 Visitors Invited to Roll Jack-o-Lanterns Off Science Center Roof |
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| PITTSBURGH, Oct. 24, 2013 — Halloween is just a week away and pumpkins everywhere are being carved into spooky jack-o-lanterns, but what are people to do with them once Halloween is over? Instead of simply throwing them away, the Great Pumpkin Smash at CarnegieScienceCenter on Saturday, November 2 will offer guests the opportunity to use their carved pumpkins to learn more about physics and the science of composting.Visitors are encouraged to bring their jack-o-lanterns and join Smash-ologists in rolling them off the ScienceCenter roof. Participants will watch their pumpkins fall and observe how their pumpkin reacts to the drop. Some will smash, some will splatter, and some will even bounce. Guests will observe their pumpkin and learn about the physics behind the drop to understand why different pumpkins react to the fall in different ways.
Carnegie Science Center is also dedicated to composting all of the dropped pumpkins after the event. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the science involved in the composting process. The pumpkin theme will also be carried into numerous other ScienceCenter activities on the day of the event. Visitors can enjoy pumpkin flavored ice cream at the Kitchen Theater’s “Science in a Scoop” show. And on the lawn behind the Science Center, guests will be treated to demonstrations of how science can be used to explode pumpkins. This is the second annual Great Pumpkin Smash, and the event is sure to be fun for the whole family. Activities will run from 10 am – 5 pm rain or shine, and are free with the price of general admission. Pre-registration is not required. For more information on Great Pumpkin Smash and other upcoming holiday-themed events, please visit CarnegieScienceCenter.org. . |
Masquerade Poker Parade haunts Mon Riverfront, trails this weekend
PITTSURGH, PA – (October 22, 2013) Join Friends of the Riverfront this Saturday, October 26, from 10am to 4pm at the Masquerade Poker Parade. This inaugural Halloween celebration will take place at South Side Riverfront Park, and on the South Side and Eliza Furnace segments of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail along the Monongahela River.
Raising funds for continued maintenance of the 24-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail, this family-fun Halloween event will combine a non-athletic walk, run, or bike ride along the trail to trick-or-treat at booths along the route. Adults 21+ will be able to fill punch cards good towards a poker hand at the event’s after party.
The event will culminate at the Halloween Village, a hauntingly fun celebration in South Side Riverfront Park. Seasonal games, treats, and activities will be featured, including candy apple making, goofy ghost golf, candy corn hole, and a mystery box. Prizes will be awarded for best poker hand, as well as best costume in several categories including Scariest Costume, Best Kid Costume, Best Family Costume and Best Pittsburgh Themed Costume.
Tickets are available now at http://www.showclix.com/event/masqueradepokerparade. Admission is $25 per individual, $40 for families of 4, $20 student with valid I.D., and $5 child (12 and under).
About Friends of the Riverfront
Founded in 1991, Friends of the Riverfront is dedicated to the development, expansion, promotion, and stewardship of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and Three Rivers Water Trail in the Pittsburgh region.
The twenty-two year old membership-based nonprofit is committed to increasing awareness and engagement with the Pittsburgh region’s rivers and riverfronts through activities, stewardship and expansion of land and water trails. Friends of the Riverfront works tirelessly throughout Allegheny County to reconnect communities with the rivers and riverfronts. The organization has been instrumental in the development and stewardship of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail — a dedicated biking, hiking, and walking trail around Pittsburgh. Extending over 24 miles along both sides of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is an almost complete public route for cyclists, walkers, runners, and in some places rollerbladers. Over thirty more miles are planned, including continuation along the Allegheny River as part of the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance. Friends of the Riverfront is also the water trail manager of the Three Rivers Water Trail, a network of non- motorized craft access points in the Pittsburgh region.
Once a year, Friends of the Riverfront highlights use of both trails by hosting the Pittsburgh Triathlon & Adventure Race, more information can be obtained by visiting www.pittsburghtriathlon.com.
Information about the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, Three Rivers Water Trail, and Friends of the Riverfront can be found at www.friendsoftheriverfront.org, by calling 412-488-0212, or by joining Friends of the Riverfront’s social network on Facebook and Twitter.
The “Buzz” from Buzzelli – This Weekend’s Top To-Do’s, (10/24-10/27)
There are cultural events in Pittsburgh every weekend. Here are five fun things going on this week.
Fake Breaking News!
