If you are looking for great local ribs, chicken, home-style sides and a comfortable atmosphere, stop by Steel City Ribs!
Read what the City Paper and Munch of the Post Gazette had to say!
This gem is located in East Liberty, 220 N. Highland Ave. at the corner of Harvard St. next to Eastminister Church.
Union Project’s YOUTH TALENT SHOWCASE BLOG
You’ve heard about the Youth Talent Showcase. Maybe you have even attended this monthly showcase of Pittsburgh’s emerging talent here at the Union Project. But in case you’ve missed this event, or you just want to get a reminder of the amazing youth in your community, check out our new Youth Talent Showcase blog at unionprojectyts.blogspot.com.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the next YTS on September 2nd!
- From the Union Project
Save the Date, everyone! June 6th and 7th, in East Liberty, the Penn Avenue Arts District and Lawrenceville will be Art Cubed! This will be a celebration of Arts & Culture, music, community pride and neighborhood collaboration!
Beginning the afternoon of Friday, June 6th and running until Saturday night, enjoy the many shops, boutiques, restaurants and more of Lawrenceville with a sidewalk sale stretching Butler and Penn Ave! Also, the Penn Avenue Art District (stretching through Friendship and Garfield) will be opening their many art galleries and studios and offering interactive programming for Unblurred. Come to the Shadow Lounge Friday night for the Unblurred After Party.
Beginning Saturday at noon, East Liberty will be hosting Proud Hood, a celebration of East Liberty’s Arts & Culture, diversity, history, and community connections. History shows us East Liberty is a community of strong character, resilience and soul. After the hardships that East Liberty has gone through in the past, we have reason to be proud that we can come together as a community and share our vibrant, unique cultures. Join residents and patrons for the festivities in East Liberty’s Town Square, surrounding East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) on Whitfield St, between Penn Ave and Baum Blvd.
Proud Hood Happenings!
From Noon to Four pm.
Social Hall, East Liberty Presbyterian Church
- Youth Talent Showcase, including the Union Project, the Parental Stress Center’s Youth Performing Arts Collective, Visionary Performing Arts Academy, the Lighthouse Project, NAKA Fitness, students and youth from Peabody, CAPA and many more youth performance troops!
- Local Organization and Service Provider Fair offering information and giveaways
Kelly Strayhorn Theater Lobby
- History Showcase (Local Historical Artifacts displayed by the East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce and the East Liberty Historical Society
- Jazz Band performing the music of Mary Lou Williams, local jazz composer and artist
- Viewing of “East Liberty: Mapping Invisible Lines” a film by Trisha Chicka
- “I remember when…” East Liberty video memory log
- Biographies from East Liberty native celebrities
Penn and Whitfield Avenue
- Street Performers including Soloman Steel Pan steel drum band, a sidewalk chalk artist (and space for children to participate), painting and drumming performance art (Chassity Cheatham and company),
- Musical performances from the Gene Stovall Trio and Between Liberties
- Community mural project with the MGR Foundation
- Face painting, balloon figures and caricatures
- City of Pittsburgh’s Roaming Art Cart
- “Lint Puppets” from Cheryl Capezzuti
- Local food and business vendors
- Debut of 206 Project, communication resource for local youth, made by local youth
Former YMCA Building
- Local art display
- Model apartment tour for up-coming Y Lofts
- Hors d’oeuvres
Whole Foods Market
- Free samples of healthy grilling
- Kids’ Craft
- Live or DJ music
From five to seven p.m., enjoy Happy Hour and Dinner specials from participating local restaurants in East Liberty. Also, definitely don’t miss Running Man at the Shadow Lounge Saturday night, the Official Art-Cubed After Party!!
For more information, a map and full listings, visit the website and print out a map!
Art-Cubed is made possible by participation and sponsorship from: Mainstreets Pittsburgh, Penn Avenue Arts Initiative, Lawrenceville Corp, PPND, ELDI, Image Box, Citi Paper, Coldwell Banker, Whole Foods, PNC Bank, Fifth Third Bank, the Port Authority, Scion, Naktural and Seriendipitty. Thanks for all of the hard work and support!!
TOMORROW, Tuesday, May 20 at 6 p.m. will be a Renovation Planning Meeting for the Carnegie Library-East Liberty branch.
