Festivals

2008

• The Stephen Foster Music + Heritage Festival

  Jul 12

  This festival, dubbed "Doo Dah Days," celebrates the life and music of one the most influential song writers in America's history, Stephen Foster. The festival takes place at Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville and will be bustling with great bands, outdoor pursuits, food vendors, children's crafts and educational tours of Allegheny Cemetery, including Foster's burial site. Admission is free.

  Doo Dah Days website

• Three Rivers Storytelling Festival

  Aug 8-9

  August 8-9 marks a weekend of word play as the Three Rivers Storytellers rev up for their festival. Now free to the public, the festival is rated one of the top 20 regional storytelling festivals in the United States. The festival is held at the Northland Public Library.

  Three Rivers Storytelling Festival website

• Thunder Mountain Lenape Nation Native American Festival

  August 16-17

  Visitors will hear, see and experience traditional drumming, dancing and singing and learn about Indian life. Saltsburg, Indiana County.

  Thunder Mountain Lenape Nation Native American Festival website

• Pittsburgh Irish Festival

  Sep 6-8

  18th Annual celebration takes place at Riverplex at Sandcastle near the Waterfront in West Homestead. The festival has gained recognition as an important presenter of Celtic culture and has become one of the nation's finest Irish-American festivals and certainly the most comprehensive exhibit of Irish music, lore, food and dance in the region.

  Pittsburgh Irish Festival website

• Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival

  Sep 20

  September 20 marks the seventh installation of the Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival. Held at the South Side Riverfront Park, the Dragon Boat Festival is free to the public and provides traditional Chinese and Pan-Asian entertainment, cuisine, crafts and more. Try out your own dragon boating skills or watch the professionals.

  Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival website

• Bloomfield Little Italy Days

  Sep 26-28

  The 7th annual "Little Italy Days" festival is three days of live music and dance, food, games, contests, more food, kid stuff, sidewalk sales and more celebrating Bloomfield's Italian heritage.

  Little Italy Days webpage

• 2008 Festival of Lights

  Oct 4-Nov 30

  The 2008 Festival of Lights will be bigger and better—think music and motion—to salute the region's 250th anniversary. Downtown buildings and major institutions in Oakland will be lit using state-of-the-art technology to project large-scale images.

  In 2008, the lights will come on at the Pittsburgh 250 Festival of Lights in October to salute the arrival of the trailblazers that have made their way to Pittsburgh on the just-completed Great Allegheny Passage into the revitalized Point Start Park. The timing will take advantage of somewhat shorter days—making it possible to experience the lights earlier in the evening—and will coincide with the height of the visual and performimg arts schedule.

  Imagine Pittsburgh website

• Black Sheep Puppet Festival

  Oct 10-28

  The Black Sheep Puppet Festival is celebrating its tenth anniversary this October. Join expert puppeteers as they create stories and adventures, both for adults and for families. Many of the shows and exhibits are free to the public, with some of the adult-themed performances costing a nominal fee. The festival is held at the Brew House on the South Side.

  Brew House website

• Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

  Oct 17-26

  23rd annual event showcasing unique and relevant films. Various theaters, including downtown's Harris Theater.

  Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival website

• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Festival of Firsts

  Oct 9-25

  A project of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts is a multi-week festival featuring extraordinary performances by cutting-edge artists from around the globe staged in the United States for the very first time. Takes place throughout the Cultural District, downtown.

  Pittsburgh Cultural Trust website

• Three Rivers Film Festival

  Nov 7-20

  Oldest and largest film event in Pittsburgh, offers challenging program of independent American and foreign, documentary, animation, avant-garde and narrative short and long-form films.

  Three Rivers Film Festival website

2009

• Jewish-Israeli Film Festival

  Mar 12-29

  Held for three weeks in March and April, the Jewish-Israeli Film Festival brings authentic Israeli movies, customs and cuisine to Pittsburgh. Movies are shown in eight participating theaters throughout Pittsburgh, including SouthSide Works Cinema and The Manor in Squirrel Hill.

  Jewish-Israeli Film Festival webpage

• Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival

  May 8-17

  The Silk Screen Film Festival showcases contemporary Asian and Asian-American films. This multi-day festival celebrates the vast diversity of the Asian creative spirit, and features a Red Carpet Gala, Asian music concerts and discussion sessions with prominent filmmakers and actors.

  Silk Screen Festival website

• Pittsburgh International Children's Festival

  May 13-17

  Now in its 23nd year, the Pittsburgh International Children's Festival will be in Oakland, on the lawns of the University of Pittsburgh campus and Schenley Plaza. Performances will be featured at the Charity Randall Theater, Bellefield Theater and Studio Theater on the University of Pittsburgh campus and Synod Hall, adjacent to St. Paul's Cathedral.

  The Festival grounds, free to the public, will complement the featured performances with hands-on cultural and educational activities, roving artists, booths, and exhibitors. The Target KidStage returns this year as the center of outdoor Festival action. The stage features a lively mixture of professional artists and regional peformance groups.

  Co-presented by Pittsburgh International Children's Theater and CitiParks, the Festival welcomes several Pittsburgh institutions as key collaborators in bringing the Festival to its new home, including the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

  Pittsburgh International Children's Theater website

• 50th Annual Three Rivers Arts Festival

  Jun 5-21

  Kick off summer in the city with 300+ artists in the Artists Market, popular concerts every day and evening, public art and special exhibitions.

Three Rivers Arts Festival website

• UMOJA African Arts in the Park

  Aug 14-15

  UMOJA is dedicated to raising awareness and increasing appreciation of the rich culture of Africa. Their vision is to bridge the gap between generations and cultures by weaving African heritage into "the universal fabric of life." Come and join in the festivities at the UMOJA African Arts in the Park, August 14-15, 2009, in East Liberty-Shadyside.

  UMOJA website