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Into the dungeon
Jenn Taiga talks swords, sadomasochism, and synthesizers ahead of new album and tour
BY: COLIN WILLIAMS
20 25 Summer Events
PHOTO: RYAN
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SANDCASTLE WATER PARK CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ZILLOW
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Synth musician Jenn Taiga
INTO THE DUNGEON WITH JENN TAIGA
The dungeon synth artist talks swords, sadomasochism, and synthesizers ahead of new album and tour
BY: COLIN WILLIAMS // CWILLIAMS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Imagine a dungeon: rough-hewn stone walls, distant dripping and dank smells, skeletons moldering in irons. Rats creep along slimy floors. Monsters lurk in the corners. How would you soundtrack that journey into darkness?
It’s a question artists such as Jenn Taiga have sought to explore in the small but flourishing dungeon synth scene. As the name implies, the genre uses synthesized sounds to create a grim atmosphere. Many artists draw on influences ranging from video and tabletop games to the grim, frostbitten textures of early Norwegian black metal records. In Taiga’s case, her music draws on classical training, BDSM, and mental illness to conjure a powerful sense of foreboding.
“HOW I APPROACH THE PERFORMANCE OF LIVE MUSIC AND HOW I PRACTICE SADOMASOCHISM ARE VERY SIMILAR.”
Taiga now lives in Greater Pittsburgh. I meet her over tea after work to discuss the genre and her forthcoming album Sanguine Descent, due out in July via Fiadh Productions. The name proves surprisingly literal — Taiga has previously incorporated real blood into her live performances.
“For some of my more special shows, I will either drink my blood or drink the blood of one of my partners,” Taiga tells Pittsburgh City Paper . “So I very much put that sort of thing on definite physical display for a while.”
Taiga began playing classical piano at age seven and later enrolled in a performing arts school, where a music teacher introduced her to prog rock. “That’s where I discovered synthesizers. I was like, holy shit, this is cool, and it was kind of downhill from there,” she jokes.
In her early 20s, after trying and failing to form a prog band, Taiga decided to go solo. “I wanted to do a Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze type of deal, but with Dungeons & Dragons instead of space and cosmos,” she says. At one point, a friend sent Taiga a grainy video of Massachusetts dungeon synth act Sombre Arcane. The artists got in touch, and Taiga was hooked.
“Mind you, my musical stuff has evolved a lot since then, and I no longer do the wizard cosplay, but at the time, that’s where it sort of clicked in,” Taiga says.
Taiga uses layers of analog synthesizer to create her pieces, a process that involves manually modulating sounds — in other words, this is hardly “computer music” and is all played in real time live. She takes a beat to recall just how many synths she owns. The collection includes a Moog and a Korg Prologue. Taiga uses different synthesizers alone or in combination to create ambience or simulate string or bell sounds.
Beyond evoking moldering halls and rusted iron, Taiga has used
INTO THE DUNGEON WITH JENN TAIGA, CONTINUES ON PG. 8
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
Jenn Taiga
those fine-tuned sounds to paint a picture of personal struggle. Much of her music is about suicidal ideation and sadomasochism. Mental illness played a prominent role in the songwriting of Sanguiene Descent
“One of the big themes of the album, at least from a metatextual perspective, is feeling both physical and emotional descent,” she says. “It is, in a sense, an allegory for the cycles that a person goes through while they’re dealing with suicidal ideation.”
Taiga is trans and has been recording dungeon synth for about a decade, concurrent with her deepening understanding of her gender identity. Alongside fellow dungeon synth artist Vaelastrasz and black metal acts including Pittsburgh-based Genital Shame, she’s one of a growing number of LGBTQ artists pushing the frontiers of extreme and experimental music, and she’s done so by leveraging the personal and social challenges of navigating the world as a neurodivergent and gender-nonconforming person.
What that translates to, musically, is a carefully constructed sense of dread and yearning that’s reflected across Sanguine Descent’s four tracks. The “descent” moniker is apt: while opener “Folly of Triumph” contains some hopeful modulations, each subsequent song unfolds with more dolorous tones toward the ominous, bassy closer, “A Last Kiss Wounds Deeper Than a Blade.” The pianospangled conclusion strikes a beautiful balance between wistfulness and morbidity.
This, says Fiadh Productions owner and founder Bariann Tuite, made it a natural fit for the eclectic antifascist label. “This release encompasses the dark romanticism I often associate with her sound and live performances,” Tuite tells City Paper via email. “ Sanguine Descent not only captures the positive aspects of ‘traditional’ art, but carries over the very human quest to love and be loved, and our willingness to bleed for it.”
