Swing City is a swing dancing club that goes on every Saturday night in Squirrel Hill and has been…read morefor many years. Its in a school/community center, on the top floor in the gymnasium and generally has DJ'd nights, occasionally live bands. Open to all ages with a cover charge at the door, cash only. There are water fountains and usually a snack table for a small extra fee. The crowd can be very diverse in ages, from young high school students to elderly adults well into their 70s and the amount of people can be really hit or miss. If you are looking for nights where you have more advanced dancers and a bigger crowd, make sure to go on nights where there is a live band playing or when there is a workshop during the weekend in town. For the most part, you will see east coast swing dancers, the occasional lindy hopper and the even more rare advanced dancers. There is a beginner lesson for an hour before the dance starts and you do not need a partner to go to the lesson or the dance, although it can be more fun if you bring someone you already know. The dress code is very casual. There is a small private lot, but otherwise, it is street parking only in a residential area, so it can be difficult to find parking if you show up past 10pm. Have fun!

If you're looking for good, wholesome fun in the city, Swing City is the place to go. Even if you…read moreare not a dancer or terribly comfortable in a social setting, you will gain confidence after the hour-long beginner's lesson before the night starts. It's a fantastic opportunity to meet people of all ages without the awkward silence. Anyone who is willing to get themselves into the door and on to the dance floor is sure to have a good time. Admittedly, the most fun can be had on nights with a live band, but even the DJed dances are enjoyable. Regardless, you'll find a mix of beginners to very advanced dancers and everyone is encouraged to dance with all. If you're looking for something unique, try Vintage Night (the first Saturday of the month) and dress in your zoot suites and twirly skirts. Otherwise, the dress code is very casual but be sure to wear comfortable shoes that can slide easily on the dance floor. There is a cover charge, cash only. Snacks can be purchased with a small donation. Parking is limited on the residential street, but usually still available if you arrive for the lesson. Those who are lucky enough to celebrate their birthday at Swing City will have their own special dance and be whisked around the floor by some of the top dancers in the city. (This made for an incredibly memorable and fantastic 24th birthday!) I would highly recommend Swing City to anyone!

Ah, the Pittsburgh Irish Festival. The Irish Festival is an extremely popular event - this year in…read moreparticular it was swamped. I admit, it's a beloved tradition, but it can also be a bit of an underwhelming tradition some years. I personally know what I'm getting into every year, but I can see where first-timers would get frustrated. But still, there really is plenty to appreciate here, especially if you have a family. I love walking around with my mother every year and always look forward to the following: *Exploring the enormous Irish marketplace. *Saying hello to a friend who brings their gypsy caravan to the event as a nice cultural addition. *Trying the beers and ciders - expensive, yes, but also very, very good and worth it! *Seeing the animals that are brought out - an array of Irish dogs and ponies is not uncommon here, although it varies on the day, weather, etc. *Listening in on several workshops; there are always really wonderful musicians and storytellers here; they're wonderful additions to everything else. *Stopping in at the vendor booths along the paths; the Welsh cookie stand is one of my favorites! BUT, I do admit, the festival is not without flaws: -Food here is expensive and a lot of it reminds me more of American pub food than Irish food, although I admittedly can't comment on just how authentic the food actually is. -The marketplace, despite being an amazing place to shop, is, well, pretty Americanized. For every jeweler or wood crafter that makes their items by hand, there's two stands selling "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" shirts and other things along those lines. It's kind of sad to see so many awful commercialized items mixed in amongst the handmade ones. -Last but not least, yes: parking is a NIGHTMARE. Be prepared to deal with it. I'm sorry. It can't be helped. Well, flaws or not, I'll keep coming back, and I do recommend that everyone visit at least one time! After all, if enough people attend maybe the festival will move to a bigger location with better parking - right?

In general, this festival is disorganized and extremely overpriced. Full priced tickets are $16,…read moreand parking is an additional $6 on top of that--and that's before you even enter! Once you're inside, expect to pay steep prices for food that's really not that uniquely Irish, as well as drinks--both alcoholic and non. In order to get drinks, you have to stand in line to get tickets, and then stand in another line to use them! This process should be streamlined so that you can buy and use tickets without having to stand in two lines. The highlights of this festival are the Irish music and dancing and the handcrafted merchandise. If you're really into those, then it might be worthwhile to go (although even then, I'm not sure, given the price of admission). Otherwise, I'd give this festival a pass and head over to the Ren Fest, which charges about the same for admission, doesn't charge for parking, and has more reasonably priced food/drinks--not to mention more fun activities and varied entertainment.

