Enjoy the Boyce Meadow in panoramic view!
Indian Hill in Boyce Park is alive with the sounds of bees and birds and the blooms of several native wildflowers, including Coreopsis, Brown-eyed and Black-eyed Susans.
Check below for a story about our partnership with some very special Allegheny County Master Gardeners and how it can benefit YOU!
Photo courtesy of Braden Meiter, Lead Supervisory Park Ranger
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LUCIE ARNAZ IN CONCERT!
SATURDAY, AUG 25
ON THE LAWN OF
HARTWOOD ACRES MANSION
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!
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There is no aspect of the big, wonderful world of show business that Lucie Arnaz has not conquered and we’re delighted to announce that she is bringing a curated array of songs and her engaging storytelling to the 2018 TWILIGHT PICNIC FOR THE PARKS, the signature fundraiser for the ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS FOUNDATION.
Arnaz was born to entertain – the daughter of comedienne/actress Lucille Ball and singer/bandleader Desi Arnaz, she grew up in the midst of iconic talent. Her repertoire draws from her wide ranging experiences and influences, including her father’s Latin roots, which she explores in her latest stage show. She also brings tunes from the Great American Songbook and jazz favorites.
She’s bringing her musical artistry, dramatic Broadway flair and engaging warmth to TWILIGHT PICNIC FOR THE PARKS, celebrating and promoting the work of the ACPF. She might even share thoughts about a new project she announced this spring. She is serving as executive producer to award-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin on a biopic of the behind the scenes drama of the beloved
I Love Lucy
show. Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett is signed to play Lucille Ball.
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Lucie Arnaz
Photo by Michael Childers
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Sponsors to date include:
For further information on corporate sponsorships or to serve on the Host Committee, contact Barbara Brewton at 724-327-7627 or bbrewton@acparksfoundation.org
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Scenes from our Twilight Picnic Host Committee Reception
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Scott Westwood, pictured with Susan DeSimone, opened his lovely historic home and garden to our patrons for a cocktail reception recently on a perfect summer evening. The guests in attendance are serving on the Host Committee for ACPF's signature fundraiser, Twilight Picnic For The Parks. They learned about projects the Foundation has completed and new projects that will be funded by events such as these while enjoying a delicious appetizer buffet prepared by Black Radish.
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Neil Parham, Alex Scott, Craig Sorg, Sarah Sorg, Cris Scott. The Scotts are Host Committee Co-Chairs
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Brigetta Del Re, Bonnie Brimmeier, Host Committee Co-Chair Ruthann Omer
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Executive Director Caren Glotfelty, Board Members Pat Getty and Maris Bondi, and Robert Dauer. Bondi and Dauer are Event Co-Chairs
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POUR AT THE PARK
NORTH PARK
FRIDAY, SEPT 7
5:30 TO 8:30 PM
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!
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Get on board for our THIRD ANNUAL POUR AT THE PARK in North Park!
Each ticket purchase qualifies for our TICKET TUESDAY drawing of a four-pack of single use pool passes! See the lucky winners of the full season pool pass below!
We offer several ticket options, but the first 500 guests to buy $55 tickets get our exclusive STAINLESS STEEL TASTING CUP!!
Cool craft brews from around the region and scrumptious bites from local restaurants. One price covers it all! LIVE music too!
Click on the POUR logo above to visit our event site, and stay current on our beers and bites vendors by checking us out on
Facebook
and
Twitter
! New ones added frequently!
Welcome and thanks to our newest TASTING CUP sponsor:
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MEET THE POOL PASS WINNERS!!
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The Gronsky family of McCandless bought their POUR AT THE PARK tickets early enough to be entered into a drawing for a seasonal pool pass to any Allegheny County Pool!! They won!
Pictured are Adam, Nicki, Chase, 7 and Hayden, 6. They are all coming to our family and pet-friendly POUR, and they're also bringing along their dog, Jewel!
There's still time to win pool passes! We're drawing a name every Tuesday to win a pack of four single-use tickets. Buy your tickets early! There's still plenty of pool time ahead!