Dateline: October 30, 1938: The Earth is Invaded by Martians.
Thanks to the talented folks at the Mercury Theater, people, who tuned in late to a broadcast of H.G. Well’s classic Sci-Fi story, believed that there really was a full scale invasion from space. To commemorate that historic radio broadcast, the fine folks at the Bricolage theater (Carpenter, Dixon and probably even Odie), bring you “War of the Worlds,” Midnight Radio style (performers at the microphones, Foley artists, games, prizes and more).
If you haven’t been to a Midnight Radio show, yet, this is your big chance. Midnight Radio is not on the radio and not at midnight, but it is a guaranteed good time. Heck, there’s even a happy hour in the theater thirty minutes prior to the performance. Get your tickets now, because these shows fill up!
The Bricolage Theater is located in 937 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh.
Go here: www.bricolage.org for additional details.
The Squawk Box
Matt Henderson the ubiquitous Pittsburgh actor is in yet another production at the Grey Box. This time you can catch him in Throughline Theatre Company’s production of “The Farnsworth Invention.”
In 1929, two ambitious visionaries (literally and figuratively) race against each other to invent a device no living room will be without, the television. Aaron Sorkin, who made his name on the boob tube with the “Sports Night,” “The West Wing,” and more, decided to tell you all about it.
History in the making can be seen at the Grey Box Theater, 3595 Butler Street, Lawrenceville. Additional details can be found here: www.throughlinetheatre.org
Who Ya Gonna Call?
There’s still plenty of Halloween fun happening around the city. Plenty of places to get a good scare; like the Scare House, Phantom Fright Nights, etc. But if you like to chuckle at your ghosts and goblins, check out “Live Read: Ghostbusters,” down at the Arcade Comedy Theater.
When three hapless parapsychologists, Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz and Ego Spengler, lose their prestigious positions at Columbia University, they venture out in to the private sector, hunting ghosts! Things get weird when they realize their cure is part of the problem.
The show is Friday and Saturday at eight. You might have to cross a river to get there, just don’t cross any streams! The Arcade Comedy Theater is located at 811 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh. For more, go to www.arcadecomedytheater.com
The Play’s the Thing
Another radio drama becomes a play, with Agatha Christie’s “Mousetrap.” The longest running murder mystery play begins a much shorter run in the South Hills.
Journey once more to Monkswell Manor; where the Ralstons and their invited guests are suspects in a murder! Yes. It sounds like every weekend in the English Countryside, but Christie was ahead of the curve, pioneering the tea cozy mystery before they were called tea cozy mysteries.
Will the killer get away? Probably not, but don’t spoil the fun. You must never reveal the secret.
Tyson Sears directs the Baldwin Players. Find out whodunit at 5001 Baptist Road, Pittsburgh.
For more check out: www.thebaldwinplayers.com
Countdown to Zero
When Rebecca takes a job writing a textbook for seventh graders about the Holocaust, it begins to bleed into her personal life. She starts meeting World War II Nazis on the train. Rebecca isn’t the only one seeing things. Rebecca’s girlfriend, O, sees her recently deceased mom popping up for arguments about her choices. Playwright Madeleine George asks, “How do you tell the truth about yourself when that truth might devastate the people who you love?”
Catch “The Zero Hour” at the Off the Wall Theatre in Carnegie from October 25 to November 9. For more information click here; www.insideoffthewall.com
More Than Zero?
Need to know more about the Zero Hour? Come back to ‘Burgh Vivant next week and watch a review.
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Off The Wall opens season with THE ZERO HOUR, Oct 25th
While Off The Wall Theater was busy, Off the Wall Productions has been on hiatus. We are happy to announce that we will open our season on Oct. 25, 2013
with “The Zero Hour” , a play written by Madeleine George (Precious Little, City Theatre 2011) as a member of 13P Playwrights Collective.
For more information about 13P follow link –http://www.13p.org/
The play is (or could be perceived) as controversial, but in the end it is “just” a love story. Lesbian relationships and the Holocaust are at the center of
Madeleine George’s refreshingly original play. We were extremely lucky to cast two of Pittsburgh finest female
actors, Erika Cuenca and Daina Michelle Griffith, who beautifully handle both the humor and drama of the piece. They do it all, lovers, mothers and WW II Nazi’s on the NYC Subway.
Robyne Parrish (currently Artistic Director at the Gilbert Theater, Fayetteville, NC.), in her sixth directing assignment for Off The Wall, is following the Playwright’s bold and offbeat
approach that makes such scenarios not only plausible but emotionally resonant.
