Enjoy the Schenley Park Ice Rink, check out a Studio Ghibli film or visit the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden's "Dazzling Lights" — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Outdoors
With temperatures set to drop this holiday weekend, it’s good to know the region’s outdoor ice rinks are open for business. Most notable is the Schenley Park Ice Skating Rink, which returned this month after missing last winter due to repairs. The Rink at PPG Place opened its gates last week, as did Allegheny County’s South Park Ice Rink. And the county’s North Park rink held its first public skate of the season just this week.
Film
Fans of Hayao Miyazaki get seven days to themselves at Lawrenceville’s Row House Cinema. Studio Ghibli Week features four of the Japanese master’s otherworldly animated features, from 1984’s “Nausicaä Valley of the Wind” to last year’s “The Boy and the Heron.” Others getting near-daily showings are the classics “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Spirited Away.” Screenings are Fri., Nov. 29, through Thu., Dec. 5.
Display
Light displays are the order of the season. Pittsburgh Botanic Garden’s is called Dazzling Lights, and it features hundreds of thousands of lights adorning trees along the walking paths, including a 70-foot tunnel of lights, a forest of lights that dance to music, and a meadow full of red and white neon. The seasonal attraction in Oakdale opens Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 31.
Film
A program of short films that use archival material to question “the inherent authority of institutions and museum collections” marks the finale of this year’s Carnegie Museum of Art film series. The films from around the world include Suneil Sanzgiri’s “Golden Jubilee,” in which the filmmaker’s father navigates “a virtual rendering of their ancestral home in Goa, India, created using the same technologies of surveillance” that mining companies used there. The hour-long Sat., Nov. 30, matinee, titled “[...],” was curated by Astria Suparak.
Music
Two of Pittsburgh’s favorite sons get their annual celebration at Kelly Strayhorn Theater. This year’s “Suite Life” honors the legacies of its namesakes, pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn and dancer, actor and choreographer Gene Kelly, with a Latin-percussion twist. Musical director Hugo Cruz leads a five-piece band fronted by vocalist Chantal Joseph. The Sat., Nov. 30, show includes the option for a VIP reception.
Theater
The “Pride and Prejudice” theatrical universe continues to expand with “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley.” City Theatre stages the local premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s acclaimed comedic companion to last season’s “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.” “Wickhams” takes place simultaneously with the earlier play, amongst the house staff downstairs. Preview performances begin Sat., Nov. 30, with opening night set for Dec. 6.