Taiga’s willingness to bleed has extended, as mentioned, to select live performances. Her arrival in Pittsburgh last year followed a personal rough patch and abortive move to Philly, and Taiga channeled those negative emotions into a “stark,” holistic live show.
“The last large tour I went on in 2023, I did consistently flog myself during my sets, increasing the number [of
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CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Jenn Taiga shows off her blade.
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Dungeon synth musician Jenn Taiga poses for a portrait on June 12, 2025.
flagellations] after every show. And I also made sure that I was underfed for eight hours before a performance,” she says. “How I approach the performance of live music and how I practice sadomasochism are very similar, and so I think, from an approach standpoint, it only makes sense that they’re going to intersect, and they are going to strike.”
As we discuss the role of weapons in her live performances, Taiga draws a sharp knife from a sheath at her hip. Dungeon synth’s adjacency to black metal means there are also “shitheads” in the crowd sometimes, she notes.
“When I am out performing, I’m a very visibly trans person, and it’s important for me to try to make my spaces as safe as I can,” she says. “And so part of the reason why I avoid more theatrical crop weapons and instead choose to use real live ones is kind of as a challenge. I’m not toothless.”
Pittsburghers and dungeon synth fans will soon have the chance to descend into Taiga’s musical world. Sanguine Descent releases July 4, and Taiga will be playing with Hillsfar, Phranick, and Mithra at a dungeon synth barbecue that same day. The show won't focus on physical pain, but for those seeking a solemn, richly patterned exploration of inner turmoil — or a perfect soundtrack to your Curse of Strahd campaign — the genre is as vital as it’s ever been, and Taiga is as real as it gets.
“You’ve got a lot of dungeon synth artists being like, ‘Oh, I’m so raw and vampiric and such.’ They get really prudish when you have a gay person actually drinking blood [on stage]. And so part of the reason why I will do that is to kind of come up to these people, who usually are also bigoted, and say, ‘Yeah? Fucking bet.’” •
If you or a loved one is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call or text 988 now, or visit preventsuicidepa.org for local resources.
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Dungeon synth musician Jenn Taiga poses for a portrait on June 12, 2025.
PITTSBURGH’S STONEWALL
A 1988 raid on the Travelers Social Club proved to be a decisive moment in Pittsburgh civil rights history
BY: DAVID S. ROTENSTEIN // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
Shortly after the May 2 Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) raid of P-Town, a Baum Boulevard LGBTQ nightclub, statements and news accounts compared the episode to the 1968 raid of New York City’s Stonewall Inn. The historic Stonewall raid sparked protests that marked a turning point in the push for queer civil rights nationwide.
Twenty years after the Stonewall raid, Pittsburgh had its own Stonewall moment
when multiple law enforcement agencies raided the Travelers Social Club in Larimer on Feb. 14, 1988.
Dubbed the “Valentine’s Day Massacre” by members of Pittsburgh’s queer communities, the Travelers raid proved to be one of the most one of the most important chapters in modern Pittsburgh civil rights history.
“It was not so long ago that police raids on gay bars were routine,” Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement three days after the
P-Town raid. “It was one such raid, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, that sparked the modern movement to establish safe places for people to be open about their gender and sexuality without fear of arrest.”
The Travelers raid sparked protests at the City-County Building and an immediate change to Pittsburgh’s civil rights law, making gays and lesbians protected classes alongside race, religion, and ethnicity.
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
The former site of the Traveler's Social Club at 6525 Hamilton Ave
A SAFE PLACE
Five men founded the Travelers Social Club in 1967. It was one of several LGBTQ nightclubs owned and operated by Robert “Lucky” Johns, a Korean War veteran who grew up on the North Side, Johns learned the hospitality business in the 1950s working in clubs owned by local racketeers, according to research by Pittsburgh Queer History Project founder Harrison Apple.
Johns and his partners, some of them married men with suburban homes and living closeted lives, had opened several bars after buying the charters of defunct social clubs founded decades earlier. Some of these clubs included the Transportation Club of Pittsburgh (founded 1949) and the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Association (founded in the 1890s), which Lucky changed into the House of Tilden in the 1960s, says Apple, Johns’s biographer.
Travelers was a special club. “It was a place where gays, especially … gays in some kind of political power or medicine or law or whatever, could go and feel comfortable that … they’re not going to get outed,” says Michael Rosenfield, one of the attorneys who represented Travelers in a federal civil rights lawsuit after the raid.
Johns’ clubs were mobile, renting older buildings and converting them into places where queer people could socialize, dance, and drink safe from surveillance and harassment. Eventually, complaints by neighbors and law enforcement raids, mainly for serving alcohol to non-members, would force the clubs to move.
