Category Archives: Community Resources

Guide to unique, interesting, and fun classes and workshops in Pittsburgh

School may be out for the summer but there’s still plenty of opportunity to get your learn on. From day-long workshops to weekly evening classes, there’s tons of chances to try something new or pick up long-forgotten hobbies once again.

Knitting/crocheting

Whether you’re picking up a pair of needles for the first time, looking to perfect your purling skills, or ready to make the perfect pair of socks, a knitting or crochet class is a great opportunity to pull out the yarn and needles. The following locations offer a variety of classes for all skill levels.

Dyed in the Wool
3458 Babcock Boulevard
Pittsburgh,  PA 15237
(412) 364-0310

Yarns Be Design
622 Allegheny River Boulevard
Oakmont, PA 15139
(412) 794-8332

Natural Stitches
6401 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412) 441-4410

Knit One
2721 Murray Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA, 15217
(412) 421-6666

Wine and Whiskey

Dreadnought Wines in the Strip District has a variety of classes for different levels of expertise, including both Wine and Spirit Education Trust Certifications and more casual tastings.
2013 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(800) 565 2816

Wigle Whiskey, one of the Strip’s newest establishments, distills their own whiskey and gin onsite in traditional copper pots and using local ingredients. They offer tours on Saturdays, plus have events like labeling parties and the annual tar and feather celebration.
2401 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 224-2827

Arts, Crafts, and Tech

The Society for Contemporary Craft holds day-long and evening workshops using all kinds of crafts and materials: fiber, wood, book arts and paper, metal, and mixed media.
2100 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 261-7003

Union Project is a neighborhood space for people to come together and connect, create, and celebrate. They currently offer ceramics classes, Zumba, salsa, yoga, and hula hoop lessons.
801 N Negley Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412) 363-4550

Cut and Sew Studio offers a social sewing environment, with all tools and materials available, for people looking to learn how to sew, wanting to get better at it, or working on specific or independent projects.
5901 Bryant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412) 865- 6565

Saxifrage, described as a higher education nomadic campus, offers classes in woodworking, computer programming, organic agriculture, graphic and user-centered design, map and geographic information systems, and carpentry.

TechShop is a community-based workshopping space for people who want access to industrial tools and equipment. Classes are offered in a wide range of industry, such as woodshop, metal work, silk screening, welding, embroidery, computer design, 3D printing, and much more.
192 Bakery Square Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412) 345-7182

Improv/Comedy

Steel City Improv has multi-level 8-week classes for both budding and more experienced comedians to hone their craft. Students have the opportunity to perform on stage, plus the chance to audition for the house teams and/or form independent groups.
5950 Ellsworth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
404-2695

Improv Academy also offers weekly classes, as well as private sessions for actors or writers, film, television, on-set work with production companies, and improv troupes.
109 Market Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 407-3319

Arcade Comedy Theater explores the many different forms and type of improvisational and standup comedy through various weekly classes, including some aimed towards kids and teens. They also host monthly workshops taught by visiting and local professionals.
811 Liberty Avenue

Pittsburgh PA, 15222
(412) 339-0608

The University of Funny has a comedy 101 class to teach adults the basics of comedy. Mic technique, confidence in front of crowds, and the art of standup are all explored to find your inner funny.
(412) 573-9444

Miscellaneous

Free Ride in Point Breeze isn’t so much a bike repair shop as it is a bike education facility. The idea is that you volunteer your time, paired with a willingness to learn, and the staff at Free Ride teaches you how to build, and repair, your own bike. They have a variety of earn-a bike programs for both adults and children, as well as individual classes throughout the week.
Construction Junction
214 N. Lexington Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
(412) 254-3774

The Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park offers tours Thursday and Friday nights in the warmer months. Tours start with a short presentation, followed by a walking tour of the building, and then end at the 13-inch Fitz-Clark refractor telescope. Public lectures are also offered every month.
159 Riverview Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15214
(412) 321-2400

While not necessarily a class or workshop, we’d be remiss to not mention Trundle Manor in a list of unique learning opportunities in Pittsburgh. Billed as “the most unusual tourist trap in the world meets the most bizarre private collection on public display,” you can tour (by appointment only) the manor’s antique taxidermy, old world charm, sadistic medical devices, coffins and coffin like items, Steampunk influenced creations, cryptozoology, and much more.
7724 Juniata Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
(412) 916-5544

Of course, all locations of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh have a plethora of classes, events, and workshops, from knitting book clubs and video game gatherings to language clubs and computer classes.

What cool classes and workshops did we miss? Leave us a message on Facebook, send us a tweet, or email Catherine@iheartpgh.com. And keep a look out for our posts on cooking/dining classes in the ‘Burgh and free/pay-what-you-can yoga!

CHS Youth Summer Camp

Community Human Services, a nonprofit in the Pittsburgh area, is introducing an awesome new summer camp for 5th and 6th graders. LEAD Civic Engagement will take place over six weeks and introduce these young students to topics such as leadership, science, arts & music, diversity, environment, and government. The camp will venture into the community for miscellaneous activities, but will primarily be located at the CHS headquarters on Lawn Street. This location is ideal for parents dropping their kids off before going to work in Oakland or downtown. Any student in the age range is encouraged to participate in the program, taking place June 24th to August 2nd.  The program is $125 per week, including volunteering activities and a field trip every week. Scholarships are available. Apply soon by visiting http://www.chscorp.org/. Young students will leave the camp with a lot of knowledge and a new appreciation for making a difference in our community! If you need any additional information, feel free to contact Trevor at tsmith@chscorp.org or 412-246-1615.