Since “The Zero Hours” 13P premiere in NYC in 2010 no other theater companies have picked it up, ours will be the second full production.
Rebecca (Erika Cuenca) writes for an academic publishing company, and lives in a Queens walkup with her girlfriend O (Daina Michelle Griffith), who is unemployed and has no interest in changing that situation,
which is only one of the sources of tension between the two women: Rebecca remains closeted both at work and to her mother, and reveals to her therapist that she’s not even sure if she’s a lesbian.
Rebecca’s also writing a text book for seventh graders about the Holocaust. But her inner struggle over how honest her text should or should not be – how graphic is too graphic?
Should she include homosexuals among the persecuted? Will any school system in the Bible Belt buy this book? – causes her to meet up with Nazis on the 7 train during her daily commute.
Performance Dates: Oct. 25-26, 31 – Nov. 1-2, 7-9 at 8:00 pm Matinee: Oct. 27 & Nov. 3 at 3.00 pm
Tickets $ 5.00 – $ 35.00
Tickets: http://www.showclix.com/event/3770564 1-888-71-TICKETS
The “Buzz” from Buzzelli: This Weekend’s Top 5 To-Do’s (10/17-10/20)
Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Here are the top five things to do in Pittsburgh October 17 – 20. We’re deep into the Season of the Witch, so here are some Halloween related fun activities. And some other stuff, too.
Let’s Do the Time Warp Again!
What is Halloween without Richard O’Brien’s madcap sex romp, The Rocky Horror Show? The tongue-in-cheek (and everywhere else) show is about Brad Majors and Janet Weiss exploring their sexuality when they meet the way-way-out Dr. Frank N. Furter. The mad scientist is building the perfect man, with blond hair and a tan, but his servants, Riff Raff and Magenta, and Brad and Janet’s old science professor, Dr. Scott, wants to spoil all the fun.
The Rocky Horror Show, a precursor to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (movie version) runs until October 31 (naturally). How do you get there? Well, it’s a jump to the left, and a step to the right. Actually, the location is secret, but it’s somewhere in Munhall, PA.
Location released after ticket purchase. www.brisbane-management-group.com
Spirited Debate
When cantakerous novelist Charles Condomine gets re-married, he is haunted (literally) by the ghost of his late first wife in Blithe Spirit. Blame Madame Bovary. Noel Coward’s comedy about the gap between love and marriage, life and death is presented by the Actors & Artists of Fayette County at the Geyer Performing Arts Cente, 111 Pittsburgh Street, Scottdale, PA.
No need to look into a crystal ball, just phone: 724-887-0887 or visit www.geyerpac.com
A Phantom’s Revenge
Looking for some cheap thrills? Okay, how about some reasonably priced thrills? Come out to Kennywood Park for Phantom Fright Nights. Not only are all the regular rides in full swing (literally and figuratively), there are several haunted attractions operating, with a cast of scary characters roaming the park (ideal for photo opportunities). Check out BioFear for Sci-Fi fun, the Voodoo Bayou takes the Raging Rapids and turns them into the Raging Cajuns, or sink your teeth into the Villa of the Vampires.
Fright Nights start at seven, but it’s suggested that you arrive early to get a good spot in line. The park fills up during the Phantom festivities.
Picture This!
Get Wilde with Oscar at the Steampunk Dorian Gray in South Park. Rage the Stage Players promise a lewd and lascivious time at the re-imagined “Picture of Dorian Gray.” Dorian is blessed with good looks. He embraces a life of pleasure, but his portrait isn’t so lucky. The painting takes the physical hits instead of the man himself.
Don’t bring the kiddies to this one, folks. The show contains adult content and partial nudity.
| Dorian unveils on October 18th, but runs through the 31st. Tickets are only $15.00 (cash at the door). There will be a special “PRIDE NIGHT” performance on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23rd, to benefit the GLCC (Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Pittsburgh). Tickets on “PRIDE NIGHT” will be $20.00. South Park Theater is at the corner of Brownsville Road and Corrigan Drive, South Park, PA 15129. For more information, go to South Park Theatre or call 724-292-TICS (8427) or hit up www.rageofthestage@yahoo.com |
This Cider House Rules
If All Hallow’s Eve isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other holiday’s coming up to hold your interest. You could go to the Artisan Sale at the Cider House in Gibsonia. Several amazing vendors will be on hand selling their handcrafted wares. Stop and smell the rose-colored soap from Buttercup and Thistle Soap Shop, with soaps like Pineapple Cilantro Goats Milk, Lemon Verbena Goats Milk and many, many more. Check out Featherfield Pottery (the ceramic frog is adorable). Admire Aileen Lampman’s Ai Jewelry, which just won Best in Show in Jewelry at a craft fair in Williamsburg, Virginia October 5th. See the colorful and creative glasswork from ACK Creates, especially the Oliver Ashe trays, flattened wine bottles designed to be either ashtrays or olive trays (smoke your olives).
