Category Archives: Pro-PGH

4 More Days – Seattle Steelers Fans Getting Ready for Sunday

Yesterday, I headed over to the Hollywood Theater in Dormont to check out Davy & Pete Rothbart’s My Heart Is An Idiot Found Tour.

Davy Rothbart started Found 10 years ago to share the best of found notes, items, even grocery receipts.  My Heart Is An Idiot is the name of Davy Rothbart’s new book which hit bookshelves yeterday.  Pittsburgh was the first stop on their 79 city tour (if you are reading this and live in one of the other 78 cities on the tour – I highly recommend you spend an evening with the Rothbarts).    Davy shared some of his favorite found notes and his brother Pete performed some songs inspired by found notes. (And a huge thanks to Davy and the Found team for giving us some tickets to giveaway).

So what does this have to do with the Steelers… this morning I was scanning my Facebook feed and I was inspired to share this Facebook status message – I think it eloquently and accurately sums up how many Pittsburghers are feeling.

The following was posted by my friend Justin – we went to grade school together here in Pittsburgh.  He now lives in Seattle and through the magic of Facebook we keep in touch about all things Pittsburgh.

4 more days until the best football team on the planet kicks off it’s season, I start wearing black and yellow everyday, Wiz Khalifa goes on repeat…

But most importantly, my The Pittsburgh Steelers family reunites and begins on the Stairway to 7.  Lets do this!

Here we go!

from Dino's Foursquare Page

Should you find your self in the Seattle area in need of a place to watch the Steeler game – Dino’s is the place.  I have confirmed that some actually native Pittsburghers will be there for the first game of the season and likely every other game this season as well.

Dino's Pub on Urbanspoon

And because you are probably about to google this song any ways – here is a little black & yellow to help you make it til Sunday.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UePtoxDhJSw[/youtube]

Where will you be watching the game on Sunday?

Let’s Get Tarred and Feathered

I am embarrased that I have not posted more about Wigle Whiskey here on IheartPGH.  Earlier this summer, the folks who own Wigle helped me to plan a tour and tasting of their fine facility as a going away party for a friend.  This was a tall order – I wanted the going away festivities to be something that would make my friend really want to stay in Pittsburgh.  Meredith, of of the family members that owns and operates Wigle, went above and beyond – the tour was fun, funny and educational – and a nice alternative to you usual going away happy hour.  And there was plenty of the happy hour spirits flowing – the tour starts with a cocktail and ends with a tasting.  Sign up at WigleWhiskey.com for an upcoming tour.  Tours fill up quickly.

But you don’t want to wait for the tour? Well you are in luck – the folks at Wigle are celebrating the whiskey rebellion with a free tar and feather party this Friday.

What does Wigle have to do with the Whiskey Rebellion?

Wigle Whiskey is named after Philip Wigle who was a key player in the Whiskey Rebellion. In 1794, Phillip Wigle defended his right to distill in a tussle with a tax collector. He unwittingly helped spark the Whiskey Rebellion, which pitted Pennsylvania distillers against George Washington’s troops.

Why Tar and Feathers?

Tarring and Feathering has historically been used to protest taxes in Europe and in America. During the Whiskey Rebellion, local tax collectors were tarred and feathered by Pittsburgh distillers. The distillers were living on what was considered the frontier and felt betrayed by their new government eastward. Pittsburgh was then the epicenter of American whiskey production and so was the hardest hit by the distillation tax enacted by Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.

Will there really be tar and feathers?

Think of it as a creative interpretation of tar and feathering – Wigle has invited the creative minds at the Mattress Factory, Attack Theater, Society for Contemporary Craft, Toonseum, Carnegie Library and the Carnegie Science Center to create a modern, safe, and presumably less messy  interpretation of tar and feathering.

Will I be able to drink whiskey at the event with out being tarred?

Yes!  The event is free and open to all. Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase $5 whiskey cocktails and food from Pittsburgh food trucks, including the Pittsburgh Taco Truck, Franktuary and the Goodie Truck.

Wigle Whiskey Tar & Feather Party
Friday, Aug 24 from 6-9 PM
Wigle Whiskey Distillery, 2401 Smallman Street
Free Admission!
Facebook Event

Wigle Whiskey on Urbanspoon

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Cyber Monday Specials from Pittsburgh Businesses

Check out these special Cyber Monday promotions from some of these great local Pittsburgh businesses.  We have picked out a gift or two from each of these shops – but make sure to click through to see more great items available.  Some of the promotions end today and some run longer.