Looking for a summer program in the area for teens? Look into the Luminari Teen Writers Workshop by going to http://www.luminari.org/Teen_Writer!_Series.html

Pittsburgh Needs to Be More Than “All Right” – Vote for Bill Peduto

Click here  for our post on Election Day Information – Polling Place Locator, Voting Guides and Election Day Discounts.

For the most part – IheartPGH has been a non partisan blog about Pittsburgh.  But the truth is that this entire blog started with a couple of conversations between Natalia Rudiak and I, when we met 8 years ago volunteering on Bill Peduto’s first campaign for mayor in 2005.

After seeing that some of the voters who follow IheartPGH on Twitter are still undecided about who would be the best mayor for the city of Pittsburgh – I wanted to share some thoughts on why this mayoral election is important why I think Pittsburgh needs Bill Peduto.

A few weeks ago the Post-Gazette published this article by columnist Sally Kalson “Pittsburgh Doing All Right: At least we’re not the most corrupt city, and we have topped some cool lists.”  The title of this article really struck me – why is “all right” okay with this city.  Why are we ok with some corruptuion.  And why can’t Pittsburgh be the best city for everyone.  Why are we okay with Pittsburgh being just okay.

Today – you have a chance to help Pittsburgh do a whole lot better by voting for Bill Peduto.  There are probably hundreds of reasons why I think Bill Peduto is the best choice for Pittsburgh today which I have tried to simplify to 2 main points – people and sharing ideas.

People First  – So the thing that makes Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh – you know this place that people are so in love with that they ready a blog like IheartPGH, it is more than the steelers and more than pierogis, it is people.

This tweet is a perfect example of Pittsburgh:

One of the conversations that led to Natalia and I starting this blog was the need to share stories of the small businesses in Pittsburgh,  the places that are owned by Pittsburgh people.  In 2005, there was a lot of talk about what Pittsburgh needs to attract young people.  Many of the leaders were talking about more big development, more Starbucks, and places like Dave and Busters.  P But no one was talking about the folks that were moving to Pittsburgh for the local places.  Many Pittsburgh leaders have been rolling out the red carpet to attract outside business.  No one was talking about the Pretzel Shop or Grocery Italiana in Pittsburgh.  Since I first met Bill Peduto – he has focused on the people.  Not only is Peduto passionate about supporting local businesses but he understands how important it is that we create government policies that are just as friendly to the Pittsburgh businesses as they are to the big businesses.

Bringing Ideas to the table – While Pittsburgh may be unique in terms of the love that residents have for this city, Pittsburgh is not unique in some of the challenges we face trying to figure out how to adjust to a changing economy.  I have been fortunate to attend some of the GLUE (Great Lakes Urban Exchange) Conferences.  GLUE is an organization that was founded by a Pittsburgher and a Detroit resident with the idea that rustbelt cities need to do a better job of sharing best practices.  There is a huge opportunity to learn from, collaborate and improve on ideas that have been tried in other cities. One of the reasons I love blogging is that it is an incredible way to share ideas.  Every week on this blog and on the IheartPGH Facebook page and Twitter accounts – the IheartPGH community shares ideas.

Bill Peduto has gone out of his way to spend time studying Pittsburgh and other cities and to find new ideas and more importantly new solutions for some of the problems facing Pittsburgh. Not only has Peduto gone out of his way to seek out ideas – but he is always happy to learn about other ideas.  A few years ago I read this article in Fast Company – The Starbucks Cup Dilemma.  Which details how Starbucks is trying to reduce cups thrown into the trash. The article also talks about how Seattle’s mandatory composting program has reduced the amount of waste going into a landfill and saved the city of Seattle a significant amount of money.  After reading the article  I ran into Bill Peduto and I immediately started asking what it would take to set up something similar in Pittsburgh.  Peduto was more than happy to stop to talk about composting (or any of the other ideas I have stopped him to talk about) and knew about similar programs in other cities.

Don’t take my word for it. Here are just some of the people in Pittsburgh that are doing great things here in Pittsburgh…

 

Happy Transit Day

Mayoral Forum This Eve at August Wilson Center

Tonight at 6:30pm, a whole bunch of organizations (see the list below) will be hosting a Mayoral Candidates Forum at the August Wilson Center.

The forum is called “2013 Mayoral Forum for Young Professionals” but I am sure it will be open to anyone that wants to attend (and in Pittsburgh young is a relative term).   The forum is free to attend but you must register online here.

Facebook Event Link – https://www.facebook.com/events/512067268859507/

PUMP, the Urban League Young Professionals of Greater Pittsburgh, the New Pittsburgh Collaborative, Leadership Pittsburgh, and the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership are co-hosting a Mayoral Candidate Forum on the evening of May 1st at the August Wilson Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Confirmed candidates include Councilman Peduto, City Controller Lamb, Former City Council President and Auditor General Jack Wagner and Rep. Jake Wheatley. All other candidates have been invited. The Forum will be followed by a networking reception and opportunities to learn more about the event hosts and participating candidates.

Registration is FREE and required for admittance.

Wednesday May 1, 2013
6pm
August Wilson Center