Category Archives: Community Resources

Steelers Withdrawal Hike

Thankfully, Venture Outdoors is here to help you make it through the bye week. Hike this sunday so you can eat wings and taco dip next Sunday. I am already signed up for the StepTrek, but this looks like my kind of hike. The folks at Venture Outdoors are great and very welcoming to beginners – no need to feel intimidated, everyone is welcome at their activities.

Steeler Withdrawal Hike
Join us for a hike that is sure to take your mind off the fact that your favorite Pittsburgh football team is on a Continue reading →

People who Play with Electricity

Dorkbot Pittsburgh has a meeting coming up.  Popular in other cities around the country, Dorkbot has had a Pittsburgh chapter for the past year.  I am a big fan of some of the people who have worked to bring dorkbot to Pittsburgh and I know they are involved in some interesting stuff happening here in Pittsburgh and around the country.

What is Dorkbot?

dorkbot is a regular meeting of people who like to do strange things with electricity. It’s all volunteer and non-profit — meetings are held in donated space and no admission fee is charged….

dorkbot pittsburgh will reflect what people in this area are interested in. Since we’re new, we don’t know what that means just yet. Maybe it’s military robot prototypes reborn as art projects. Maybe it’s el-wire costumes, neon art, and backlit stained glass by local arists. Or perhaps it’s cutting edge animation from local students and hackers or a local pneumatics expert showing off technology that artists might use.

So if you like computers, electricity, your cell phone, video games and you want to meet other creative people who like that stuff too – check out dorkbot pittsburgh.

Thursday 18 October, 7:30-9:30 at brillobox.
We’re talking to several different speakers right now, trying to line up the right balance of art and tech.

If you’d like to speak at dorkbot, if you know someone you’d like to see speak, or if there’s a topic you’d like to learn more about, please let us know.

dorkbot pittsburgh meets upstairs at Brillobox, the event is open to the general public, non-smoking, and admission is free. See Events for full details and directions.

For more info check out this article about Dorkbot from Pop City.
Pop City Media, Feb. 7, 2007 – National phenomenon “Dorkbots” forms in Pittsburgh

12 hours of A.I.R.

I have a special place in my heart for A.I.R.  Before IheartPGH.com was a .com, IheartPGH was a t-shirt that my friend and I printed on a very basic screenprinting set-up in my basement.  This screenprinting set-up was far from easy or professional.  Screens were burned with a lightbulb under a pie pan.  In 2005, a friend introduced me to A.I.R and my understanding of screen printing changed for the better.

A.I.R. = Artist Images Resource and is one of the hidden gems of Pittsburgh.

AIR is an artist-run organization that integrates the production of fine art printwork with innovative educational programs that explore the creative process. AIR provides print and imaging services to professional artists and educators. Our goal is to maintain an active and vital imaging laboratory that supports artists and facilitates
creative activity.

Even better, A.I.R. hosts open studio nights so that beginning screenprinters like me can print with ease and move far beyond the world of dark basements and lightblubs with lightbulbs hanging from pie pans.

This saturday is A.I.R’s 6th annual Benefit. I have included the details below but here are my top reasons to attend this event:

  • AIR is an awesome building, filled with great prints and interesting equipment that you can use
  • Beer from East End Brewery
  • Jazzercise Troop Radical Pittsburgh – I met these guys at the I Made It craft fair, I am happy to support anyone that is bringing Jazzercise back
  • The Mobile Museum  – is a little museum of art that travels around on the back of a bike

Saturday, October 13, Noon-Midnight
AIR – 518 Foreland Street, Northside
$10 – admission, food and drinks

Artists Image Resource’s 6th Annual Benefit

Trekable

I made sure to hop on the stairmaster at the gym last weekend so that I will be ready for the annual South Side Slopes StepTrek. If you are an urban hiker or a hiker in gerneral this is an event for you. This is the annual fundraiser for the South Side Sloped neighborhood association.

The StepTrek is a well organized, self-guided tour (trek) up the city steps in the Southside Slopes neighborhood. I did the trek in 2005 and I would rank this as one of the best events I have attended.

Sunday October 14, Noon-4pm
Trek begins at the UMPC Lot at 21st and Josephine Streets.
More info and Online Registration: www.southsideslopes.org/steptrek/

Step Facts:

So, just how many steps are there?  Well, the city of Pittsburgh has 712 public stairways with a total of 44,645 steps.*  When tallied in full, they number 24,108 vertical feet, or over four miles in height.  To put it into perspective, that’s higher than Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.
* Source Bob Regan Steps of Pittsburgh, 2004

Steps in Art:

The last few years the StepTrek has been fortunate in sharing the wonderful work of artists who have depicted the steps in their art.  This year we recognize painter Cynthia F. Cooley, as our Honorary Chair. www.cynthiacooley.com

Here is a picture I took on the last StepTrek, which is one of my favorite pictures of Pittburgh…

Urban Hike Scavenger Hunt

Yes, I love Urban Hike.  On the last hike, I learned about the first crematorium in the United States and got to see Washington and Jefferson college.  October 21st is the Urban Hike Scavenger Hunt.  I have a few friends who I know will be excited about this.  Maybe we should form an IheartPGH scavenger hunt team (leave a comment or email me info@iheartPGH.com) if you would be interested in joining our team – yes, we will probably get custom t-shirts for the event.

The Steelers have a night game, so what else are you going to do all afternoon?
We always wrap up our hike season with a scavenger hunt, and this year, it’s in Shadyside (and bits of other neighborhoods like East Liberty). If you haven’t experienced one of these before, here’s what you need to do: 1)Gather up a team of 3-5 people. 2)Make sure someone on your team has a digital camera, and clear it of photos (especially the embarrassing ones). Bring the camera and its connection cord to the hunt (so we can download your photos onto our computers and show them to the world).
When: October 21, 2007. Clues distributed at 1:30 pm; hunt ends at 4 pm. Post-game show featuring prizes and your finest photos from 4 till about 5, or longer if we’re still enjoying each other’s company.
We’ll start outside East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Ave. Street parking is pretty easy to come by (you don’t have to feed the meters on Sundays).
Ending location: Double-secret. But we can tell you there will be refreshments available (pay your own way).

Directions:
From the Parkway North (I-279 southbound):
Take the Veterans Bridge (I-579) to the 6th Ave exit. Follow signs for Mellon Arena.
Take a left and follow signs for Bigelow Blvd. Continue onto N. Craig St, then turn left on Baum Blvd.
Turn left at S. Highland Mall.
From the Parkway West (I-279 northbound):
Take exit 6C (Convention Center/Strip), follow around to 11th Street.
Turn left on Liberty Ave, left on 40th, right on Penn, right at S. Highland Mall.
From the Parkway East (I-376 westbound):
Take exit 8B toward Wilkinsburg. Continue onto Penn Ave. Turn left at S. Highland Mall.
From the Liberty Bridge:
Take the ramp to I-579 north and exit onto Bigelow Blvd. Turn left on Baum Blvd. Turn left at S. Highland Mall.
Questions? E-mail info@urbanhike.org.