Catch a Campy Musical
Are you a movie buff? A pizza connoisseur? A fan of campy thrillers? If so, there's a performance for you! For over-the-top gore, check out Evil Dead: The Musical. (Beware: if you nab a ticket in the first few rows, you're officially in the "splash zone" and can get splattered with fake blood.) Speed: The Musical promises "everything you love about the 90s classic with a whole lot more singing, dancing, and theatrical chaos." And Slice Something Slice: A Pizza Opera (written by local pizza journalist and friend of the pod Dan Tallarico) invites the audience to participate in the show.
Celebrate 60 Years of the Pens
Time to break out your Sidney Crosby jersey! The Penguins host the Montreal Canadiens for their home opener Oct. 3 at PPG Paints Arena. Get to your seat early for a pregame ceremony to kick off the team’s year-long 60th anniversary, complete with a retro-inspired logo and a ton of… unique… giveaways all season long.
Have a Spooky October
Whether you want a little seasonal atmosphere or to be scared out of your mind, Pittsburgh has lots of options! Here are just a few of them.
- Shop the strange: If your idea of seasonal shopping involves fewer pumpkins and more peculiar finds, head to the Allentown Night Market on Saturday, Oct. 10. The free event features more than 150 offbeat artisans and crafters, plus performers and food vendors. Come for the creepy shopping, stay for the neighborhood’s year-round Halloween energy.
- Explore our haunted history: Get to know the city’s creepy history with a nighttime walking tour through Downtown. Walk the Burgh’s Black & Ghost Tour mixes local history with ghost stories. Echoes from the Iron Forge promises tales of restless hotel guests, prisoners, and legends from the industrial era.
- Check out a local haunt: For the “I paid good money to be terrified” crowd, brave the Crawford School of Terror in Connellsville, where three floors of a former school become a real-life nightmare. Prefer a little less terror? The ScareHouse team’s new Halloween Hangout at The Plaza at North Shore offers movies, food and drinks, family-friendly trick-or-treating, and more. We took an in-depth look at tons of haunted attractions of all different age and scare levels in-and-around Pittsburgh on Wednesday’’s show!
Celebrate Local Poets
Pittsburgh is a great poetry city (“Braiding” is a gorgeous poem that references the 71A bus), and this month features plenty of local authors. On Oct. 15 at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, Sony Ton-Aime will read from his newly published collection Konbit that’s inspired by the Haitian Revolution. And grace (ge) gilbert — Boen’s incredibly talented wife! — will host a multimedia presentation at City of Asylum of their book Holly, accompanied by a live audio soundscape created by Boen. Stop by on Oct. 12 and say hello!
Escape to the Woods
Take advantage of the precious, short-lived fall weather by enjoying the beautiful green spaces within and beyond Pittsburgh. Head down to Duck Hollow on Oct. 17 for a full day of outdoor activities, including hiking through Frick, biking along our expanding (!!) riverfront trails, kayaking around the fountain, and more. Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is also hosting a community bonfire Oct. 17 — they’ll provide the roasting sticks, you bring what you wanna roast. And if you really need to escape, drive about an hour north to Ray of Sunshine, where you can camp or (if you’re not quite as rugged) “glamp” in an on-site cabin.