Saturday October 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Cider House, 1 Treesdale Commons, Gibsonia, PA 15044. Call 724-625-6391 for additional details.
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Quantum Theatre to open the regional premiere of Parlour Song
(PITTSBURGH, PA) – Quantum Theatre, known for its deep experimentation, produces the regional premiere of British playwright Jez Butterworth’s 2008 play Parlour Song, which originated on Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Co. and London’s Almeida Theatre. Acclaimed (and Olivier Award-winning), its Broadway cast included Emily Mortimer. Critic Ben Brantley said, “Now this is adult entertainment… the affecting accomplishment of Parlour Song is that it peels its characters down to emotional nakedness without ever violating the mystery of people who remain mysteries even to themselves.” Butterworth’s more recent play Jerusalem has subsequently won the Tony Award for Mark Rylance as Best Actor in a Play (2012).
Butterworth was mentored by Harold Pinter, and clearly influenced by that great writer; his plays deliver Pinter-like sharpness of dialogue, dark humor, and menace beneath the surface. The surface here is an affluent suburban community where things tend to look alike – giving Parlour Song a John Updike flavor as well. It’s about two couples, friends living side-by-side – though only three members of this foursome appear – an unholy trinity. Think sinuous, tightly controlled, in terms of the lone woman, and guys with an often hilarious bravura that covers increasing desperation. One is a demolitions expert; Ned’s job is to blow things up, like banal, disposable shopping centers (to make room for, say, a shopping center eerily similar to the first.) Dale runs a car wash and keeps himself fit. Another hallmark of Butterworth’s work is the presence, below the surface but ready to assert itself, of nature, the things we think we control but don’t, like the powerful forces of the earth and our animal instincts, there to be reckoned with. Joy, especially, takes the play to a dark and primal place by its end. She has her eye on a very dangerous and existential escape from this affluent, pseudo-paradise. Along the way… things are disappearing, things as small as cuff links, as large as lawn mowers, and as strange as a stuffed badger and a bust of Aldous Huxley.
Quantum casts Cameron Knight, recently come to Pittsburgh to teach acting at Carnegie Mellon University, whose credits include the Oregon, Michigan, Texas, and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Milwaukee Rep, and the Kennedy Center; Brendan McMahon, trained at Lecoq’s famous Ecole Lessaad, with credits including Mabou Mimes, Lincoln Center, NY Classical Theatre, Cherry Lane, and St. Ann’s Warehouse; and Sarah Silk, a former Pittsburgh actress now living in NY where she works frequently at the Flea Theater. The Waterfront provides a slick commercial location for the project (and such modern conveniences as real bathrooms, heat, and parking). Director Martin Giles collaborates with designers Tony Ferrieri (set), Scott T. Nelson (lighting), Richard Parsakian (costume), and Bill Stankay (sound).
Special events in the run include: Community Night, for invited Homestead residents on October 31; Ladies Night on November 6, a women’s-only viewing with a pre-show gathering; Grapenuts Night on November 8, which will include a special pre-show wine-tasting; Post Show Discussion with cast on November 10; Social Q Happy Hour, a pre-show happy hour for young professionals on November 14; and Quantum on the Couch, a post-show psychoanalysis of the play’s characters led by analyst David Orbison, Ph.D., on November 15. For restaurant partnerships, parking information and more, visit quantumtheatre.com.
The “Buzz” from Buzzelli – This Weekend’s Top 5 To-Do’s (10/10-10/13)
The weekend is sneaking up fast upon us. Here is a list of Five Fun Things to do in Pittsburgh October 10, 11, 12 and 13. This week people are talking with their hands, i.e. there is plenty of puppetry on hand.