In 1983, Travelers found a new home in Larimer. A club member bought the building at 6525 Hamilton Ave., owned since 1963 by the Spigno-Saturnia Italo-American Society. The Spigno club had been on Hamilton Avenue since the 1940s in one of Pittsburgh’s earliest Little Italys. Before the Spigno club moved in, the building had been one of the last slaughterhouses in one of Pittsburgh’s earliest meatpacking districts.
Demographic changes and urban renewal propelled many Italians in Larimer and East Liberty to move to Penn Hills and other Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including Stanton Heights and Morningside.
Joey Musico, one of Johns’ employees, knew that the Spigno society was looking for a new home. “He knew this place. I guess his uncle was part of that social club and said it was used for weddings and poker games, and they were moving to Morningside,” Apple tells Pittsburgh City Paper . “The reason that they ended up there as Travelers was because they really couldn’t find anything else they could afford.”
Current Spigno society leaders don’t know if their predecessors were aware that their old clubhouse would become a gay bar. Spigno society treasurer Chris Pirollo, whose family has been part of the club since its founding in 1927, wasn’t surprised.
City Paper interviewed Pirollo last year for a feature on the city’s ethnic social clubs. “Your article made the point that the gay community established these types of clubs here in order to have a place to go without the scrutiny or without the discrimination right to them,” Pirollo says. “I guess our club was one of those — our former club became one of those types of safe havens.”
RAIDED BY “RAMBO”
But Travelers wasn’t as safe as its founders had hoped. Raids on Travelers began within two years of the club opening. In 1983 and 1984, agents from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) raided Travelers five times. They seized the club’s books and abused club officers and members.
In September 1984, Travelers sued the PLCB and several of its agents for selective prosecution and harassment. The 1984 case was working its way through the Commonwealth courts when, on Feb. 14, 1988, PLCB agents, along with fire department officials and Pittsburgh police officers, burst into Travelers and forced everyone out into the freezing predawn weather.
“IT WAS A PLACE WHERE GAYS IN SOME KIND OF POLITICAL POWER OR MEDICINE OR LAW COULD GO AND FEEL COMFORTABLE.”
The law enforcement officers swept through the club, attacking members and hurling anti-gay slurs. Three club members required hospitalization, and four men were arrested on charges of simple assault, resisting arrest, and obstructing the administration of the law.
Attorney Jon Pushinsky recalls representing them and, with his partner Rosenfield, filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the PLCB, the City of Pittsburgh, and individual officers of PLCB; the Pittsburgh Bureaus of Police and Fire; and Pennsylvania State Police. One official involved in the raid, Pittsburgh Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Mellot, had already gotten a reputation citywide. “We had a fire chief in the city at the time who didn’t last very long, who liked to walk around in fatigues,”
Pushinsky remembers. “I heard this fire chief was telling the officers what they could do. And they were all kind of like, ‘Who is this guy and why should we listen to him?’”
Mellot abruptly resigned six months after the raid. Melott “earned the nickname ‘Rambo’ for wearing Army fatigues and a gun at arson scenes,” the Pittsburgh Press reported in 1989. Mellot told reporters at the time that he had resigned because Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Caliguiri died in May 1988.
Persad Center founder Randy Forrester asked Rosenfield to take the case. It was a nobrainer for Pushinsky and Rosenfield, who shared an office on the 18th floor of the Law & Finance building downtown. Rosenfield now lives in Albuquerque, N.M., and Pushinsky still has a practice, now on the 14 th floor, in the same building.
Pushinsky remembers the criminal charges being dispensed with quickly. “I don’t remember going past the magistrate’s proceeding,” he tells CP. The arrested men pleaded no contest to the charges and received sentences of a day in jail and a $100 fine.
Pushinsky didn’t recall much from the criminal cases, except one hearing where
a witness testified that he was positive that an officer he had just identified was the one who had beaten him in the raid. “He had such a cute ass,” the attorney remembers the witness testifying about how he positively identified the cop.
A MORAL VICTORY
Response to the raid was swift. LGBTQ rights organizations mobilized supporters to sign a petition demanding an investigation and to attend a protest at the City-County Building. Video from the protest is archived by the Pittsburgh Queer History Project.
Both of the lawyers representing Travelers were new to LGBTQ issues. “We had a lot of experience representing predominantly Black people in civil rights actions,” says Rosenfield. “There may have been a Muslim or two or something like that, but civil rights were civil rights.”
The attorneys spent a lot of time speaking with Johns, learning about the gay communities and the ways Pittsburgh’s queer men and women navigated a city with hostility towards them. They experienced some of it themselves
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Former location of Travelers Social Club
after taking the case.
