling fire for you.

his place is really that cozy. The desert counter is beautiful and they have homemade ho hos. I think I had forgotten about ho hos, but the idea of a homemade one is amazing. Watch out cupcakes, there is a new tasty treat in town.

For more info on Big Dog Coffee…

• Big Dog Coffee Shop perks up South Side in renovated Sarah St. property, Pop City Media
• Big Dogs, erked 
• Hidden Treasures, Dave and Betsy’s Blog 

Image by mbfulk via FlickrPittsburgh has some resources for people that want to start businesses, especially technology businesses.  I have attended some of the work shops at the Tech Council, definitely worth a few hours of your time.

I just wanted to highlight AlphaLab (they have a blog here).  I mentioned AlphaLab recently because they have a really great office on Carson St. and were kind enough to host the reception for this years PodCamp Pittsburgh.

AlphaLab is a project of Innovation Works that provides support to starting companies, if your project is selected AlphaLab helps with funding, office space, some great advisors as well as other support for a seedling of a business.

The deadline to apply for the Winter/Spring 2009 Cycle is October 30, 2008.  The application is not too tricky, you don’t need a full business plan, just some ideas mostly in the technology area but it doesn’t have to be a technology business.  Check out the AlphaLab FAQ for all of the details.

Know of other resources for new businesses in Pittsburgh – please share!

This is the 7th Annual Dragon Boat Festival and this event is kind of special for IheartPGH as it was one of the first things we blogged about in 2005 (and 2006 and 2007. I have attended a few of the past dragon boat festivals – it is a great opportunity to learn about dragon boats and to check out the riverfront park on the South Side.

Saturday, September 20, 2008 11am-7pm

• Dragon Boat Races
• Learn to Dragon Boat
• traditional Asian music, dance, and food, plus arts and crafts for the children

Visitors are also welcome to try their hand at Dragon Boating. Each ornately-carved boat is 44 feet long and features brightly-painted dragon heads and tails that loom ominously at the fore and aft of each craft. A Dragon Boat seats 20 paddlers, a steersperson and a drummer to sound the beat.

More info is available at :  PittsburghDragonBoatFestival.org

These are the crappy camera phone pictures I took at New American Music Union (AE promises video from the concert will be posted 8/12/08) on the Southside this weekend.  I’ll be posting better pics along with a picture of the (un)official NAMU Jump Rope Champion 7th grader Isaac who made it to 178 revolutions – soon. (click on the pics to see full-size)      Jump rope history: On Friday night the Roots inspired my boyfriend Ryder to start jump rope dancing with a piece of rope he found by the exit.  Soon he was surrounded by a group of cheering concert-goers.  Our friend Matt grabbed the other end and soon people were jumping in – all in time to the music.  A group of dedicated jump ropers developed, including Bruce and his friends.  This pretty much lasted all night and continued the next night during Bob Dylan who was a little less danceable.   Apparently jumping rope is a great way to make friends! Related articles by Zemanta

• Time Lapse Stage Video
• Scenes from The New American Music Union