Discover a new book about Pittsburgh's underground art scene, go shopping at Handmade Arcade or watch "Die Hard N'at" — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Film
The Backyard Docs Film Festival returns for four days of screenings, workshops and more at multiple sites, all focused on the Rust Belt and Appalachia. The fest, presented by nonprofit news outlet 100 Days in Appalachia, begins Thu., Dec. 5, on Point Park University’s campus, with the feature-length “Union,” about Amazon workers’ historic 2022 organizing drive. Other highlights include the shorts program “Finding Queer Joy,” Dec. 6 at McKees Rocks’ Parkway Theater.
Visual Art
The new book “Pittsburgh’s Avant-Garde: 60 Years Inside The Underground Art Scene” is a massive undertaking by Sheila Ali, of the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination: a survey of generations of visionary art featuring more than 100 artists, collectives, critics, curators and more, from photographer Duane Michals and painter Robert Qualters to sculptor Thad Mosley and multimedia artist vanessa german. Ali also assembled an accompanying gallery exhibit, which opens with a reception Fri., Dec. 6, at the IF Center.
Theater
If the debate lingers whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie, there’s no doubt about "Die Hard N’At," Bricolage Production Company’s new parody of the 1988 Bruce Willis flick. Playwright Gayle Pazerski’s adaptation, at Braddock’s intimate Barebones Black Box, puts a Pittsburgh spin on the action classic. The show revives Bricolage’s popular Midnight Radio format, with sound effects produced live on stage; the cast includes local luminaries Tami Dixon, Wali Jamal, Patrick Jordan, Jason McCune and Sheila McKenna. Performances run Fri., Dec. 6, through Dec. 22.
Dance
One of the region’s most popular holiday productions returns as Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre stages “The Nutcracker." The troupe’s now-traditional staging sets the action in turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh, though of course the dancers still whirl to that famous Tchaikovsky score. Performances at the Benedum Center begin Fri., Dec. 6, and continue through Dec. 27.
Marketplace
The Pittsburgh area’s biggest pop-up holiday shopping event returns as Handmade Arcade stages its 20th annual Holiday Market. On offer at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will be art, clothing, jewelry, housewares, body-care products and much more from 275 artists, craftspeople and other makers, about 100 of whom are new to the market this year. The main event is Sat., Dec. 7, and includes a new sensory-friendly session; the preview party is Friday.
Music
A “jeli” is a traveling musician and storyteller in the oral-history tradition, and Winard Harper and Jeli Posse are a staple on the New York jazz scene. Acclaimed bandleader and composer Harper plays drums and the balafon, and is known for incorporating African sounds into the mix. The group visits the New Hazlett Theater on Sat., Dec. 7, courtesy of Kente Arts Alliance.
