Arts & Culture

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Speaking Volumes
3:30 am
Mon May 20, 2013

A history lesson with Prof. Patrick Dowd

Credit Josh Raulerson/90.5 WESA
Book recommendations from Councilman Patrick Dowd

Pittsburgh City Councilman Patrick Dowd started out as a historian, and while he's no longer in academia, his reading still reflects that background. These days Dowd reads historical nonfiction mixed with fiction "with a serious historical bent." 

Edwin Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command

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Essential Pittsburgh
8:56 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

Sports Talk With Bob Dvorchak

Credit Bob Dvorchak / Sports n'at
Bob Dvorchak is an author and blogger for the website Sports 'n'at

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sportswriter Emeritus Bob Dvorchak discusses the death of Uniontown native and NFL great Chuck Muncie of heart failure at age 60, concussions in the NFL and the strange case of hockey player Derek Boogaard

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Essential Pittsburgh
12:28 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

The Host with the Most Comes to Pittsburgh

Credit Rico Gagliano / Twitter
Rico Gagliano uses his B.A. in Film Studies from Pitt, and M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute to offer up unique culture, food, and conversation for your next dinner party

Rico Gagliano, arts and culture journalist, producer, and host is best known for his work in public radio. He spent several years reporting for the business show Marketplace, filing stories from all over the world and across the U.S. 

Rico currently co-hosts and co-produces The Dinner Party Download for American Public Media.  The Pittsburgh native talks about his show and his favorite hometown haunts, past and present.

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Essential Pittsburgh
11:30 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Pittsburgh Artist Finds Inspiration in a Century-Old Timepiece

After a century in downtown Pittsburgh, residents of the city can still recall telling friends and family to “meet me under the Kaufmann’s Clock.” The bronze ornamental clock, which still hangs at the corner of Smithfield Street and Fifth Avenue, has served as a meeting place for Pittsburghers for years. Macy's celebrates the clock's 100th anniversary with a city proclamation of May 17th as "Meet Me Under the Clock Day" as well as events surrounding this cherished Kaufmann's tradition.

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Essential Pittsburgh
8:27 pm
Wed May 15, 2013

City Spree: Adults Running Amuck in the Steel City

Credit Amanda Westmont / Flickr
The more you explore the more points you gain. City Spree encourages adults to get out and play

   

The City Spree is a citywide race with no course and no boundaries. Find your own path, explore, and check in, the further you are from the starting point the better. The unique event encourages Pittsburghers to race beyond their comfort zone and explore new neighborhoods. Remember the carefree days of youth and playing outdoors with kids in your neighborhood? Now you have an excuse to run amuck again.

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Essential Pittsburgh
8:26 pm
Wed May 15, 2013

The New Girl in Town Talks Travel, With A Pet

Credit Matt DeTurck / Flickr
Don't we all love fresh hotel linens?

If you own a pet chances are you consider them a member of the family. So why wouldn’t you take them on the family vacation? This week contributor Elaine Labalme offers tips on traveling with your pet.

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Essential Pittsburgh
6:20 pm
Tue May 14, 2013

Pittsburgh's Second Bicycling Boom

At the turn of the 20th century, bicycling enthusiast and Pittsburgh native, Frank Lenz was an American celebrity. His two wheeled global journey, and eventual disappearance in Turkey, are chronicled in David V. Herlihy's book The Lost Cyclist. Last year Herlihy came to Pittsburgh and Essential Pittsburgh to celebrate Frank Lenz Day. This year, in observation of Lenz's world tour departure, we look at Pittsburgh's place in cycling history with WESA reporter Margaret Krauss.

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Arts
5:43 pm
Mon May 13, 2013

Film Festival Taps Directors to Build Cultural Ties

One of Pittsburgh’s most popular film festivals opened this weekend and continues through Sunday with the goal of not only entertaining viewers, but also opening the door to a better understanding of Asian cultures.  

The Silk Screen Film Festival defines Asia as stretching from Israel to Japan. Executive Director Harish Saluja said the goal of the organization and all of its events throughout the year is to build cultural bridges between Pittsburgh and that region of the world.

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Art Education
3:30 am
Mon May 13, 2013

Mattress Factory Receives Grant for Educational Outreach

The Mattress Factory, known for its installation art, has received a $100,000 grant from the Benedum Foundation to continue its educational outreach in western Pennsylvania and extend it into West Virginia.  

Felice Cleveland, the museum's director of education, said artists create educational tools called "The Space I'm In" to be used in K-12 classrooms by pairs of teachers: one art teacher paired with a teacher from another subject. Together, they develop a series of inter-disciplinary lessons to present core curriculum to their students.

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Speaking Volumes
3:30 am
Mon May 13, 2013

Jayne Adair Brings the Ruckus

Credit Josh Raulerson / 90.5 WESA
Jayne Adair of Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures recommends books by recent and upcoming speakers.

Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures executive director Jayne Adair's reading list is as rich and varied as her schedule of speakers.

Nathaniel Philbrick, Bunker Hill

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Essential Pittsburgh
7:37 pm
Sun May 12, 2013

Sports Talk with Bob Dvorchak

Credit Sports Illustrated
Sidney Crosby on the current cover of Sports Illustrated

According to urban legend, athletes and teams that appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated have been known to experience a streak of bad luck. So what's in the stars for Penguins Center, Sidney Crosby now that he's on the cover of SI

And the lasting legacy of late Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer Jack Butler is definitely felt by Pittsburgh Post Gazette Sports Writer emeritus, Bob Dvorchak.

"He played in an era when the Steelers did not have a great team. But he helped define that team."

Butler passed away last weekend and was a guest on Essential Pittsburgh before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

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