Ready or not, here comes summer and all the festivals, concerts, movies and fun things that come with it. So prepare to indulge!
Before we get to the nitty gritty of the lists, here are a few of our favorite things.
THREE RIVERS ARTS FESTIVAL
June 7-16
It started in 1960 as a four-day show of juried art at the Point with the American Wind Symphony performing on its barge. It ended that year with a thunderstorm that blew 10 paintings into the river and damaged 50 more.
Just shy of 60 years later, we still have those same storms, although they aren’t blowing artwork into the river much these days. The focus has also shifted more to the music, which has been attracting major recording artists since the early ’80s. This year’s lineup is headlined by such greats as neosoul singer India.Arie, roots-rocker Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, indie-pop band Lucius and jazz/funk band Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.
Among the visual highlights will be the colorful spinning tops of Los Trompos.
PITTSBURGH PRIDE
June 7-9
It’s safe to say that Andy Warhol would be pleased to see Pride Rocks PGH happening on his bridge.
The annual LGBTQ festival presented by The Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh moves from Liberty Avenue to the Andy Warhol Bridge and Fort Duquesne Blvd this year with Walk the Moon and Toni Braxton playing their first Pride festivals. They will headline the ticketed Friday and Saturday night concerts, followed by the Equality March and Pride Dance Party on Sunday.
CLO IN ACTION
June 7-Aug. 11
Well hello, summer season No. 73 for Pittsburgh CLO. It includes the acclaimed revival of "Hello, Dolly," starring Tony-winner Betty Buckley. You'll have to wait until Aug. 6-11 to say hi to Betty, but there's plenty going on in the meantime, kicking off with "Grease” on July 7.
CLO has a tight hold on the Benedum Center for most of the season, with a new show almost weekly. Casting has begun, with the announcement of Broadway and TV stars Jenn Colella and Charles Shaughnessy in “Peter Pan” and Ace Young (of “American Idol” fame) in “Rock of Ages.”
CLO’s summer reach includes "Hamilton"-not-"Hamilton," or as it's better known, "Spamilton: An Amercian Parody.”
ANTHROCON 2019
July 4-7
What could be more American than a furry convention? Well, a lot of things, but it's certainly a Pittsburgh tradition.
The 23rd annual Anthrocon, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, invites its thousands of participants to "join us in celebrating everything in anthropomorphics, take part in seminars and workshops featuring writing, acting, costume creation, and design. And of course, don’t miss this year’s fursuit parade!"
Special guests this year are voice actor Benjamin Diskin, elite eSports player Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and illustrator and comic book artist Steve Gallacci.
FREE MUSIC!
All summer
India.Arie. Guster. Kurt Vile. Foghat. WAR.
That diverse mix of artists is among the many playing the free outdoor concerts around Pittsburgh this summer.
The Three Rivers Arts Festival presents 10 days of free shows in June, the Allegheny County Concert Series (at Hartwood Acres and South Park) will have two per week up until Labor Day weekend, and then there’s the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, the WYEP Summer Music Festival, Greensburg’s Summersounds and more.
MOVIES, MOVIES, MOVIES
Happening now
We may have already had the biggest movie of the summer, or any summer, for that matter, with “Avengers: Endgame,” but that’s just the beginning.
Everyone from Godzilla to Elton John to Sansa Stark (as an X-Men hero) will fill the screen, but we couldn’t be more excited about the return of Buzz and Woody.
Ten years in the making, “Toy Story 4" (June 21) picks up the tale of the hilarious crew and adds a new character in Forky.
PICKLESBURGH
July 26-28
Having just won the USA Today poll for Best Specialty Food Festival in America, Picklesburgh is the real dill.
This year, the festival, which began in 2015, crosses the bridge for the first time, spilling onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard. That’s because last year, they had to close the Roberto Clemente Bridge a few times because it got so crowded. Now there will be more room for food, drinks, music and various and sundry pickle-themed things.
DEUTSCHTOWN MUSIC FESTIVAL
July 12-13
Back in 2013, we were impressed that more than three dozen Pittsburgh acts were performing in eight locations on the North Side. The next year, it doubled in size and then kept growing and growing, last year hitting more than 350 acts on 30 stages.
Needless to say, it’s now the biggest showcase of Pittsburgh music, encompassing rock, jazz, hip-hop and beyond. Three dozen food trucks and family activities fill out the festivities. And it’s all free.
PEDALPGH
Aug. 25
Those city bike lanes that cause so much commotion are put to good use on this annual Sunday ride, which begins at the Southside Riverfront Park and ranges from 10 to 60 miles. Registration is open now for the biggest bike rally of the year in Pittsburgh at pedalpgh.org.
TOUR PACKAGES
All summer
Ben Folds + Violent Femmes: Geek-rock gold.
Heart + Joan Jett + Elle King: Girl power!
Blink-182 + Lil Wayne: That’s a weird one.
Korn + Alice in Chains: Pretty metal.
Nelly + TLC + Flo Rida: Gonna be hot in therre.
With so many artists on the road and only so many days, summer is prime time for tour packages, and in 2019 we have some great ones: Flogging Molly/Social Distortion, ZZ Top/Cheap Trick, Coheed & Cambria/Mastodon, Chris Stapleton/Marcus King Band, the list goes on and on.
THREE RIVERS REGATTA
Aug. 2-4
It helps if you like boat races, dogs catching Frisbees, fried Oreos, Ferris wheels, fireworks and big crowds who like those same things.
No details yet on bands or particular attractions, but we do know that the Regatta is as reliable as heat and humidity in the dog days of summer.
STEEL CURTAIN
Summer
If you’re going to name a roller coaster after the formidable Steelers defense of the ‘70s, it had better be big and mean.
The Steel Curtain at Kennywood Park has the big part down, standing, at 220 feet, as the tallest roller coaster in Pennsylvania. It occupies the former spot of the Log Jammer (RIP) in a new Kennywood area called Steelers Country.
It is also ... not quite ready. But, like Thomas Town last year, it is set to open sometime at the height of the season.
First Published: May 16, 2019, 10:30 a.m.
