Image via Wikipedia

The laurel highlands is not just pretty in the fall.  If skiing and snowboarding aren’t your thing – maybe ice sculptures is up your alley.  Head to downtown Ligonier this weekend for the 21st Annual Ice Fest on Saturday and Sunday.

DiMartino Ice Co. of Jeannette will have 6 carvers on hand and there will be more than 40 sculptures on display throughout the weekend.

The fire department is hosting a spaghetti dinner and local businesses will have indoor sidewalk sales.

Read more about the weekends activities here.

21st Annual Ligonier Ice Festival
Ligonier, PA – Around the Diamond, East and West Main streets, North and South Market streets.
Saturday and Sunday. January 21-22, 2012
Information: (724) 238-4200.

Related articles

• Ice sculptors kick off London festival (independent.co.uk)
• VIDEO: Ice sculpture made from river water (bbc.co.uk)
• Snow & Ice Sculpture Gardens in Frankenmuth, Michigan (travelwithjp.wordpress.com)
• The Ice Hotel (scramblerworld.wordpress.com)

I sure hope it snows this week so that they don’t have to cancel this event. Yes, it is the 46th Annual Snow Shovel Riding event.

Photo from VisitBeaverCounty.com

Beaver Country Snow Shovel Riding Championships
Saturday, January 14, 2012
High Noon
Old Economy Park, just off Route 989 in Economy Borough

If there isn’t enough snow the event will be rescheduled for February.

You can read about last years competition here.

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)

Image by robjdlc via Flickr

For those of you looking for a way to celebrate Halloween while getting some exercise – think of it as canceling out the candy – or you really love bicycles and beer – this is the event for you. Its time for the annual Reverse Keg Ride.

What is a Reverse Keg Ride?

A few years ago, End End Brewing decided that the best way to get the first keg of Pedal Pale Ale to the bar was by bike.  And thus the keg ride was born. And each year a few more people decided to come along for the ride.  This spring over 400 people joined the ride to deliver the first keg AND raise money for some local charities.

Since the keg rides have been so popular, in 2009 it was decided that the way to end the pedaling season was with a reverse keg ride back to the brewery – another chance to raise some money, drink some beer and take a bike ride through Pittsburgh with a few hundred people.

Keg Ride, but its Halloween Weekend?

Yes, it is! So the bicycle beer loving folks are holding a costumer contest – and it is a good one. Prizes will be awarded for Best Beer-themed Costume, Best Pittsburgh-themed Costume and Best Overall Costume,

How does this work?

Well, talk about another great example of a Pittsburgh collaboration.  East End Brewing is working with the folks at Venture Outdoors to make sure this is a well organized and safe event.  East End Brewing knows beer.  And Venture Outdoors are experts in organizing large groups of people to do fun things outside.

Reverse Keg Ride Details

• Saturday, October 29th. Rain or shine.
• Breakfast and Check-in at 9:00am
• Depart at 10:00, arrive at 11:00-11:30am
• Cost: $15 for pre-registration (on-line), $20 for Day-of-ride registration. This is a charitable contribution that goes to support “Advisory Board on Autism and Related Disorders” (aka ABOARD), a non-profit agency, providing a lifeline of support for families and individuals with autism.
• What you get:  a continental breakfast, morning coffee, a fun day of riding your bike in a big group… and this year’s very first SNOW MELT WINTER ALE fresh from the brewery.
• Get all the details and warnings about hills here.  Ready to register – you can do that here.

some more beer reading…

• The Best Beer to Enjoy at Every MLB Ballpark (bleacherreport.com)
• More beer-related news (pittsburgh.metblogs.com)
• Two brewers battle for rights to historic Pittsburgh beer label (philly.com)

The Batcycle – Bicycle Ride

Sunday, August 14, 2011
6-8pm
Meet at Dippy The Dino in Oakland

Image via Wikipedia

To celebrate the new Batman movie being filmed in Pittsburgh, we will go on a Batman themed ride. Dress up like Batman, Robin, or any other Batman character, although costumes are not required. Decorate your bicycle if you’d like. This is a no-drop ride at a relatively slow pace. We will swing by downtown filming locations, and get as close as we can to the road closures. This ride will end at Dippy. Bring your family and of course kids are more than welcome. Rain does not cancel, helmets are required, and our route length will be around 10 miles or less.

Click here for the entire BikeFest Calendar.

Image via Wikipedia

We haven’t heard of any cornhole tournaments in awhile.  While the sport certainly has become pretty popular here in Western PA – if you are new to the game.  Cornhole is kind of like horseshoes but played with bean bags instead of heavy metal objects – probably much safer than horseshoes.