“Occasionally somebody would say, ‘Oh, you represent those queers’ or whatever,” Rosenfield recalls. “We could very easily say, well, those people are no better and no worse than anybody else.”
Of the charges listed in the federal complaint — unreasonable search, violation of the right to freely associate, conspiracy to violate civil rights, violation of privacy, violation of due process rights, and equal protection of the law — “I threw the kitchen sink,” says Pushinsky. “The whole thing was offensive. It seemed to us that the raid was designed to intimidate the gay community.”
Pushinsky and Rosenfield didn’t take the case to get rich. But still, someone had to foot the bill for suing multiple law enforcement agencies and their leadership, the City of Pittsburgh, and the PLCB.
“They did a fundraiser for us at the Pegasus club, down on Liberty Avenue downtown,” says Rosenfield. “It was a drag show.” The lawyers and their wives had front row seats.
“I don’t remember if they raised a lot of money.
They raised some money,” Pushinsky recalls.
Travelers and their attorneys got lucky, sort of, by drawing District Judge Gustave Diamond.
“After the hearing, the judge ruled against us, that we did not meet the standard for a preliminary injunction because we couldn’t prove that this wasn’t a one-time event and wouldn’t occur again,” says Pushinksy.
“I believe that after that hearing, a decision was made that it was not really productive to proceed with the case, and that, basically, was the end of the case,” says Pushinksy.
Diamond put the city and commonwealth on notice in the published opinion. “If the Club were to be raided in the future and again brought allegations of similar unconstitutional conduct, they may then possess the standing they currently lack,” Diamond wrote.
“The city won, so they were happy, and we had a moral victory because he acknowledged that gay people should not be treated any differently than other people, and that the police have to learn to control themselves and be better enforcers of the law,” says Rosenfield.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
On April 3, 1990, amendments to the Pittsburgh Code became effective a dding sexual orientation to the list of protected classes under the law.
Travelers remained open until 2006, when the PCLB declined to renew the club’s liquor license. Reasons given included fights at the club, improper record keeping, and a long history of citations after 1988 for unlawful contests and drink specials, and for supplying false information to the PLCB.
“Long after the Valentine’s Day Massacre sort of event, it continued to be a nightclub that was a frequent target of the Nuisance Bar Task Force and everything that comes along with that,” says Apple.
Pushinsky emailed an answer to a followup question after the May 2025 incident at P-Town. The attorney wrote, “I thought of [Travelers Club] … when I saw the news reports of the recent gay bar raid.” •
ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF COURT RECORDS
The Travelers Social Club in 1988 sued multiple city and state officials and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board alleging harassment.
SCAN COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
After the Valentine’s Day Raid in 1988, attorneys for the Travelers Social Club sued the City of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania State Police, and individual public safety officers alleging multiple civil rights violations.
COURTESY OF THE PITTSBURGH CITY ARCHIVES
Travelers Social Club supporters submitted a petition to Pittsburgh City Council asking for a hearing to investigate the February 14, 1988, raid. Travelers Social Club attorney Jon Pushinsky was one of the signatories.
ONE WITH THE TREES
Forest bathing in Frick Park involves owl calls, slowing down, and sipping herbal tea brewed from the forest itself. Somehow, it works
BY: AAKANKSHA AGARWAL // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
At 9:30 a.m. on a cool Saturday morning, the air surrounding the Frick Environmental Center is thick with birdsong and the smell of wet bark. A group of strangers gathers loosely around the stone fountain, adjusting their jackets, sipping coffee from tumblers, unsure how the morning will unfold. They’ve come not to hike, or even to walk exactly — but to bathe
Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, as it’s called in Japan, isn’t about logging miles. It’s not about flora identification or whatever high-performance mindfulness trend TikTok is pushing this month. It’s not metaphorical, either.
It is, quite literally — and almost absurdly simply — about being in a forest with your senses on.
“Forest bathing is a process of immersing in nature by slowing down and opening the senses,” Kathryn Hunninen, Senior Manager of Special Initiatives and a certified forest therapy guide with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, tells Pittsburgh City Paper . “It is different than a nature walk or hike in that we are not teaching about nature or science, and there is no specific goal, destination, or expected outcome.”
Hunninen leads the sessions alongside her colleague, Patty Himes, also a certified guide and longtime Parks Conservancy staffer. Himes was Hunninen’s co-participant at the very first forest bathing session they attended years ago — and now, the duo helps guide the city’s growing interest in mindful nature connection.
From the fountain, the group heads toward the South Clayton Trail, which eases them into the new Sensory Nature Trail. The terrain is gentle, and the pace is glacial.
