It’s Father’s Day weekend. Here are some ways to spend it.
Juneteenth
Pittsburgh’s annual Juneteenth celebration is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Downtown from Point State Park to Market Square. It will feature a festival and more than 100 minority-owned vendors set up along Penn and Liberty Avenues. There will be dance performances and live music.
The event is organized by Stop the Violence Pittsburgh and its founder and CEO, B. Marshall, in partnership with the city and various community groups.
Celebrated on June 19, Juneteenth commemorates the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to tell slaves the Civil War had ended and they were free. Juneteenth is an official holiday in Pittsburgh and is recognized on the state and federal levels.
A parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, starting at Freedom Corner in the Hill District and through Downtown to highlight the importance of voting rights.
Details: wpajuneteenth.com
So many more #Juneteenth festivities & celebrations to be had in the days & weeks to come in Pittsburgh. Be sure to stop by our #MentorshipAcademy booth, meet some of the Academy students and inquire about being a part of the 2022-2023 Mentorship Academy class. pic.twitter.com/c0H3iVCRQv
— CNX (@CNXtweets) June 12, 2022
Really Big Faces
“Really Big Faces by Tom Mosser” presented by Covestro opens Saturday at Energy Innovation Center in the Hill District. There will be sessions from noon to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Both are free.
Delayed because of the pandemic, the exhibit will showcase large color portraits of 80 Pittsburghers such as former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto; concert promoter Rich Engler and his wife Cindy; “Pittsburgh Dad” Curt Wootton; Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild founder Bill Strickland as well as Pennsylvania second lady Gisele Barreto Fetterman (wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman). The show will include a diverse group of people of different ages, nationalities and walks of life.
The 5’8” x 4’8” portraits on canvas began as hand-sketched drawings and were then painted by Mosser, using his signature loop and flow techniques.
Details: tommosserdesign.com
Summer Fridays
Summer Fridays at the Frick in Point Breeze are back beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. There will be free live musical performances, food trucks and art-making activities on the lawn. Guests will also receive free admission to exhibits “Romare Bearden: Artist as Activist and Visionary” and “SLAY: Artemesia Gentileschi & Kehinde Wiley.” The Car and Carriage Museum, Greenhouse, Grable Visitor Center, and the Frick Museum Store will be open until 9 p.m.
Visitors may bring their own blanket and food and drink.
Details: TheFrickPittsburgh.org
Summer Fridays are back at the Frick June 17, July 22, August 19, and September 2! Join us for live music, food trucks, artmaking, and family fun on the beautiful Frick lawns! Summer Fridays at the Frick is made possible in part through the generous support of @Highmark! pic.twitter.com/rqbx4YZECr
— The Frick Pittsburgh (@TheFrickPgh) May 19, 2022
Mattress Factory
The Mattress Factory on the North Side is hosting the Sanctuary Block Party Friday along Monterey Street, between Jacksonia Street and Sampsonia Way. It is a free event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. that celebrates “Shrine,” an exhibition of new works from more than 20 artists at the Mattress Factory Monterey Annex.
It will feature local entrepreneurs and small businesses. There will be art activities in the nearby City of Asylum garden, a Mommas’ Market featuring local artists and vendors, and music by disc jockey Yadirtydaughter.
There will be food from vegan Trinidadian stand ShadoBeni.
Pre-registration is encouraged and masks are required inside the annex.
Details: mattress.org
Movie night
The Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival is Friday through Sunday at the Parkway Theater and Film Lounge in McKees Rocks.
The festival will showcase independent films, and micro-budget and no-budget films in the U.S. Movies will screen 12 hours a day and feature more than 60 films, many of them made by local filmmakers. It is the 14th year of the festival.
Some of the movies are “Case Closed,” “Flatwoods, “Artificial Existence,” “Massacre Academy,” and a documentary about Aliquippa, as well as “The Ending of Thunder,” a story about post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of war on the brain.
Prizes will be given for the Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Animation, Best Experimental and Best Music Video.
Tickets are $13.
Details: pghindie.com