Because Yinz Asked – “Wear You Live” Adds Pittsburgh Maps

Last week I saw the the Kickstarter project for Wear You Live – prints made with figureground maps of different US cities.  We have been blogging about lots of map related things over on BlogLocal and I have been on the hunt for anything map related.

The maps that we use are called figuregrounds. This type of map is commonly used in the fields of city planning, design and architecture to study density and development patterns by depicting all of the buildings in a city as opposed to the streets, parcels or transit lines. Figureground mapping is almost 250 years old and was the first time a city was technically surveyed and portrayed in the 2D, google map view that we commonly use today.

As soon as I saw these t-shirts, totes, pillows and prints – I thought why not Pittsburgh.  I wanted to see how the rivers and the parks of Pittsburgh would show up on a figureground map.  So I emailed Matt, the brains behind the Wear You Live project.  Matt kindly replied to say he would see what he could do.  They were happy that the project had been so successful.  Well, it turns out I wasn’t the only one asking about Pittsburgh.  Matt emailed me on Friday to say that Pittsburgh was on the way.  From his email:

ps, its amazing how many people from PGH have contacted us about adding their city.

Because you asked!

So a few hours ago – CityFabric added Pittsburgh to the Wear You Live series!  Check out the shout out for Pittsburgh from their map.

It all started with a t-shirt…

While these shirts aren’t printed in Pittsburgh,  I am happy to support this project. Before IheartPGH was a blog, it was a t-shirt – I <3 PGH was the first t-shirt that I learned to screenprint.  After a trip to the Warhol museum on a rainy sunday afternoon, I decided I wanted to screenprint.  The rest is history and tshirts have been an ongoing theme of this blog.  I first met Dan from Commonwealth Press because he had posted a flyer about t-shirt printing and congrats to Dan who has expanded to an even bigger facility since we last wrote about their shop in 2010 . I went on to work for Spreadshirt.com writing their blog about t-shirt printing for 3 years.  And it was an article about t-shirt and rust belt cities that landed IheartPGH a mention in the New York Times.  The article also profiled STLstyle – a St. Louis t-shirt shop and community cheerleader that has become a good friend of IheartPGH.  So local t-shirts have history of bringing people together.

Where to Get Wear You Live Pittsburgh Gear

You can now get the Pittsburgh figureground map on a t-shirt, tote, pillow, print or canvass for your wall from the Kickstarter project here.  Here are some the items you can get, more are listed on the Kickstarter pager.

  • $25 = T-shirt or Tote
  • $40 = Unframed Print
  • $45 = 2 Totes or Tees
  • $61 = Print + Tote or Tee
  • $80 = 18″X18″ pillow
  • $100 = 5 Totes or Tees
  • $100 = 3 prints
  • $101 = Pillow + Tote or Tee
  • $115 = Pillow + Print
  • $4900 = Matt will get a Tattoo of Raleigh, NC on his arm

Each item comes with a “pin your place” button so you can mark exactly where you live in Pittsburgh.

Yinz Luv ‘Da Buccos, I Heart Jim Shearer

Jim Shearer, the mastermind behind the web-series “Yinz Luv ‘Da Guins” and “Yinz Luv ‘Da Stillers,” is answering a question he’s been asked ever since he started his homemade, YouTube sports shows three years ago: Do yinz luv ‘da Buccos? The answer is “yes.” In his Opening Day: Yinz Luv ‘Da Buccos exhibit on display at Wildcard through the month of April, Shearer pays homage to the Pittsburgh Pirates of his youth (back when it was somewhat customary to end a season with more wins than losses) in a series of portraits of beloved players. Using the same art tools he wielded as a youngster, each image is created with colored pencils, crayons, magic markers, and watercolors. To coincide with the Pirates’ first game of the season, Opening Day: Yinz Luv ‘Da Buccos will have its opening night celebration on Friday, April 1st from 8:00pm-10:00pm. The event is free and includes complimentary drinks and refreshments, along with a Pirates trivia contest and other surprises, including Jim Shearer.

Check out some other local coverage of this event, like PittGirl Virginia Montanez’  interview with Jim Shearer or this article in the PittNews.

ps.  I’ll admit that right after I moved here in 2002 my roommate and I didn’t have cable but got MTV2.  So I started crushing on Jim Shearer the same time I started falling for Pittsburgh.

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