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
Kathryn Hunninen, Senior Manager of Special Initiatives with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, leads a forest bathing demonstration at Frick Park on June 9, 2025.
And yet, there’s a structure.
Participants are gently guided through what are called “invitations.”
“It is a slow-moving experience where participants are encouraged and supported by the guide to be present and connect with their bodies through sensory-based invitations,” Hunninen explains.
The first invitation of the morning is called "The Pleasures of Presence " There’s no script, just a suggestion to be present with all your senses: listen for the furthest sound. Feel the bark. Hear the rustle. Smell the mulch and the dampness. Notice where your feet are. Notice that you’re noticing.
Sunlight filters softly through the trees. The forest is very alive this time of the day: squirrels dart across the underbrush and chipmunks flicker between shadows. Deer, red foxes, raccoons, skunks, and even coyotes call this forest home, even though you might not see them. Next, Hunninen offers the invitation: wander a bit and see "What’s in Motion." Not just birds flapping around or leaves blowing in the breeze but also the small stuff: ants tracing a root, your own breath, the subtle shift of your shoulders as you finally start to loosen up.
To regroup, Hunninen doesn’t call out names. She belts out an owl call, soft and cupped through her hands. It is a low, echoing “whoo-whoo” that drifts across the forest, equal parts ancient and delightfully silly.
At some point, she invites everyone to introduce themselves to a tree. It’s a prompt that might make city-dwellers roll their eyes. Until they do it. Hands trace the grooves of ancient bark, fingers brushing over moss and lichen. Eyes close. Someone crouches at the base of a towering oak, their breath deepening, letting the forest in.
“When on a guided experience, we offer opportunities to share what
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
(Left to right,) Elizabeth Mick, Bethany Wells, and Kathryn Hunninen sit in Frick Park during a forest bathing demonstration on June 9, 2025.
Sept. 4 - 6, 2025
Revel in the rich traditions of Scotland on the picturesque campus of PennWest University – Edinboro during the 31st annual Highland Games & Scottish Festival.
• Highland Dance Performances
• Kids’ Games and Crafts
• Heavy Athletic Competitions
• Scottish Clan Gatherings
• U.S. National Scottish Fiddle and Harp Championships
• Scottish Food
• Fine Gift Vendors
• Live Music
• Ceilidh Dinner
• And more!
we’re noticing with the group,” Hunninen says. “Sharing is a way to build community and connection, but there is no pressure for participants to share in any particular way. Passing is equal to sharing.”
“The invitations themselves are invitational,” she adds. “Basically, [that] means people are free to do what feels best to them.”
Before she became a guide, Hunninen was experiencing what many come here trying to shake: burnout.
“In 2016, Patty and I participated together in a forest bathing session at a conference in central Pa. and felt a deep connection to the experience,” she says. “I was overwhelmed by the positive impact it had on my body and my emotional response during the session. At that time, I had been experiencing some personal difficulties and professional burnout and the forest bathing session did inspire a moment—a shift in my thinking.”
a permanent shift in how Hunninen moved through the world.
“Becoming guides and offering forest bathing programs has been an incredible journey and unique way in which Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is helping to connect people to their parks and support their wellbeing,” she says. “We are grateful to be a part of a great community of guides in Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area that are doing this work.”
Since then, the duo has led walks for public school teachers, grief support groups, teens, and the 10.27 Healing Partnership. Recently, they completed training to support youth-focused walks and have begun helping schools and nonprofits introduce forest bathing into their curriculum.
The science, Hunninen says, is catching up to what the trees already know.
FREE ADMISSION to events! * Scan the code for a full event schedule PennWest.edu/edinboro-highland-games
*All events are FREE except the Ceilidh.
In 2022, after the Conservancy received a grant to expand its wellness offerings, Hunninen and Himes trained to become certified forest therapy guides through the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy Guides & Programs (ANFT). It was a six-month training with a four-day immersion workshop, and
“Reduction in cortisol. Reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Improved sleep quality. Improved immune system function,” Hunninen says.
“Research has indicated that immersing in nature environments/viewing natural scenes can relax the frontal lobe/require less executive attention to process
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
Kathryn Hunninen, Senior Manager of Special Initiatives with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, poses for a portrait at Frick Park on June 9, 2025.
information,” she adds, “which they believe is connected to effects including attention restoration, increased creativity and working memory, and reduction in rumination.”
According to research compiled by Forest Bathing Central, part of the benefit may come from exposure to phytoncides — volatile organic compounds, or natural tree oils, emitted by plants and trees to protect themselves from insects and bacteria. Turns out, they’re good for us, too. They help fire up our immune system by boosting natural killer (NK) cells, the ones that fight off viruses and tumor cells. Phytoncides like alphapinene and beta-pinene also help lower stress, improve sleep, keep your mood steady, and even lower blood sugar. Not bad for a walk in the woods.