Join the Library staff and community members at the library, located at 130 S. Whitfield Street, to learn more about the renovations plans for the building.
If you have any questions or would like more information, call 412.363.8232. Hope to see you there!!
Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (Dem)
U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is awarding $9,480,000 in grants to several communities in Pennsylvania. The funding is administered through the Brownfield Economic Development Initiative (BEDI), a competitive grant program to stimulate and promote economic and community development.
BEDI is designed to assist cities with the redevelopment of abandoned, idled and underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion and redevelopment is burdened by environmental contamination.
“I am pleased that HUD is awarding this money to several Pennsylvania cities for their redevelopment projects,” Senator Specter said. “Restoring these blighted sites will help revitalize our cities and be a great impetus for future cultural and economic growth.”
“At a time when families are struggling, investing in new community development initiatives is vitally important,” said Senator Casey. “These grants will promote economic development in communities across the Commonwealth and I will continue to fight to ensure Pennsylvania receives its fair share of federal funding for vital projects to help revitalize our economy.”
BEDI funds must be used in conjunction with a Section 108 loan, a loan guarantee provision of the Community Development Block Grant program. As such, Pennsylvania is poised to receive an additional $25,466,000 in funding through HUD to finance the projects.
In the announcement, the City of Philadelphia will receive $6 million for 3 projects, the City of Pittsburgh will receive $3 million for 2 projects, and the City of Jeanette in Westmoreland County will receive $480,000. Pennsylvania received more BEDI grants than any other state in the U.S in Fiscal Year 2007.
$2 million for the City of Pittsburgh for a revitalization project in the East Liberty neighborhood. Funding will help to acquire, remediate, demolish, prepare a site, and retrofit roads for a large-scale retail store. The City is also slated to receive $10 million in a Section 108 Loan.
East Liberty has been visited by the “Sugar Fairy” and she is here to stay!! We are pleased to welcome the first new bakery to East Liberty in decades, Vanilla Pastry Studio.
April Gruver, owner, moved the bakery from the West End, looking for a larger space because people could not get enough of her sweets. The Post Gazette awarded Vanilla the “Best Cupcakes in Pittsburgh,” and it has only been up from there! Along with the cupcakes, Gruver’s “Lollys” are receiving quite a buzz and Vanilla is always looking to expand their menu through customer suggestions.
Read more about the new shop in the post gazette. Vanilla is located at 6014 Centre Ave, on Penn Circle South. Stop by and enjoy a new treat in East Liberty!
THIS SATURDAY, MAY 10, Peabody High School will be hosting Promise for the Future: Reducing Teen Violence and Enhancing Life Opportunity.
This community event will offer over 40 local service providers with valuable information, as well as information workshops. The event will also highlight the positive initiative already going on with our youth, such as catering from the Peabody culinary arts program, as well as the Union Project’s Youth Talent Showcase later on in the evening.
The event begins at 8 a.m. with breakfast, music and a good crowd. Make sure to be there on time to get all of the goodies and information! This is a valuable event for Peabody students, parents and supports! Even if you don’t have children, you should still support our local schools!
TOMORROW MORNING, Saturday, May 3 at 8 a.m. will begin the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community at Heinz Field.
100% of the money being raised goes to a number of local non-profit organizations, including East Liberty’s own Sojourner MOMS House.
If you are interested in getting involved at the last minute, go to their website and sign up!
Vermonica - An Urban Candelabra named after the intersection where it is located: Vermont & Santa Monica in Los Angeles, CA.
On Thursday, May 1 from 6 to 8 pm in the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, the Office of Public Art presents an artist lecture with Sheila Klein. Sheila is an artist from Bow, Washington who has worked on public art projects throughout the country. Originally from Pittsburgh, she is currently in the design phase for a pedestrian bridge that will connect Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside to the East End Development project in East Liberty.
Please join us as Sheila talks about her past work, current projects, and her design for this new pedestrian bridge.
A reception with the artist follows the lecture.
This lecture is free, but reservations are requested. Please rsvp to opa@pittsburghartscouncil.org or call 412.391.2060 x233.
Happy Arbor Day, everyone!! This is the one day a year everyone should be a tree hugger!
On Monday April 28th at Construction Junction from 11am to 1pm, the Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest will be handing out 1,000 Fraser fir seedlings with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl . Visitors can have up to five trees, be sure to stop by!
