RAD stands for Regional Asset District. Part of the taxes you pay in sales goes to funding great stuff in the region. This weekend is the last weekend of RADical days (Sept. 25-Oct.7), so a great opportunity to check out some of the best of Pittsburgh.

Thinking about the zoo – see it for free on Sat. How about the symphony – thats free too!

Here is what is free this weekend:

Saturday, October 6

Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium
Free Admission 9AM-5PM (gates close at 4PM)
You can’t get any closer to wildlife – not even in HD, not even in the wild! See our one-year-old tigers playing by their viewing window, enjoy the elephant family dipping into their watering hold, laugh at the penguins hopping, and marvel at the sharks lurking at the surface of the water. Don’t miss the polar bears and sea otters as they frolic on the water’s edge.
Performances by The Pittsburgh Philharmonic, Saltworks Theatre Company and UMOJA African Arts Company.
One Wild Place (Highland Park)
www.pittsburghzoo.com

Society for Contemporary Craft
Free Admission 10AM-5PM
See contemporary work in clay, glass, wood, metal fiber and found objects by local and national artists. Make art yourself in the drop-in studio or shop in the store.
2100 Smallman Street (Strip District)
www.contemporarycraft.org

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Free Concert 11AM-Noon
Join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for a concert of season highlights. Resident Conductor Lawrence Loh will lead the PSO in works by Brahms, Stravinsky and Elgar. The orchestra will also perform Berlioz’s exciting Symphonie fantastique. To reserve tickets, stop by the Heinz Hall box office or call 412-392-4900.
Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue (Downtown)
www.pittsburghsymphony.org

WQED-FM: Cultural District Studio Tour, Noon-3PM
Free admission Noon-3PM
Come by the Cultural District’s only radio station when you visit the Carolyn M. Byham Cultural District Studio in Theatre Square and see a live music radio broadcast! Meet WQED radio personalities, get some autographs, and from noon-1PM, say hello to Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Conductor Marvin Hamlisch when he visits with the WQED radio personalities! Get an autograph, too – first-come, first-served. (Consider taking in the Pittsburgh Symphony’s free RADical Days concert from 11-AM-noon, then walk just a few blocks to our studio!)
655 Penn Avenue (Downtown at Theater Square)
www.wqed.org/fm

August Wilson Center for African American Culture- 209/9 Gallery
Free Admission Noon-5PM
See exhibit description on October 5. (No reception on this date.)

Allegheny County Parks: Hartwood Acres Hay Day
Free Admission Noon-4PM
This event features all sorts of fun, including storytelling, slides, pony rides, an arts and crafts center, a petting zoo, miniature train, music, clowns and more! There is a small charge for refreshments. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
200 Hartwood Acres (North Hills)
www.county.allegheny.pa.us/parks

Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Free Admission 7:30PM
See site details on October 5.
www.pghfilmmakers.org

Sunday, October 7

Frick Art & Historical Center
Free Admission 10AM-5PM
The Frick offers an array of FREE activities for the whole family. Explore the first floor of Clayton, Henry Clay Frick’s restored mansion, discover amazing vehicles in the Car and Carriage Museum and experience extraordinary art in our special exhibition In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau & His American Students. Scavenger hunts for kids and take-home art activities, too!
7227 Reynolds Street (Point Breeze)
www.frickart.org

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Main Presents The Poorhouse Singers
Free Concert 2-3PM
Experience the library in a whole new way! Established as a public trust in 1895, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh serves the citizens of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County with a distinguished history of leadership among the country’s great public libraries. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh presents an afternoon with The Poorhouse Singers, an acoustic group that performs modern and traditional folk music in and around Pittsburgh.
4400 Forbes Avenue (Oakland)
www.carnegielibary.org

Kelly-Strayhorn Theater: An Evening of RADical Dance and Music
Free Admission 7-8:30PM
Come for an exciting evening of music and dance showcasing a variety of regional assets, including Bulgarian Cultural Center dancers, LABCO Dance, South Hills Chorale, and UMOJA African Arts Company.
Parking easily available in the Carnegie Library-East Liberty lot.
5941 Penn Avenue (East Liberty)
www.kelly-strayhorn.org