“We often reference the studies that have shown time spent in nature for even 20 minutes per day can provide great benefit … that you don’t necessarily need to go on a guided one or two-hour experience in order to integrate these practices into your life on a regular basis.”
Forest bathing opportunities in Pittsburgh extend beyond Frick Park. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy also offers guided sessions in Riverview Park, Allegheny Commons, and West End Park. Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh Botanic Garden , and North Park’s Latodami Nature Center also offer these sensory-based experiences.
And forest bathing doesn’t necessarily require vast wilderness or an expanse of green.
“There is some research that indicates that being in a forested
“THERE ARE STUDIES THAT HAVE SHOWN MEASURABLE
CHANGES
IN THE BRAIN IN AS LITTLE AS FIVE MINUTES OF EXPOSURE
TO NATURE.”
A 2022 study by Dr. Qing Li in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine found that forest bathing sessions significantly increased cell activity and levels of anti-cancer proteins. These benefits lasted at least seven days and sometimes up to 30 days.
The best part is that you don’t need a long session to see results. You don’t even need a guide. You just need to pay attention, and maybe spend 20 minutes.
“There are studies that have shown measurable changes in the brain in as little as five minutes of exposure to nature,” Hunninen says.
environment … can provide greater benefit for forest bathing participants,” she adds. “However, there is also research to indicate that a key factor to maximizing benefit is sensory immersion in a natural environment where you feel safe and wherever you can access nature.”
Even a view counts.
“Being in a forested area or on a trail, sitting on a park bench, in your yard, looking through a window at trees or a garden, viewing natural scenes, or even watching a nature webcam,” she says. “Studies have shown that benefit can be gained
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON
Elizabeth Mick, left, attends a forest bathing demonstration led by Kathryn Hunninen, right, at Frick Park.
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Elizabeth Mick participates in a forest bathing exercise at Frick Park on June 9, 2025.
from any of these settings, even though a forested setting may provide greater effects on physical indicators.”
At the end of the session, the group sits quietly in a circle. Like something out of Alice in Wonderland, Hunninen pulls a tea set from her satchel. She takes out a tumbler of forest tea she made from scratch, and pours the steaming brew into tiny ceramic cups.
Hunninen makes Hemlock tea by collecting the young needles and twigs from the Eastern hemlock tree, rinsing them clean, and simmering them gently in water. The tea is high in Vitamin C and known to boost the immune system and support respiratory health.
She explains that the type of tea she serves changes with the seasons. Other popular concoctions include white pine, spicebush, dandelion root, rose hips, and bee balm. Regardless of the plant, her goal is always the same: to encourage people to slow down and taste the forest.
The tea is pointedly herbal and grassy. Grounding. Like the morning itself.
For the first time in days, maybe weeks, your shoulders are where they’re supposed to be. There’s no epiphany. No sudden craving to grow kale or delete Instagram.
You befriended a tree, listened to an owl call, and almost cried over a patch of moss.
None of it felt strange. •
CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Bethany Wells participates in a forest bathing exercise at Frick Park on June 9, 2025.
THU., JUNE 19
PARTY • OAKLAND
Inside Out: pvkvsv, Jaybee Jackson, Liftgate, ICY PISCES, and Arie Cole present Skylight 5 p.m. Continues through Aug. 22. Carnegie Museum of Art-Sculpture Court. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. All ages. carnegieart.org/series/inside-out
FESTIVAL • DOWNTOWN
The Western Pennsylvania Juneteenth Celebration returns with a long weekend of events celebrating Black freedom and history. Festivities kick off on Thursday with the Juneteenth YouthFEST at Mellon Spray Park, where kids and teens can enjoy sports fun, gaming, and more, followed by the AllWhite Juneteenth Boat Party on the Gateway Clipper. From there, Downtown comes alive with the Juneteenth Grand Jubilee Parade and concerts featuring Dru Hill, Morris Day and the Time, Trina, and other famous acts. Times and locations vary. Free. stoptheviolencepgh.com
FRI., JUNE 20
ART • SOUTH SIDE