Doing the Pigeon
There’s Pigeons Down at Market Square. They’re on Liberty Avenue as well. Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Festival of Firsts presents, “The Pigeoning,” a full-length puppet play. It’s the story of Frank, a fastidious office worker with Monk-like compulsions about cleanliness and order, encounters pigeons, the epitome of filth and chaos. The nearly wordless work features Bunraku puppetry, video and original music to explore the themes of obsessive compulsion, safety and order in the context of the end of the world.
The Pigeoning runs from October 9 through the 12, 7 p.m at 937 Liberty Ave, Downtown Pittsburgh.
If you have additional questions, there’s no need to send a carrier pigeon, just call 412-456-6666.
Baby, It’s Dark Outside (or Puppetry Part II)
There’s a second puppet show in the Festival of Firsts (wait, what?). You can see “It’s Dark Outside,” October 9 through 11 at 9:00 p.m. at the Trust Arts Education Center, 805-807 Liberty Ave, Downtown Pittsburgh.
The Perth Theater Company from Australia presents a show with puppetry, mask, animation, live performance, and original music all next weekend. Catch “The Pigeoning” at 7:30 and “It’s Dark Outside,” at 9:00 and have a whole evening of puppet fun!
Turn off the lights and head over to “It’s Dark Outside” at the Trust Arts Education Center. Check out www.trustarts.org for additional details.
Rocky Mountain High
There’s one weekend left to see “Colorado” at the Grey Box Theatre in Lawrenceville. Those whacky people at 12 Peers Theater found a disturbing and funny play about the disappearance of a teenage beauty queen in Colorado, called, “Colorado.” The playwright, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, has written some of the most twisted theater pieces produced. A few years ago, Off the Wall made “Boom,” and Bricolage produced “Hunter/Gatherers.” Both shows were not to be missed. Now, you have another chance to catch the dark, dangerous and hilarious mind of Nachtrieb one more time. You have been warned.
Trivia fun fact: If you saw Matt Henderson in “Boom,” now you can see him in “Colorado.”
See “Colorado” in Lawrenceville, at the Grey Box Theatre 3595 Butler St., Pittsburgh. If you need more than that, call 412-586-7744
Pearls before the Swine
Pearl Jam comes to the Consol Energy Center on Friday, October 11th. Throw on your corduroy, grab your brother and make footsteps down to Consol and rock out to the force of nature known as Pearl Jam. You will feel alive as an even flow of music washes over your body. This concert is not just for the faithful. Bring friends!
Hear them on October 11th at 7:30 at the Consol Energy Center, 1001 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh.
Go here for more: www.consolenergycenter.com
Predicting a Good Time
Saturday October 12, you can circle your caravans and get over to the Christine Frechard Gallery, 5871 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill for “Gypsy Night.” Apparently, the Roma are reclaiming the derogatory term and embracing it, thanks to shows like “American Gypsy,” and “My Big, Fat Gypsy Wedding.” You can explore some of the culture at the gallery. Jon Banuelos will be playing some traditional music. There will be a Tarot card art exhibition with Melissa Von Underwood, but no evening out with the Roma would be complete without psychic readings.
Additional details can be found by calling 412-421-8888 or visiting www.christinefrechardgallery.com, but if you’re a psychic, you already knew that.
BONUS TRACK
Friday October 11th is National Coming Out Day, and the Arcade Comedy Theater is marking the occasion by showcasing the talents of Pittsburgh’s best LGBTQ performers. The show starts at 8 p.m., but you can come out to friends, family and co-workers whenever you want.
Swing open that closet door, and come down to the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh. More details can be found here; www.arcadecomedytheater.com
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ROCKY HORROR ROCKS MUNHALL
With a little help from their ‘friends’…
PITTSBURGH –Brisbane Management Group (BMG) is proud to announce the launch of their company with its inaugural production of The Rocky Horror Show! With it’s interactive take on the cult classic, it is designed to push the envelope and take theatre to the next level. Today’s theatre audience is dwindling. “How do we bring in new blood and make it interesting for the younger generations to come?” asks Kelli Brisbane, Founder and Artistic Director for BMG.
In an age where reality TV, video games, smart phones and multi-media are at our disposal, theatre seems a thing of the past. BMG’s hope is that this is more than just a show and that is becomes a ‘reality theatre’ experience that people will join in with the excitement. “Musical theatre has not been pushed in this direction. We’re excited to test the waters, and are fortunate to have secured multiple venues that lend hand to our backdrop,” says Brisbane.
