Saturday, October 9, 2021
A gesture of community on the Great Allegheny Passage. Image by Amy Camp.
Festivals, Trails, and More Fall Programs

Autumn is arguably the best season in southwestern Pennyslvania. Fall festivals abound—this weekend alone you could visit Fort Ligonier Days, the Bedford Fall Foilage Festival, or the Autumn Leaf Festival in Clairon, PA.

But don't let your exploration be limited by special dates. Just a few weeks ago, four new culinary trails were launched that provide a map to travel Pennsylvania anytime, offering destinations that please the palate while providing context for our region's culinary heritage. This week's article Picked, Baked, Chopped, and Pickled—Four New Culinary Trails is your guide to get started!

Now, if bike trails are more your thing, you likely already know about the charms of our region's trail towns and the joy of discovering something special in them—events like this vintage bike exhibit that's in Connellsville through October 17.

That said, you might not realize that many of our region's trail towns actually helped to shape the concept of what a trail town is. Join thought leader and author Amy Camp to learn more about healthy practices for trail towns during our upcoming book talk and community conversation with her and other trail town advocates.

Looking ahead, there is also plenty more to do with Rivers of Steel in the coming weeks, including a Graffiti and Style-Writing Workshop, an Aluminum Casting Session, a Photo Safari, and the Doodle Bowl Experience—not to mention the new Kathleen Ferri exhibition, Industrial Tours of Carrie, the Hardest Working River Tour on Explorer, and the final weekend of the Carrie Carpool Cinema, featuring classic horror films.

Make the most of it and enjoy all that autumn has to offer!
FEATURED STORY
Picked, Baked, Chopped and Pickled—Four New Culinary Trails
Cynthia Caul, program manager for Chatham University's Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation dishes about four new culinary trails they created that highlight foodways traditions in southwestern Pennsylvania and throughout the Commonwealth. 
Amy Camp, author of Deciding on Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns
FEATURED PROGRAM
Talking Trails: A Book Talk and Community Conversation
Thursday, October 28, 6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Join Rivers of Steel, author Amy Camp, and a panel of trail and community advocates for a conversation about how communities can connect to and benefit from trails.
ART EXHIBITION
Memory Scenes: A Kathleen Ferri Retrospective
Temporary Exhibition—October 8, 2021 through February 27, 2022
See the Mon Valley as few have in this career retrospective, presented by Rivers of Steel and augmented with archival artifacts from the organization’s collections. Stop by to see the exhibition, attend a curator talk, or sign up for a drawing workshop.
PROGRAM
Graffiti and Style-Writing Workshop
Saturday, October 16, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Learn about the graffiti artworks at the Carrie Blast Furnaces, and then create your own graffiti-style masterpiece! This workshop introduces participants to graffiti-style mural painting, style-writing techniques, and painting with aerosol.
PROGRAM
Aluminum Casting Session
Monday, October 18, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
The Aluminum Casting Session is a great way to try something new! Take a class with a friend—create a special gift or unique piece of art. Join us to explore the metal casting process and learn how to create a unique pattern from everyday materials!
SEASONAL TOUR
The Hardest Working River Tour
Sundays, October 24 & 31
Join Rivers of Steel for a journey up the Monongahela River on the Explorer riverboat. Once known as the “Hardest Working River in the World,” the Mon was responsible for much of Pittsburgh’s early commercial and industrial success, even centuries before it earned that moniker.
Doodle your own bowl—and bring your own beverage. This workshop adds a Pittsburgh grit to the "sip and paint" concept.
PROGRAM
The Doodle Bowl Experience
Monday, October 25, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Join the metal artists at Rivers of Steel for this in-demand workshop. Located in the Power House of the Carrie Blast Furnaces, this event allows for a social experience, with enough physical distancing to keep you comfortable. No experience is needed—just bring your creativity, a friend, and your own beverage!
DRIVE-IN MOVIES
Classic Horror Films—Carrie Carpool Cinema
October 29 & 30, 2021
Join us for screenings of Bride of Frankenstein and The Thing during the last two Carrie Carpool Cinema events of the season.
Help preserve our region’s industrial and cultural heritage! Your tax-deductible contribution will help ensure that Rivers of Steel can continue to offer vital, engaging, community-based arts, education, and heritage programs for the residents of southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.