The Green Scene: Stepping Outdoors for Picnics, Pints, Educational Opportunities & Other Summertime Fun

For many, ‘tis the season to get off our screens and soak in the green.

With school out of session and many folks sliding on their “OOO” way more often, it’s a good time to get outdoors and savor the nature in our midst (check out the Pittsburgh Park Conservancy site). There’s plenty to explore, whether you take advantage of all the programming offered by the Frick Environmental Center (free and open to all) and 3 ROC on the East End, or attend a Parks on Tap/Eleventh Hour Brewing collab (Friday July 25, Friday August 29, or Friday September 26). This summertime beer garden series happens outside the Schenley Park Visitors Center from 3 to 9 p.m. on the above dates, and rotating food trucks join in on the fun.

Below, you can follow timely chats we had with folks connected to Grow Pittsburgh and Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens. Among other summer programming, the Mattress Factory’s “$14.99 Friday Night Specials” (July 25, August 15 and September 19) will bring music outside to their garden, with food and drink available for purchase. Phipps takes you indoors — with outdoor vibes — to celebrate all things blooming with its “Summer Flower Show: Jungle Quest,” plus classes touching on culinary and wine-centric topics.

Allegheny RiverTrail Park in Aspinwall hosts all types of alfresco events this season from live music and food trucks to kayak rentals, and you can enjoy river life from atop the water in Leechburg, too, thanks to long-standing companies like The River’s Edge — located about an hour’s drive from downtown. From their small roadside shop, you can load up on supplies and rent innertubes (or other water vessels) before a shuttle van drives you upriver to enjoy a couple-hour float down the Kiskiminetas. While basking in the chance to press “pause” on all life responsibilities, you’ll glide by soothing trees as birds — even the occasional eagle!— swoop overhead. (If looking for a spacious, weather-proof tote for all your picnicking and daytripping needs — we might recommend Portland Gear’s newest release, the Cascade Tote, a sleek yet functional bag that comes in multiple colors and makes life on the go much breezier.)

For a different type of urban outdoor experience this summer, folks with socialized fur-friends can try out a new fenced-in venue in East Liberty — Hound Haus. It’s a combo coffee shop, dog park (with 10,000-plus square feet of play space) and spot to work on one’s laptop or chit chat with new friends over adult beverages. A trained "houndskeeper" supervises the scene if you want to sneak inside to pick up a Commonplace coffee or sandwich/salad from Catapult Culinary. (Membership packages are available as well as day passes; regular coffee patrons can enter for free.)

We caught up with a few other organizations celebrating the Great Outdoors this season, too

LEARNING ALONGSIDE GROW PITTSBURGH
Nonprofit Grow Pittsburgh, as the name suggests, is dedicated to helping people of all ages grow and enjoy fresh, local food. Director of Development and Communications Ryan Walsh says there are so many ways you can get involved in this work — “visiting one of our more than 100 community gardens and school gardens, getting produce at our farm stands, growing food at home, attending a workshop, joining our Garden Resource Center tool library, volunteering at one of their monthly on-farm events or donating to make sure the work continues.”

A highlight for this summer (and their 20th anniversary) includes Grow’s big, annual Garden Get Down, which will take place Tuesday, August 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Grist House. They’ll also host dozens of upcoming workshops on a variety of topics for anyone keen to learn how to grow food or sharpen pre-existing skills.
In these uncertain times, this work feels more important than ever, Walsh says. “Continued increases in the price of food along with anxiety and economic uncertainties this year have led to another surge in people's interest in growing food,” Walsh says, “even greater than we saw in 2020 around the COVID pandemic.”
“There are multiple benefits to gardening,” Walsh continues, “including saving money on groceries, feeling empowered, controlling the quality and source of part of your food supply, connecting with the earth and other people, enjoying therapeutic benefits, establishing pollinator habitat, creating healthy soil and more.” Plus, he adds, gardening provides a tangible project and a sense of calm — which can be especially helpful in uncertain times.

FINDING THE LIGHT AT FRICK PITTSBURGH MUSEUMS & GARDENS
In any season, the East End’s Frick offers plenty of ways to slow one’s heart rate as you wander its verdant property (with plenty of shade for summer!). Simply stroll the tranquil grounds, grab an alfresco snack or lunch at the on-site cafe (we’re especially fond of the seasonal lemonades, vegan soups and crab cake salads), or attend one of the Summer Fridays at the Frick (July 25, August 8 and August 29) — family-friendly gatherings on the lawn that combine free live music, food trucks, artmaking and communal fun.

Now folks can also enter the Frick’s historic greenhouse to explore abstract sculptures by Pittsburgh-based artist Atticus Adams in Catching Sunbeams from the Porch Swing of Wisteria Castle. He’s created works inspired by childhood memories of summers spent in Appalachia, and now dozens of his whimsical, intriguing and sometimes bedazzled works (like those adorned with twinkling light catchers) dangle from the greenhouse ceiling and windows. The exhibition includes never-before-seen works, mostly made with metal mesh and wire, plus a site-specific sculpture inspired by the Frick’s history, collections and founder Helen Clay Frick.

Credit |
The Frick
Credit |
The Frick

For his new sculpture inspired by the Frick’s history and founder, Adams dove headfirst into research. “To get to know Helen better,” he explains, “Dawn agreed to give me a behind-the-scenes tour of Clayton and provided me with a copy of Helen’s unpublished diary. Her schoolroom in the attic and the children’s playrooms were very inspiring. I learned that she loved birds and greatly admired her mother’s beautiful clothing. She cherished her memories and Clayton.” He used these images and feelings about her and the venue to inspire what he created for the installation.

Credit |
The Frick
Credit |
The Frick

Adams explains that when Patrick Fisher of The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council first asked him his idea of the perfect place for this exhibition, he immediately responded, “in an old greenhouse.” “He then connected me with Dawn at the Frick,” Adams continues, “and we were able to coordinate my exhibition.” He deems this truly the ideal setting, and he’s so thankful to the Frick for helping bring his dream to reality.

“The location is my favorite part of the exhibition,” Adams says. “The light, plants, flowers and sculptures together create the exact experience that I imagined. I hope people visiting feel the same way that I do.”

Credit |
The Frick
Credit |
The Frick

Adams reflects that the sculptures moved in the breeze in his studio and captured light, creating wonderful rainbows. “This gave me hope and joy during the COVID lockdown,” he says. “I wanted people seeing the exhibition to feel that same way now.”

His work can be followed on Instagram, Facebook or his website Atticusadams.com.

On Saturday, July 26, Zynka Gallery in Sharpsburg will host an opening for his solo show “my Venetian grotto,” featuring work inspired by springtime in Venice.

(*As a fun tie-in, the Frick Pittsburgh approached Grow Pittsburgh in 2006 to offer the use of their greenhouse, for which the nonprofit now uses the east wing for seedlings and other food production.)

Credit |
The Frick
Credit |
The Frick
Corinne W

Author

Corinne W

Freelance Writer & Editor

Corinne is happy to be back closer to home (D.C.) after 11 years in the glorious Pacific Northwest. Though she cherishes global adventures, she also lives for discovering local gems, from the best spots for coffee, conversation and soul-nourishing music, to water activities and trails on which to walk a loveable little husky. You can follow her on Instagram at @travelcorx

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