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Find something unique at "A Fair in the Park," check out the Pittsburgh Irish Festival or experience one of the city's many cultural activities through RAD Summer Staycation — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Words
“They say I have attachment disorder / from years in the orphanage — I say / I’m attached to dirt: to the grit / of stones, pulverized metal from / the slag heap, I learned touch / from air, I fashioned love from / strangers.” In her new collection, “Dragstripping,” acclaimed Pittsburgh poet Jan Beatty digs deep into gender roles, childhood, violence, human bodies, road trips and the vast mystery of the American West. On Thu., Sept. 5, Beatty reads with presidential-inaugural poet Richard Blanco at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, courtesy of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures.
Marketplace
One of Pittsburgh’s more venerable seasonal artists markets returns for its 55th year. A Fair in the Park gathers 100 fine artisans and craftspeople from Pittsburgh and around the country in Mellon Park for the weekend. Live music, food trucks and a kids’ scavenger hunt complement the goods for sale in glass, ceramics, fiber, mixed media, jewelry and more. The Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh festival runs Fri., Sept. 6, through Sun., Sept. 8.
Festival
The 33rd annual Pittsburgh Irish Festival returns to the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The three-day fest includes live music and dance, a marketplace, children’s activities, cultural demonstrations, food and drink and even virtual-reality tours of the Emerald Isle. It runs Fri., Sept. 6, through Sun., Sept. 8.
Free admissions
A month’s worth of free admission is the draw of RAD Days, the Allegheny Regional Asset District’s annual thank-you to the taxpayers who support the local amenities it funds. While admission to some RAD-backed assets is free year-round, the slate of RAD Days activities ranges from dek-hockey clinics, film screenings, artmaking and live music to theater tickets and admission to the Children’s Museum. A full schedule is here — and many other local attractions continue to offer free admission to library-card holders through September via the RAD Summer Staycation program.
Opera
Francesco Cilea’s 1902 opera “Adriana Lecouvreur” is regularly staged around the world, and has attracted superstars from Placido Domingo to Joan Sutherland. But it’s never been performed in Pittsburgh. This week, the tragic opera based on the life of a famed 18th-century French actress gets its long-overdue debut here courtesy of Pittsburgh Festival Opera. This concert-style performance, with a full orchestra but minimal staging, features soprano Csilla Boross, tenor Victor Starksy, and PFO artistic director Marianne Cornetti, who’s sung her role internationally. The show is Sun., Sept. 8, at Carnegie Music Hall.
Stage
Pittsburgh Public Theater opens its season with acclaimed playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2022 adaptation of “Dial M for Murder,” a classic play made doubly famous as a Hitchcock film. The story’s set in 1957, amidst a woman’s secret love affair, a jealous husband and a plot gone awry. The first performance at the O’Reilly Theater is Wed., Sept. 11, and the show continues through Sept. 29.
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