My first visit to this annual event…read more Pros: Loved the multiple stages in close proximity to one another so that you could go from stage to stage for the next show lining up Loved that there were food trucks available near the stages Loved the music Loved easy access -- parked in 1st ave garage and took the "T" from there to Wood Street for free. Garage parking was a flat 5.00 fee. Easy to get in and out and plenty of parking available. Also, restrooms available in the garage. Cons: I didn't stay as long as I would have liked because maneuvering from one stage to the next was claustrophobic and dangerous because the sidewalks were nearly impassible. There were people's chairs on them plus venues had their tables and chairs on them, as well. Two way foot traffic was nearly impossible. So, I cried "Uncle" and we ended up at the Harris Theater to watch a wonderful foreign film.

What's better than a weekend full of upcoming and legendary Jazz musicians??? A FREE weekend full…read moreof upcoming and legendary Jazz musicians!!! Every June (or early July) for the last four years, Pittsburgh Jazz Live Fest has descended upon the 'Burgh. And, this year was the best so far! I was only able to make the second day this year. And, it was an awesome experience! My day began with a tribute to Dorothy Ashby concert, "Afro Harping", by the talented jazz harpist Brandee Younger. Moving on to a performance by the Messenger Legacy. Followed by an AMAZING concert by Gregory Porter. And, the last performance that I was able to catch was The Joe Locke Group - which was my favorite show of the day. Along with the awesome jazz performances came some pretty awesome food trucks and vendors! TGIFridays was there giving out free "samples" all day - like huge burger sliders and thirst quenching fruity drinks. Basically, if you hung around their truck, you could gorge yourself on free food all day. There were some really great area small businesses too, like Franktuary and BRGR, as well as the lesser known tea/popsicle vendors Healcrest Farms. That, and all of the regular area bars and restaurants like Seviche and Nine on Nine, etc, were hoppin'! I wish I would have been able to make Friday and Sunday, for events like the Jazz Bar Crawl (Friday) and a performance by multiple grammy award winner Dianne Reeves (Sunday)! Thankfully, there's always next year!

I last reviewed the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival twelve years ago (!!!), when I was still a…read moreregular and went every year. Now though? Well...now I'm not a regular and I don't go every year. I actually took a long break and skipped attending the Fair for many years. I reached a point where I couldn't justify paying the entrance fee to hear the same jokes as the year prior, or to spend more money shopping for trinkets I didn't need. So once one of their regular performers retired, I took it as a sign and I stepped away. That was until that regular came out of retirement - that was enough reason for me to come back; so I figure now is as good a time as any to update my review of the Ren Fair overall. On a positive note: there are now multiple new performers at this Ren Fair. I was very happy to spend a full day walking around hearing new music, watching new acts, and so forth. (I especially appreciated the new additions after walking by a returning comedy act and hearing the exact same jokes that I remembered from "BC"...you know, "Before COVID"...) Something else has changed in the years since I last visited the Fair. There's a relatively new app on the block now called TikTok - you might have heard of it. Well let me tell you, nerds like me love it. And we post about the shenanigans we get into, such as going to the local Ren Fair. Well videos of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival took off this year, and they definitely got the attention of some new attendees. So for the first time that I can remember, when I drove out this year, traffic to get into the Fair was backed up not just onto the road...but onto I-70 itself. (I'll interrupt my own story time now to admit there might have been other factors too...but I vividly remember seeing NUMEROUS TikTok videos about the Ren Fair, way more than usual. Make of this anecdote what you will.) The additional foot traffic was good for the Fair I'm sure, but there's really not that much this Fair can do in the way of expanding to accommodate said foot traffic. The crowds being what they were, I didn't even attempt to watch the jousts. I also made sure I planned my day and got to other shows super early so I could find a seat for them. Final thoughts: it was good to see some updates to the Fair lineup this year. But generally speaking, my visit felt like 'same Ren Fair, different year'...yet was simultaneously the busiest weekend I can remember. Go figure. I'm most likely to come back to this Ren Fair if: 1) My favorite performer continues to come back. 2) My friends want to go. Otherwise, I'm probably skipping. It's not that the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival itself is bad; it's that after being a regular for literal decades, I'm OK with no longer being an annual patron. (And my wallet is OK with that decision, too!)