Gilda’s Club is hosting a Cornhole Tournament on Saturday, August 20, 2011 – spend an afternoon tossing some bean bags, meeting some of the great people from Gilda’s Club and supporting a good cause.

Fight Cancer with Cornhole
Saturday, August 20, 2011 @ Noon
Gilda’s Club, 2816 Smallman St., Pittsburgh PA
Register Here - $25
Facebook Event - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104632082971337

Looking for a cornhole league?

It looks like there is still space in the PSL fall cornhole leauge – which meets Tuesday nights at the Double Wide Grill (Sept. 13- Nov. – get the details here.

This Saturday is your chance to check out Ambridge with the folks of Urban Hike.  Urban Hike is a group that plans out hikes around different urban areas.  The organizers do a great job of mapping out the hike ahead of time and planning out interesting stops along the way.  Usually local experts join along to share history and info about each area.  There was a great group of hikers for the last Urban Hike in Oakland.  A great way to explore a new area with a nice group of folks.  There is no charge to participate in the hike – just make sure to thank the organizers.

Urban Hike Ambridge

• When: Saturday, July 16th at 10am
• Where: Circle K at 1599 Duss Ave, 15003 – Map
• What: Urban Hike Path to the Past
• Who: Come one and all, and bring friends
• How to get there: drive, take the bus – the 14 bus goes from Downtown to Ambridge, or contact info@urbanhike.org about carpooling.

Schenley Park just added more fun for the summer season – today, June 16 – the mini golf course opens at Schenley Park.

Schenley Park Mini Golf Course Website

• Location: Schenley Park Skating Rink
• Schedule: Tuesday-Friday, 4-9 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 1-9 p.m.
• Cost: $4 adults/$3 children
• Information: 412-422-6547

The mini golf course idea was the result of an audit of the Schenley Park skating rink audit from Controller Michael Lamb’s office in 2010.  The idea is to come up with a way for the facility to be used year round.  Read more about the audit from the Post-Gazette here.

Urban Hike is one of our favorite Pittsburgh organizations.  Every month or so the Urban Hike organizers plan out a hike through a different neighborhood.  There is always a great crowd of people and some local experts.  The hikes are free and move at a leisurely pace.  There are usually some stops for water along the way and those who choose go out for some snacks at the end.

Urban Hike South Oakland

When: Sunday June 5th, 9:45am

Where: Dinosaur Park, Map

What: Urban Hike adventure in South Oakland

Who: Come one and all, and bring friends

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168674839858971

More details on the meeting place:

We got some much appreciated technical help to more exactly pinpoint the meeting location for Sunday’s hike.  Check out the Map.
We are meeting at the playground in Schenley Park officially called Anderson Park (affectionately referred to as “Dinosaur Park”).   If you look at the crazy intersection between Panther Hollow Road and Boulevard of the Allies, there is a spur that comes off Panther Hollow Road right at that junction.   The spur ends in a cul de sac that abuts the Boulevard.  There is playground next to the spur (if you go to the satellite view you should see it) and there is free parking along the road there. We will be gathering right next to the playground, where the road meets the cement path leading into the park.

Check out our previous posts about urban hike here.

Image by paukrus via Flickr

Pittsburgh has been gaining quite a bit of attention from other places for our bicycle friendly community.  This is due in large part to the hard work of the folks at BikePgh and the people in Pittsburgh who ride their bikes and want to make this a better place for all bike riders.

Even if you don’t have a bike or like to ride a bike (the only bike I have been on in the past 10 years is the spinning bike – I am great at pedaling and going nowhere) – we can all celebrate the community of cyclists that are putting Pittsburgh on the national map as a place for cyclists.

So there is a lot of stuff happening in town for cyclists of all levels this weekend

FRIDAY is National Bike to Work Day

BikePgh has got breakfast ready for anyone who is biking to work:

• Market Square: 7:30 to 9:30
• Carnegie Mellon, University Center Merson Courtyard: 7:30 to 10:00
• Chatham University, Pond area adjacent to the Mellon Center: 7:30 to 10:00
• Whole Foods, Shadyside/East Liberty: 7:30 to 10:30
• REI, South Side Works: 8:00 to 10:00

Check out how much you can save with the Car Free Calculator

Pick up your sticker tomorrow morning at one of the breakfast spots and save even more – BikePGH has lined up some great discounts with local businesses – check out the entire list here.

SUNDAY is Pedal Pittsburgh

Each year the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (CDCP) hosts Pedal Pittsburgh.  An annual bike ride around the city with routes for every level of cyclist.  This year’s event starts and ends at SouthSide Works. There are 6 different routes around the city from 6 to 60 miles long.  A great way to check out Pittsburgh on two wheels and to support the CDCP.

Looking for more bike rides? Check out the BikePGH calendar which lists many different rides that are open to everyone all around the city.