Allegheny County Announces Line-Up for 2013 Summer Concert Series

The concert series kicks off on Friday, May 31.

Allegheny County officials have announced the line-up for the 2013 Summer Concert Series.    The Pittsburgh CLO will kick off the concert series on Friday, May 31, with “A Gleeful Evening, Vol. 3” featuring Gene Kelly Award winners at the South Park Amphitheater. Pittsburgh Opera will begin the season on Sunday, June 2 at the Hartwood Acres Park Amphitheater. Summer performances include Grammy Award winners Sarah Watkins, the Yellowjackets and Rickie Lee Jones at Hartwood Acres, as well as Grammy Award nominees Monty Alexander, Sixpence None the Richer and James Hunter at South Park. The concert series will come to an end on Sept. 1 with the Allegheny County Music Festival featuring Rusted Root and special guest Joel Plaskett at Hartwood …

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Patch Poll: Should Allegheny County End Celebration of Lights at Hartwood?

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald says Allegheny County cannot afford the annual light show due to costs and a lack of sponsors. Should the holiday-themed show go on anyway?

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced Monday that the county will discontinue the annual holiday-themed Celebration of Lights at Hartwood Acres Park due to high costs and declining sponsorships. The county-owned park spanning property in Hampton and Indiana townships has been the longtime site and the county Department of Parks and Recreation has overseen the annual three-mile driving tour of displays depicting Christmas, Hanukkah and winter themes. Contributions from visitors have been earmarked for Project Bundle-up, a project by WTAE and the Salvation Army to outfit needy children and senior citizens with coats and cold-weather gear. In past years, the Celebration of Lights has been known to generate long lines of traffic…

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Josh Meeder

8:47 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012

This is a great arguement for the need for sustainability and fiscal accountability in projects and local government. This festival is an extravagant waste of electricity and auto emissions ( as most cars slowly idle through the course). While the community gets some notoriety , the is no lasting encomonic impact, especially to the local small businesses. People come, drive through, and leave. …   more ›

Performer Helps Young Musicians Through Education, Fundraising

Liz Berlin, performing with Rusted Root, is among the those who will take the stage Sunday at the 2012 Allegheny County Music Festival.

The music business is nothing but glitz, glamor and glory. Sure, it might look that way to aspiring performers. But they're in for plenty of peaks and valleys, lots of hard work and the strong possibility of not exactly making it big. One Pittsburgh musician who's gained an international following is happy to pass along her perspective. Liz Berlin, singer and percussionist for the Platinum Award-winning rock band Rusted Root, has just completed her 10th Real.Life.Music Camp, in which she and other industry professionals help prepare youngsters for the challenges they're bound to face. "I feel like I've been through a lot in my career, and I'd like to share the reality of what it means to be in the music business," says Liz. "We take them …

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Day Tripper

Day Tripper Discovers the Details Behind the Decorations at Hartwood Acres Mansion

Holiday embellishments and candlelight tours mark the holiday season at the historic mansion.

The holidays bring a variety of seasonal activities, and one of my favorite holiday traditions is visiting the Hartwood Mansion at Hartwood Acres. Every year, volunteers decorate the mansion for the holiday season. A few weeks ago, I had a sneak preview of this year’s adornments. It is a must visit for history lovers as well as for those who enjoy the holidays. Hartwood Acres, which is in Indiana and Hampton townships, is part of the Allegheny County Park system. The mansion was once home to John and Mary Flinn Lawrence. Mary was the daughter of William Flinn, a Pittsburgh construction baron in the late 1800s. Even without the holiday ornamentation, the mansion is beautiful. The Lawrences commissioned architect Alfred Hopkins to …

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Hartwood Acres to Welcome Holiday Season With a 'Walk Through the Lights'

The seventh-annual event allows people to walk through the park and enjoy its celebration of lights.

The Allegheny County Parks Department will play host to "Walk through the Lights," where visitors can experience Hartwood Acres' famous UPMC Celebration of Lights up close and beautiful. The park is in Allison Park. The event will be on Wednesday. Free glow sticks and jingle bells will be provided tor all participants. Refreshments will be available along the way.  The path is a 3.2 mile loop with several short-cuts built in that reduce the distance to as little as 2.5 miles. There is no set start time, and the path will be closed to vehicles for the event. Parking will be available at the Hampton Municipal Parking Lots at 3101 McCully Road in Allison Park. Shuttles will transport attendees about every two minutes from 5 to 9 p.m. The last…

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"Paws for the Cure" Benefit Takes Place Oct. 2 at Hartwood Acres

Registration is $25 for adults and $15 for children 17 and younger, and includes a Paws for the Cure T-shirt.

A Paws for the Cure benefit to kick off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Pittsburgh will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at Hartwood Acres in Allison Park.  Led by WTAE-TV’s Sally Wiggin and Shelley Duffy of STAR 100.7 FM, the event for pups and their people is being hosted by the the Pittsburgh affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Participants — with or without dogs — can stroll a one-mile or nearly two-mile course through scenic Hartwood Acres, shop at vendor and sponsor tents, and try their pets’ luck at contests and games. Entertainment will include music by local artist Sydney Hutchko, raffles and agility demonstrations. Registration for Paws for the Cure is $25 for adults and $15 for children 17 and younger, and …

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