Great time for the entire family! Spacious grounds with lots of activities including food & drink,…read moreartisan shops, live shows, live bands, games, rides and lots of sights to see. Located in West Newton just outside of Pittsburgh is a 16th century medieval amusement park open for 6 weekends from late Aug through late Sept. most every vendor only accepts cash so take a lot with you cause it's not a cheap outing. ATM's are located near the front gate just in case. We visited many vendors with a wide array of products but one that stood out was Adventure Armory owned by Laurel. Great sword and shield woodworks. They sell painted and bare wood armory pieces. Very cool! She was very cool and great with the kids. A must stop for kids of all ages! All and all a fun day in a magical world whether you go in costume or plain clothes it's definitely worth the drive to experience times of past. The BIG Show had to be the Jousting at the outdoor arena. Very cool!! Highly recommended! Looking forward to visiting again next year!

This is is a free Jazz concert in the park and I attend every year. Kenia often performs her…read moreBrazilian Jazz here, but whatever the performers, it's always a good show. You should plan on arriving early, it's well attended, so think about bringing chairs or a blanket and picking a good spot in advance. The sound is very good. The musicians play in the Cityparks portable stage. We sometimes hike around the Reservoir afterwards or enjoy the line dancing that happens afterwards at the fountain.

This FREE summer outdoor event happens every Sunday in August in Highland park. It's a great time…read moreto have a picnic and chill outdoors. Bring your lawn chair, pack some dinner, and bring a frisbee or football to throw around during intermissions. There's also a drum circle that gathers during intermissions or after the event. Unfortunately due to the location, it is hard to see the stage unless you are close up to the front--it's not an upward sloping hill lost most other venues. The acoustics are also the best as there are a lot of people chatting and the speakers are not great. It's more about hanging out than the music. Afterwards, there's also a fun FREE Sumer Soul Line Dancing class over by the water fountain. Be sure to check it out in August!

My family lives and drops a lot of money at Irish Fest. This location is better than the parking…read morelot but I miss the good old days of the grassy area near Sandcastle. It was muddy but pretty. Either way, it's a family tradition because that's where I was when I went into labor with my almost 8 year old. The music is great and I got so much Christmas shopping done and the kids areas are great too.

This was the 1st year at the Carrie Blast Furnace location and it was nothing more than a blast…read more We had the best time ever! I had stopped going to this festival at the old location and decided to give the new location a try this year. I am so glad I did. Everything was just so much better. I hope this will be the new permanent location. All the volunteers are so nice and helpful. Other festival goers are nice and I talked with so many people. The comedy acts and music acts are just great. The food is amazing. The only down side is you did have to wait a bit to park and they charge you $12 to park. I think $5 would be a more reasonable amount. Either way, still can't wait until next year. The Irish festival is back on my list! My biggest tip is to wear comfortable shoes.

This is a Pittsburgh treasure. It's a cultural center for the Bulgarian and Macedonian communities,…read morebit they also rent the hall for all kinds of dances. In particular, I've gone to many Cajun dances here, but also English Country Dancing. The people that rent the hall are very welcoming and offer reasonable prices. There's a small bar where you can tap beer, or just serve ice water. The floor is wonderful, and there's a small stage for musical performances. Down in the basement are glass cabinets with cultural artifacts, such as musical instruments, pottery and traditional dress. The bathrooms are modernized and we'll kept. I enjoy attending events here. There's a parking lot on the left side of the building.

Amazing street festival that celebrates biking, walking, skating, Zumba, Yoga and live music…read more Always on Sundays in the summer to give you special access to streets, tunnels and bridges that are normally exclusive to cars. The organizers do a great job of making this safe, fun and family friendly. Last weekend, for example, I was treated to a bike ride from Market Square through the Armstrong Tunnel and over the 10th St Bridge. There's lots of opportunities to take free Yoga or Zumba classes. Open Streets is a blast, don't miss it!!!

Yea, we had fun. This is not our first OSB. But it is…read moreslow crowded and people walking take up the whole side of the street. Hey, use the side walk and/or make room for for those on bikes for crying out load!. Watch for the young kids. They are having fun but can be all over the place. The best part may be the vendors, music and entertainment along the way. Like to stop and see some of the vendors and music and lumber jack throw. Fun to talk with the vendors and others stopped at places along the way. Some nice food options. We started on the Southside and did the loop across the Birmingham Bridge to the Armstrong tunnel, did not go into downtown. Then we did the Southside bike trail to Homestead to actually get some biking in. If you have kids come out and enjoy.