This show has been years in the making – flashback to the year 2000, where a young Brisbane, was on the professional West End Tour of The Rocky Horror show, and was daydreaming out the tour bus window about how ‘cool’ it would be to have an audience follow Brad and Janet on their journey throughout the castle. Time passed, and the idea continued to grow, while other companies started actualizing the interactive theatrical experience much like De La Guarda, Fuerzabruta and Sleep No More. “I knew I was on to something, and knew that if it was going to be done, it had to happen sooner, rather than later,” says Brisbane. So after recently moving back to the Pittsburgh area, after 18 years, Brisbane was excited to find that local companies like Bricolage and Quantum were already thinking ahead of the game and producing great things. It was time to set the show in full motion with a deep commitment from the community.
In this particular venture, BMG has focused their efforts on the Munhall area, a district neighboring the Waterfront, and ripe for growth. BMG is partnering with local companies whose mission is to help spur economic growth right in their own backyard. Efforts are being made to drive as many of the 650 audience members to visit participating restaurants and establishments local to Munhall.
BMG is engaging and encouraging local community neighbors, corporations, and ‘creative industries’ on their mission: art improving community. Rock Bottom Brewery and Allied Remediation Technical Services are two of their local community partners. Rock Bottom Brewery is supporting with a unique offer to Rocky Horror VIP ticket purchasers and Allied Remediation provided their professional services to make the location suitable for performance.
“Theatre is about collaboration, taking chances and building something bigger than we are. Nobody should wait for permission to create,” said Brisbane. “So this Halloween season we are doing just that.”
The show will run this October 16-31 in Munhall, Pa. Using three distinct venues, audience members will be taken on an immersive theater experience with Brad and Janet LIVE WITH YOU on every turn.
Cast Includes: Maurissa Auer , Charles Beikert , Kelli Brisbane , Kristin S. Buccilli, Marissa Buchheit, Brendan Conaway, Jeremy Earhart, Chucky Hendershot , Tom Kolos, Adam Pribila, Maggie Ryan, Tom Sarp, Christine Starkey, Johnny Terreri, and Tara Zyndel. Directed by Lisa Ann Goldsmith. Music Director – Lisa Harrier.
October 16-31: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8PM – October 27 at 2PM, October 31 at 8PM and Midnight Location: Munhall, PA (Details TBA to ticketholders prior to performance) Tickets*: $20 Students / $30 General / $50 VIP (includes pre-show Time Warp dance lesson and post show drink voucher at Rock Bottom Brewery). Tickets on sale now and may be purchased by visiting: http://www.brisbane-management-group.com/tickets/ Tickets must be purchased in advance, and each performance is capped at 50 attendees. *Please note that this show is rated “R” for Rocky; no one under 18 years of age will be permitted.
CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER TO PARTICIPATE IN “FOLDING FOR GOOD”
| Visitors Invited to Have Fun With Origami While Commemorating Sandy Hook Victims | |
| PITTSBURGH, Oct. 1, 2013 — Starting Oct. 3, Carnegie Science Center will invite visitors to participate in Folding for Good, Operation Sandy Hook: Peace, a global initiative to honor those who were affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Led by 17-year-old Calista Frederick-Jaskiewicz, the overall mission of Operation Sandy Hook: Peace is to dedicate 10,000 peace cranes to the victims of this tragedy. Peace cranes were selected because they are a traditional origami folding technique widely seen as a symbol of hope, healing, and peace.
