Weekend Plans for the Family

What are you doing this weekend?  Living Pittsburgh has your list of free and affordable events for you or your family to check out.   Whether you like dancing or sporting events, there is something for everyone to do.  Also, don't worry about eating this weekend.  These great events below include some of your favorite food so make sure to schedule them in!



Friday, January 11

Irish Dance Lessons at Claddagh – $5

Sushi Happy Hour at Blue – FREE Sushi Buffet w/ a beverage purchase

Good Fridays at The Andy Warhol Museum – 1/2 priced admission

Observatory SkyWatch at the Science Center – $1

Storytimes Around the City – FREE

Friday Night Improv at Studio Theater – $3

Salsa Fridays at Cabaret at Theater Square – $5

Kinder Klimb at REI – FREE with $20 LIFETIME membership

Line Dancing lessons at Saddle Ridge – FREE

Cheap Burgers in the ‘Burgh on Friday – $3 or less

Friday Wing Deals – wing specials in the ‘Burgh on Fridays

Saturday, January 12

Mascot Skate at Schenley Park – $4 adults, $3 kids & seniors, $2.50 skate rental

The 12th Annual Art Inter/National Exhibition – FREE opening reception

Free First Ever Chili Cook Off – FREE admissions, tasting & recipes

SAT Practice Test – FREE

Lowes Build & Grow Clinic: Mystery Kit – FREE

Observatory SkyWatch at the Science Center – $1

Saturday Nights at Swing City – $10-12

SCIT Social Improv Jam – FREE

Saturday Light Brigade Radio Show – FREE

Saturday Jazz Jam Session at CJ’s – FREE to attend

Saturday Salsa Night at Mexico City – $5 cover

Storytimes Around the City – FREE

Line Dancing lessons at Saddle Ridge – FREE

Super Saturdays at Arsenal Bowling Lanes – $7.00 all you can bowl

Sunday, January 13


Free Sunday Afternoons at the Carnegie Library – FREE

Fifty Cent Sundaze at Arsenal Bowling Lanes – $.50 cent games, shoe rental and hot dogs

Starving Artist Sunday Supper at Brillobox - $6

Sunday Brunch Deals – affordable local brunches

Sunday Wing Deals – wing specials in the ‘Burgh on Sundays

Cheap Burgers in the ‘Burgh on Sunday – $3 or less

Sunday Bloody Mary Specials in Pittsburgh – ‘Mary specials in the ‘Burgh on Sundays

Let's Go Pens!

Hockey is back.  The players and the NHL have reached an agreement, which was the best late holiday gift for any hockey fan.  Penguins have a lot to practice in the next week to get ready for the season.  Here are some of the burning questions that fans are worried about for the short season.

Who’s the last top six guy?

You’ve probably got Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis chained together on one line and Evgeni Malkin and James Neal attached on the other. Chris Kunitz, last year’s Malkin-Neal third guy, is expected to be shifted back to Crosby’s line, where he’s played since the Pens acquired him in 2009, barring Crosby injuries. That leaves a huge hole. Can Eric Tangradi finally make a jump to productive NHL player? Will Dustin Jeffrey be given the chance to play there? Or youngster Beau Bennett? Or a rotating group of Matt Cooke, Tyler Kennedy and who knows who else?

How will the net tandem shake out?

James Mirtle says that a 50 game NHL schedule won’t even be THAT compressed, so it’s not like the team will have 4 or 5 games every week. But still, the move to acquire Tomas Vokoun looks pretty good right now for Ray Shero and the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury had a stellar regular season and just as dreadful of a playoff. With a goalie of Vokoun’s caliber, it’s likely at some point of this season we’re going to find a fan or media generated goalie controversy, the first true one since 2008 when backup Ty Conklin played well during a Fleury injury absence, but Fleury returned as the #1 goalie and played the best hockey of his career leading the Pens to the Stanley Cup Finals. Vokoun has a checkered injury history, but he also almost always has a higher save percentage than Fleury. Dan Bylsma’s usage of the two will be crucial, especially as the playoffs approach. Who will emerge as the go-to guy?

General Sidney Crosby head-spot question mark

It’s no fun to talk about and something that’s been beaten into the dirt a million times, but at least for now, it’s a question of how Crosby will respond to NHL game action. Hockey is a collision sport and the most famous melon in the business is bound to get hit at some point. Can Crosby put concussion/neck fears behind him or will they put him back on the shelf when he takes fairly routine hockey contact (ala the David Krejci hit that re-injured him).

Can Paul Martin bounce back?

He’s the most targeted man in the lineup due to his salary, but the Penguins will need Paul Martin to find his game pretty quickly in 2013. Though he actually had a pretty decent 2nd half of the season, Martin’s play will be analyzed and scrutinized by fans everywhere. With Zbynek Michalek gone and no obvious replacement found, Martin is going to be a huge piece of the puzzle at even strength and on the penalty kill for Pittsburgh. Can he have a bounce back season and play a solid game and chew up a lot of minutes? The team needs him to be a very steady presence.

How will life without Jordan Staal be?