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County Executive Rich Fitzgerald visits the Boyce Meadow
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County Executive Rich Fitzgerald chose a beautiful day to visit the Boyce Meadow. He was invited to take a photo with a group of friends who all live in our region but were originally from Indonesia. They found a cool spot of shade to enjoy a picnic.
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The Allegheny County Parks Foundation has been delighted by the public's response to the Boyce Park Meadow! We planted it last year in the section known as Indian Hill in partnership with Allegheny County Parks and have been thrilled by its beauty and encouraged by the reaction of park visitors, some curious about how they can grow native flowers in their own backyard.
The Wild Garden Project of the Allegheny County Master Gardeners created a brochure with resources to help homeowners get started. It’s available for download
HERE
!
“We saw the Boyce Meadow project as a fabulous opportunity for Master Gardeners to learn about a different way to think about gardening. And we decided to focus on the homeowners: how do you distill that down to somebody’s backyard?” said Joanne VanLinden, who is coordinating the group’s public education effort with ACPF.
Last month, the Master Gardeners previewed for the Park Rangers the Powerpoint they developed on growing a backyard meadow. It was an opportunity for the Rangers to share questions they’ve been asked by park visitors and for seasonal Rangers to learn the fundamentals of meadows.
The recommendation to plant the meadow came from the Boyce Park Ecological Assessment. A copy can be seen
HERE.
Following the recommendations of a similar assessment, a meadow will be planted in South Park this summer.
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Allegheny County Park Rangers listen as Penn State Master Gardener-in-Training Jordana Stevens runs through the Powerpoint presentation.
Debi Fasiska also helped in the presentation.
Photo courtesy of Elise Cupps, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Allegheny County Rangers.
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Join the Chimney Swift Count Brigade!
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Looking for a fun project to keep the kids – or yourself! – engaged with science over the summer? Help us monitor the Chimney Swift Habitat Towers!
It only takes 15 minutes to watch whether Chimney Swift birds have inhabited a tower. Since this is their breeding season, there’s a good chance they could be spotted venturing in and out of the 100 towers dispersed throughout our nine Allegheny County Parks.
“If they are nesting, they will go in and out of the tower all day to feed themselves or their baby birds,” said Sarah Koenig, Conservation Director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
It’s very easy. Visit your favorite County Park and select a tower. “Just hang out for 15 minutes. You’ll note the ID number, which will be on a green card mounted on the structure, the time of day and any swift activity either in or near the tower. If you don’t see anything, that’s good data, too,” she said.
You can print out a monitoring slip before you go by clicking
HERE
! But everything you’ll need is on informational posters on the towers, so no pre-planning is necessary.
Koenig said monitors have checked in from North Park, Deer Lakes and Harrison Hills so she’s hoping to hear from visitors in the other six parks. ASWP started monitoring last year and have had 240 submissions. They are hoping to boost that to 1,000.
“We have the largest chimney tower program in the entire country,” she said. The 100 towers were installed in 2016-17 through a partnership between ASWP and ACPF.
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Look for these flyers on the Chimney Swift Habitat Towers.
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There are 100 Chimney Swift Habitat Towers in the 9 Allegheny County Parks.
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South Park Green Parking Solution RFP Announcement
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The Allegheny County Parks Foundation has advertised an RFP for design work for a "green" parking lot in South Park. The lot is adjacent to the South Park Fairgrounds Oval at the corner of Brownsville Road and Corrigan Drive. Check out the details
HERE
.
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Allegheny County Parks Foundation Executive Director Caren Glotfelty, pictured in top right corner, was the keynote speaker at a Society of Women Environmental Professionals (SWEP) networking event at the Rose Barn in North Park recently. The presentation followed a question and answer format, featuring Darla Cravotta, SWEP member and Allegheny County Executive's Manager of Special Projects, pictured left of Glotfelty. To read a full recap of the program, click
HERE
!
Photo by SWEP - Three Rivers Chapter
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ACPF Executive Director Caren Glotfelty and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy President and CEO Jayne Miller recently addressed the Women's Leadership Initiative of Urban Land Institute of Pittsburgh. The parks executives discussed their leadership styles, challenges facing the county and city parks systems and the abundance of open spaces available to residents in our region.
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