Carnegie Science Center will showcase some 5,000 of the cranes Calista has already collected and will host a series of workshops for visitors to learn how to make peace cranes so they, too, can contribute to Folding for Good. The workshops will be free with general admission and are scheduled for 10 – 11:30 am on Thursday, Oct. 3, and from noon until 2 pm on three Saturdays: Oct. 5, 12, and 19. Advance registration is not Currently, Calista is a student at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School and has already accumulated more than 60 college credits from various institutions; she is currently enrolled in the Accelerated College in High School Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Calista is founder and CEO of Origami Salami & Folding for Good, which currently comprises 14 chapters in the United States, Australia, the Philippines, and Hungary. Origami Salami is a student movement mobilizing people as advocates for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) studies through the fun of origami; Folding for Good is an initiative to engineer creative ways to do good with it. Calista started Folding for Good in 2009 to combine her interests in science and origami (a hobby she picked up after receiving a beginner’s kit when she was 6 years old) with community service projects. The organization’s most recent endeavor, Operation Sandy Hook: Peace, has already surpassed its goal by amassing 10,000+ cranes. Participants in the program range from schoolchildren and their teachers, to professional origamists, origami clubs, and various community service groups. Through her foundation, Calista and her student leaders have volunteered at numerous schools and civic organizations, including folding origami centerpieces that were auctioned for $1,300 as part of a fundraiser for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Foundation. And now, with Carnegie Science Center, visitors of all ages can join Calista’s movement by making their own peace cranes for the victims, as well as by viewing some of the work she has already collected from around the world. In approaching the Science Center, Calista noted science connected with folding. She points to folding patterns in both naturally occurring Origami Salami was developed through Calista’s participation in the Young Scholar Ambassador Program of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development. A mere six months after its conception, Calista signed a contract with Lincoln Interactive, a national cyber curriculum provider. Through this contract, Calista was responsible for developing a digital curricular program – “Investigation: Paper Engineering” – for middle school students to explain to them the connection between science and folding. As a result of Calista’s promotion of STEM fields, she was honored this past year with the 2013 Award for Aspirations in Computing. This prestigious award is given by the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) to just 35 young women in the United States. Calista has also been honored for her charitable contributions: She was named a Nestle Very Best in Youth 2013 National Finalist, a Prudential Spirit of America 2013 Distinguished Finalist, as well as having earned the gold President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2013. She plans to graduate from high school in the spring of 2014 and continue her education in college as an electrical and computer engineering major. For more information about Carnegie Science Center programs, please visit CarnegieScienceCenter.org. |
The “Buzz” from Buzzelli – Top 5 To-Do’s This Weekend (10/3-10/6)
Jam Packed!
Want to see a show no one has ever seen before and will likely never see again? Come down to the Cabaret Theater in Theater Square and watch the Improv Comedy Jam. Improv performers from all over Pittsburgh gather for a raucous evening of fun. You never know what’s going to happen next. The show, like all improv shows, is made up on the spot, from suggestions by the audience. You can even join the fun.
If you have a ticket from any other show in town that night, your admission is free.
For additional details check out http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/event/3200/pittsburgh-improv-jam
Soldiering On
If laughing isn’t your thing, try something more serious. Tammy Ryan’s new play, “Soldier’s Heart” is about the struggles women face in the military. Casey Johnson returns to Western Pennsylvania from the war in Iraq forever changed by her experience.
You can catch “Soldier’s Heart” at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland through October 13, 222 Craft Avenue.
You don’t need a horizontal situation display, just go here for more: www.pittsburghplayhouse.com
Naked Puppetry
The giant duck was just the beginning. You have a few great opportunities to see world premieres of new art, theater and dance at the International Festival of Firsts. In a film from Belgium comes “Kiss and Cry.” The characters are portrayed by bare hands as they march around miniature sets.
“Kiss and Cry” opens October 2 at the New Hazlett Theater in Allegheny Square in the North Side. The show blends film, dance, text and theater into one unforgettable experience.
No need to let your fingers do the walking, find out more about the event here. http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/38837/kiss-and-cry
To Bee or Not to Bee
Hilarious. Adjective. Marked by or causing hilarity; extremely funny. Let’s use it in a sentence. “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is completely hilarious.
Learn new words and how to spell them while watching a musical comedy. Six kids compete in the bee to end all bees in this musical comedy. Come out to Elizabeth, PA and sit a spell.
It’s at the Grand Theatre 207 Second Avenue, Elizabeth, PA through October 6. Call 412-384-0504 or hit them up at www.monriverarts.ticketleap.com/spelling-bee
It’s all Greek to me
Yasou! It’s time for the Holy Cross Greek Food Festival in Mt. Lebanon. Actually, they have a festival in the summer, but they also have a mini-festival in the fall. It’s here.
Come out and get some Greek pastries, cakes, pies, jams and bread. Plus, they have all those wonderful Greek foods that you can’t pronounce. Just point and hand them money. Your tummy will thank you.
No need to consult the oracle of Delphi, just go here; www.holycrosspgh.org
P.S. While you’re in Mt. Lebanon, check out Art in the Park(ing lot). The Sunrise Rotary club is bringing a lot of talented artists into a parking lot. Come check out the fabulous creations while you’re getting your Greek on.
www.facebook.com/ArtInTheParkMtLebanonPa
-MB