Opening Reception: Fiberart International. 5:30-8 p.m. Continues through Aug. 30. Brew House Arts. 711 S. 21st St., South Side. Free. brewhousearts.org
COMEDY • STRIP DISTRICT
DVE Comedy Fest Loaded Showcase
8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. The Original Pittsburgh Winery. 2809 Penn Ave., Strip District. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 21 and over. pittsburghwinery.com
SAT., JUNE 21
PARTY • GARFIELD
Fruit of the Dirt Summer Block Party 12-7 p.m. Coral Street block behind Bunker Projects, Garfield. Free. instagram.com/bunkerprojects
MUSIC • OAKLAND
WYEP Summer Music Festival. 4-11 p.m. Schenley Plaza. 4100 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. pittsburghparks.org
SUN., JUNE 22
KIDS • HOMESTEAD
Bubbles Burgh. 1-4 p.m. The Waterfront. 149 West Bridge St., Homestead. Free. All ages. waterfrontpgh.com
CIRCUS • MILLVALE
Squidling Brothers Circus Sideshow presents Tommy Amoeba’s Birthday Bash. 7 p.m. Doors at 6 p.m. The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $24.40 in advance, $26.40 at the door. mrsmalls.com
MON., JUNE 23
MUSIC • MCKEES ROCKS
Billy Corgan and the Machines of God: A Return to Zero Tour with Return to Dust. 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Roxian Theatre. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. Tickets start at $75. roxiantheatre.com
TUE., JUNE 24
MUSIC • OAKLAND
Phish. 7:30 p.m. Petersen Events Center. 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. $103-190. peterseneventscenter.com/events
WED., JUNE 25
MUSIC • OAKLAND
Jazz in the Garden 6:30-9 p.m. Continues through Thu., Sept. 18. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. 1 Schenley Dr., Oakland. $35-60. phipps.conservatory.org
THU., JUNE 26
MUSIC • OAKLAND
Calliope Schenley Plaza Summer Concert Series 7 p.m. Continues through Thu., Sept. 4. Schenley Plaza. 4100 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. All ages. calliopehouse.org
FRI., JUNE 27
PARTY • POINT BREEZE
Summer Fridays at the Frick. 5 p.m. Continues through Fri., Aug. 29. The Frick Pittsburgh. 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. Free, $5 suggested donation. All ages. thefrickpittsburgh.org
ART • NORTH SIDE
Exhibition Opening and Block Party: Vivian Caccuri and Rebecca Shapass 6-8 p.m. Mattress Factory Monterey Annex. 1414 Monterey St., North Side. Free. Registration required. mattress.org
MUSIC/FILM • DOWNTOWN
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 7 p.m. Continues through Sun., June 29. Heinz Hall. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $55-170. trustarts.org
PHOTO: MATTHEW MURPHY AND EVAN ZIMMERMAN Back to the Future: The Musical at the Benedum Center
CP PHOTO: HEATHER MULL Tommy Amoeba
SAT., JUNE 28
MUSIC • HIGHLAND PARK
WAMO Day Juneteenth Celebration. 12-5 p.m. Fountain Lawn. Highland Park. Free. All ages. pittsburghpa.gov
MARKET • SQUIRREL HILL
Squirrel Hill Night Market 6-10 p.m. Continues through Sat., Sept. 27. Murray Avenue from Forbes Avenue to Beacon Street, Squirrel Hill. Free. uncoversquirrelhill.com/nightmarkets
PARTY • STRIP DISTRICT
Wild Neighbors Dance Party. 6-10 p.m.
Bitz Opera Factory. 2425 Liberty Ave., Strip District. $23.18. 21 and over. humaneactionpittsburgh.org
MUSIC • LAWRENCEVILLE
Kyle Mooney: The Real Me/Fake Me Tour
7 p.m. Doors at 6 p.m. Spirit. 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $50.75. spiritpgh.com
SUN., JUNE 29
OUTDOORS •
HOMEWOOD/EAST END
Strap on your sneakers or skates or tune up your bike for the latest OpenStreetsPGH community event. Organized by BikePGH, the annual event series invites residents to explore free activities hosted by local organizations along car-free streets throughout various neighborhoods. Head to Homewood, Larimer, and East Liberty for live music, kid-friendly fun, pogo lessons, fitness classes, and more. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Course map available. Free. All ages. openstreetspgh.org
MARKET • SOUTH SIDE
Pittsburgh Pickers Vintage Market. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The Highline. East Carson St., South Side. Free. All ages. instagram.com/pittsburghpickers
LYNN CULLEN LIVE
FESTIVAL • NORTH SIDE
Hello, Neighbor! Northside Family Day Celebration 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Allegheny Commons. North Avenue and Arch Street, North Side. Free. All ages. pittsburghparks.org
PHOTO: JOSEPH CULTICE Billy Corgan at Roxian Theatre
PRIDE • HIGHLAND PARK
Family Pride Night. 6-9 p.m. Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. 7370 Baker St., Highland Park. $20-25. All ages. pittsburghzoo.org
MON., JUNE 30
WRESTLING • UPTOWN
WWE Monday Night RAW. 5:30 p.m.
