Tag Archives: ligonier

Ice Is Nice – 21st Annual Ligonier Ice Fest

Ice sculpture on display during Winterlude in ...

Image via Wikipedia

The laurel highlands is not just pretty in the fall.  If skiing and snowboarding aren’t your thing – maybe ice sculptures is up your alley.  Head to downtown Ligonier this weekend for the 21st Annual Ice Fest on Saturday and Sunday.

DiMartino Ice Co. of Jeannette will have 6 carvers on hand and there will be more than 40 sculptures on display throughout the weekend.

The fire department is hosting a spaghetti dinner and local businesses will have indoor sidewalk sales.

Read more about the weekends activities here.


21st Annual Ligonier Ice Festival
Ligonier, PA – Around the Diamond, East and West Main streets, North and South Market streets.
Saturday and Sunday. January 21-22, 2012
Information: (724) 238-4200.

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Scottish and Scutching in the Laurel Highlands This Weekend

Highland Dancing

Image by AlxTheRed via Flickr

History lovers, hold on to your hats and pack up your wagons (station wagons) and head out route 30 east to the laurel highlands this weekend – it is a double header of cultural festivals.  We are often asked about what are the must-do events around Pittsburgh.  Both of these festivals are on our list of favorites.  And they happen to be on the same weekend so you can catch a double header of history celebration just outside of Pittsburgh this weekend.

First stop – break out your bag pipes and kilt for the Ligonier Highland Games – a day long celebration of Scottish hertiage.  There will be athletic events such as tossing the caber (throwing a big tree trunk) and the Scottish hammer throw.

Then  steer your wagon (or mini van) down 711 south to Stahlstown – time to celebrate the important fiber of flax.  Flax is what linen fabric is made out of.  The Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival is the 2nd oldest Scutching festival in the United States.  They have been celebrating the scutching every year since 1907.  Yep, 1907 – so join them for the 105th annual Flax Scutching festival to learn about how the flax plant is turned into linen cloth and snack on some buckweat pancakes too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IRMvC1eDxo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Ligonier Highland Games – Saturday, September 10, 2011 @ Idelwild Park

Flax Scutching Festival – Saturday & Sunday, September 10 & 11, 2011 @ Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival Fairgrounds

Here is a map that includes both festivals and 2 other places that you should consider stopping – Joe’s Bar in Ligonier has the largest collection of taxidermy in North America and the Pie Shoppe in Laughlintown has good sandwiches and pumpkin cookies. The Google location for the Pie Shoppe is not correct – the Pie Shoppe is right on Route 30 – directly across from the Ligonier Country Inn.

Fort Ligonier Days – 250th Anniversary of the Battle

Fort Ligonier 2006.Image by ryanophilly via FlickrEach year thousands of people head to Ligonier – just a quick 60 minute drive from Pittsburgh for a huge celebration that commemorates the battle of Ligonier which was one of the battles of the French and Indian War.   The fort is still there and you can even watch a reenactment of the battle. I try to make it to Fort Ligonier Days each year for the parade on Saturday Morning and the food – it is the most amazing festival food I have ever found.

I definitly don’t want to miss the 250th Anniversary celebration at this years Fort Ligonier days.  The fun starts on Friday morning, the parade is on Saturday and the events run through Sunday.

All of the details with a complete schedule is available here.

You can watch the battle reenactments at 2 & 4 on Saturday and Sunday at the Fort.

The other reason to make the drive to Ligonier is the fall foliage – this is the perfect time of year to see the spectacular colors of leaves.  I will be looking for candy corns and pumpkins and some apple cider too.

While you are in Ligonier you MUST stop in to see Joe’s Bar – this place is spectacular, a different kind of spectacular than the leaves, but spectacular. Joe’s has one of the largest collections of taxidermy in the US – see pictures here.  More pictures here and here. Continue reading →

Worth the Drive – Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart Concert

Ligonier Theater and Calliope are teaming up for a great concert this weekend

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 5 PM

This Husband & Wife Acoustic Duo have entertained to delighted audiences everywhere and promise to bring their brand of excitement to our theater as well! Plan NOW to attend this energetic concert by purchasing tickets through the Ligonier Theater! ALL SEATS JUST $12!

Call for reservations: (724) 238-6514 ext. 2

http://www.myspace.com/staceyearleandmarkstuart

You should attend this event. You really should and I will give you a few reasons why…

  1. This concert was recommended to me by a person who really really knows music, he is an amazingly large collection and he would not waste his time with an event that was not amazing.
  2. Ligonier is just an hour away from Pittsburgh and is stunningly beautiful and nice, it is supposed to be hot this weekend and it is always cooler in Ligonier than it is in Pittsburgh.
  3. Calliope is a great organization for folk music in Pittsburgh. The do good things.
  4. The Ligonier theater is literally next to Joe’s Bar – this is a small, but amazing bar that has one of the largest collections of taxidermy in North America – worth a visit.