Tag Archives: event

Coming this Fall, a Transit-Tastic Event!

Are you a big sustainability nerd? Or are you looking for ways to improve transportation in your area? Well, then you’re going want to check out the Rail~Volution conference coming to Pittsburgh this fall. What’s Rail~Volution, you might ask? It’s a non-profit organization that seeks to build more livable communities with transit. You know, like what’s happening in forward-thinking cities like Pittsburgh.

The annual three-day conference, previously held in places like Denver, Portland, Dallas, Boston, and San Fran, features 80 sessions related to transit and livability. The event is for “people involved in urban planning, people who are involved in policy-making, people who are involved in advocacy related to development issues in any way shape or form,” says Breen Masciotra, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Project Manager for the Port Authority of Allegheny County. She explains that the event will “offer education, networking, and community…. and connects you to like-minded people that you can reach out to all year; it’s like summer camp for adults.”

Rail~Volution will be held on October 21-24, with registration in June. But before then, the Rail~Volution National Steering Committee, made up of 40+ livability professionals from across the United States and Canada, is calling for conference speakers. The committee seeks presenters for the event’s workgroups on topics that include: Innovations in Mobility to Enhance Livability; Transforming Communities through Transit-Oriented; Making Transit Great Again; Shaping Transit for Community Needs; Diversity: Equitable Development, Community Engagement, Communication and Placemaking; and Rail~Volution PK Slam, powered by PechaKucha. “Everyone and anyone should submit something; we are hoping to have a strong participation from local speakers,” notes Masciotra. Proposals are being accepted now till March 22nd. To learn more, visit the Call for Speakers page on Rail~Volution’s website.

To find out more about the conference or Rail~Volution head over to RailVolution.org. Also, stay tuned to Rail~Volution’s Facebook page for details on upcoming Happy Hour events and volunteer opportunities.

TechShop Open House – Try the Plasma Cutter, Weld a Custom Branding Iron, And More!

TechShop Pittsburgh, located in Bakery Square, is hosting an all day summer social Saturday, June 22. The communal space offers a ton of different professional equipment and workshops for members to start creating. The interns took a field trip there today, and I have to say we were impressed. There are so many machines and cool projects going on, the place is definitely a must-see. From 3D printers to sewing machines, this place has it all. TechShop is only located in a few cities in the country, and Pittsburgh is lucky enough to be one of them.

The TechShop Summer Kickoff, held from 10a.m. to 5p.m. will feature a lot of DIY workshops where you can create your own craft to take home.Some of the Make-It, Take-It workshops include: vacuum formed chocolate molds, custom steak branding irons, silkscreened totes and bandanas, laser etched beer mugs, and more. The workshops are low cost and open to everyone, plus you take home the project that day (thus the “Make-It, Take-It:). These classes are limited numbers, so sign up here before you go.

There will also be food, music, demos, and exhibitions throughout the day.

The event is free, but you do have to RSVP. For more info, check out their Facebook Event.

: Make a custom branding iron

: use the vacuum former to make a custom chocolate mold and bar

: metal flower made with the plasma cutter

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Coffee Porter Release Party

Two of our favorite local businesses have teamed up and we couldn’t be more excited! Come celebrate the union of East End Brewing and Squirrel Hill’s Commonplace Coffeehouse and the release of their offspring, the Coffee Porter – a Porter with Commonplace coffee. Delicious! Awesome! Fun! Yes!

The Release Party is this Thursday (tomorrow), December 15th from 6 – 10pm at Commonplace Coffeehouse in Squirrel Hill. Tickets are $22 and get you a taster of the Porter, as well as a gift bottle to take home and a half-pound bag of Commonplace’s Sumatra coffee. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

For more information, please visit:

East End Brewing: http://eastendbrewing.com/

Commonplace Coffeehouse: http://www.commonplacecoffee.com/

Grand Opening Celebration for the New Hill District Library

Some of the best places in and around Pittsburgh are the libraries. When some of these libraries were built they were way more than a place to find books – both the Braddock Library and the Homestead libraries had pools and gymnasiums too.

This Saturday this first new library building in Pittsburgh will open in the Hill District.

Stop by between 9:30 am and 1pm to celebrate the new library with crafts, storytelling, puppet shows and more.