As Justin showed us, Jordan Staal was asked a lot of by the Pens, and he performed spectacularly, driving possession and shifting from defense to offense. Now Staal is gone, and in his place will be a fine two-way player in Brandon Sutter. But Sutter is not Staal and won’t be used in quite the same way. Will the Pens play Crosby more in the defensive zone? Will they ask Malkin and Crosby to kill penalties even rarely? And that PK unit, one of the best in the league in the past few seasons, loses their best forward. Joe Vitale might get an increased role to join Sutter and the regulars of Dupuis, Matt Cooke and Craig Adams but how the Pens move on without Staal will shape their defensive identity.

For more information see Pensburgh.

Gridiron Glory Exhibit

Do you have football fans in your family?  They are in luck.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame has brought an exhibit to the Heinz History Center.  Gridiron Glory displays the best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL's history.  It includes hundreds of artifacts, videos, and documents from the hall of fame in Canton.  Check out all the details of the exhibit below.

Purchase your tickets now for Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame — a major exhibition focusing on the history of pro football, from its humble beginnings in 1892 to its rise as one of the world’s most beloved sports.
The blockbuster exhibition makes its national premiere at the History Center this fall before embarking on a nationwide traveling tour. The Pittsburgh exhibition is made possible by Highmark, the presenting sponsor.

Gridiron Glory is the most comprehensive traveling exhibit ever created on America’s most popular sport.
The exhibit includes more than 200 football artifacts, rare photos, and one-of-a-kind documents from the Pro Football Hall of Fame collections, many of which have never been seen outside of Canton, Ohio.

Highlights include:

The 1892 Allegheny Athletic Association accounting ledger featuring Pudge Heffelfinger, known as “Pro Football’s Birth Certificate”
 
Artifacts from pro football’s pioneers, such as Jim Thorpe, Knute Rockne, Red Grange, Johnny “Blood” McNally, Sammy Baugh, and Bobby Layne
 
Items from the golden era of pro football, including Jim Brown, Vince Lombardi, Dick Butkus, Johnny Unitas, and Tom Landry
 
Highlights from the NFL’s greatest running backs, such as O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Walter Payton, Bo Jackson, and Barry Sanders
 
Artifacts from record-breaking quarterbacks, including John Elway, Joe Montana, and Dan Marino
Items from today’s stars, including Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning

Gridiron Glory also features unique artifacts from the Pittsburgh Steelers, including Art Rooney, Franco Harris, Joe Greene, Lynn Swann, and Jack Lambert, along with a special area of the exhibition dedicated to Western Pennsylvania’s incredible pro football tradition.
Purchase your exhibit tickets at www.showclix.com or by calling 1-888-71-TICKETS. Tickets may also be purchased on-site at the History Center box office at 1212 Smallman St. in the Strip District during regular museum hours (10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day). 

For more information see the Heinz History Center.

Highmark First Night!

Are you going to First Night in Pittsburgh this year?  Here are just some of the events that you can attend in a schedule format.  To see the complete schedule, click on the link below.  The link will send you to the complete website on Highmark First Night.

2012 in Review

Do you ever wonder what the most important moments of the past year are?  Google Video makes a highlight video every year detailing how the world has changed. Check it out below, and tell us how have you changed in 2012?

Skate in the Holiday Season

This Sunday you can have some holiday fun at Schenley Park.  Bring your kids, brothers, sisters, and everyone else in your family to skate with Santa. There will be music and refreshments at the event from 1:30-3:30pm.  There are also some other great public outdoor ice rinks throughout the Pittsburgh area such as PPG place.
 
Skate with Santa at Schenley Park

 

Event: Skate with Santa at Schenley Park
 
Location: Schenley Ice Skating Rink, 1 Overlook Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15216 (Schenley Park – Oakland)
 
Date: Sunday, December 16, 2012
 
Time: 1:30pm until 3:30pm
 
Cost: Adult admission is $4.00, youth (17 and under) is $3.00, and seniors are $3.00. Skate rental is $2.50.
 
Description: Create memories while skating with Santa at Schenley Park Ice Rink. Enjoy great music & refreshments while you skate with the big guy himself! For more information, please visit the City of Pittsburgh website.

For more information see Living Pittsburgh.

Reindeer Games at the Children's Museum.

The Holidays can be expensive for any family.  However, Pittsburgh has some great holiday events for families that are free of cost.  This Saturday you can stop in at Fifth Avenue Place for some great Holiday entertainment, and then you can make your way to the Children's Museum to participate in some reindeer games.

Event: Holiday Fun at Fifth Avenue Place
Location: Fifth Avenue Place, Downtown Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Date: Saturdays through December 15, 2012
Time: 11am until 2pm
Cost: Free
Description: Free and open to the public, enjoy family entertainment at Fifth Avenue Place during this holiday shopping season.

Reindeer Games: Saturday, December 15 ~ 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.


Everyone can join in our Reindeer Games! Meet Rudolph and make a reindeer paper helicopter! Also, make reindeer food and reindeer ornaments to take home with The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh!

For more information see Living Pittsburgh.