PPG Paints Arena. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. Tickets start at $74. ppgpaintsarena.com
TUE., JULY 1
THEATER • DOWNTOWN
Pittsburgh CLO presents Back to the Future: The Musical 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., July 6. Benedum Center. Seventh Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. $66.64-133.84. pittsburghclo.culturaldistrict.org
THU., JULY 3
CONVENTION • DOWNTOWN
Anthrocon 10 a.m. Continues through Sun., July 6. David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. $80 pre-registered, $100 at the door. anthrocon.org
FRI., JULY 4
HOLIDAY • AVELLA
Independence Day celebration. 10 a.m.4 p.m. Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village. 401 Meadowcroft Rd., Avella. Included with regular admission. heinzhistorycenter.org
THEME PARK • WEST MIFFLIN
All-American Summer 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Continues through Sat., July 5. Kennywood. 4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin. Included with regular admission. All ages. kennywood.com
HOLIDAY • NORTH SHORE/ MT. WASHINGTON
City of Pittsburgh Independence Day Celebration. 4 p.m. Great Lawn. 393 N. Shore Dr., North Shore and Grandview Park Band Stand. 664 Science St., Mt. Washington. Free. All ages. pittsburghpa.gov
SAT., JULY 5
WRESTLING • MILLVALE
Enjoy Wrestling presents Hot To Go 7 p.m. Doors at 6 p.m. Mr. Smalls Theatre. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $36.25-58.35 mrsmalls.com
SUN., JULY 6
MUSIC • HOMESTEAD
Sunday Fundays featuring Jammin’ July Summer Concerts Details TBA. Continues through Sat., July 26. Sandcastle Waterpark. 1000 Sandcastle Dr., Homestead. sandcastlewaterpark.com
FRI., JULY 11
PARTY • NORTH SIDE
Night in the Tropics: Evening in Paradise 7-11 p.m. VIP 5 p.m. National Aviary. 700 Arch St., North Side. $110-169. 21 and over. aviary.org
FESTIVAL • DOWNTOWN
Picklesburgh returns for its 10th anniversary with a bigger, bolder event that spans Downtown Pittsburgh. The specialty food festival will take over the Sixth and Seventh Street Bridges, Allegheny Landing, Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Heinz Hall Garden, Market Square, and PPG Plaza, bringing with it loads of local food, live music, contests, vendors, and more. Don’t miss the most ambitious Picklesburgh to date. Times TBA. Multiple locations, Downtown. Free. All ages. picklesburgh.com
MUSIC • DOWNTOWN
HOLIDAY • NORTH SIDE
July 4th Explosive Science 6-11 p.m. 10 a.m. general admission. Carnegie Science Center. One Allegheny Ave., North Side. $71-139. carnegiesciencecenter.org
DANCE • NORTH SIDE
Texture Contemporary Ballet presents Infinite Abundance. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., July 13. New Hazlett Theater. 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $24-39. newhazletttheater.org
SAT., JULY 12
ART • OAKLAND
Fault Lines: Art, Imperialism, and the Atlantic World. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Continues through Jan. 25, 2026. Carnegie Museum of Art. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Included with regular admission. carnegieart.org
PARTY • EAST LIBERTY
House Party: Lavender Wave. 7 p.m. Kelly Strayhorn Theater. 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. Pay What Moves You $50-325. kelly-strayhorn.org
An Evening with Vince Gill 7:30 p.m. Heinz Hall. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $68-144. pittsburghsymphony.org
SUN., JULY 13
MARKET • SOUTH SIDE
Neighborhood Flea. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. New Town Square at SouthSide Works. 27th Street and Sidney Street, South Side. Free. All ages. southsideworks.com
TUE., JULY 15
PODCAST • MCKEES ROCKS
Welcome to Night Vale: Murder Night In Blood Forest. 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Roxian Theatre. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. $34-46. roxiantheatre.com
WED., JULY 16
AUTO • SOUTH SIDE
Vintage Grand Prix Tune-Up 5-9 p.m. SouthSide Works. 424 S. 27th St., South Side. Free. All ages. southsideworks.com
THU., JULY 17
CONVENTION • DOWNTOWN
Tekko Times TBA. Continues through Sun., July 20. David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. $30-300, free for kids 6 and under. tekko.us
FRI., JULY 18
MUSIC • NORTH SIDE
Northside Music Festival. 5 p.m. Continues through Sun., July 20. Multiple locations, North Side. Free. northsidemusicfestival.com
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GRANDSTAND MEDIA David Byrne at the Benedum Center
THEATER • DOWNTOWN
Pittsburgh CLO presents Disney’s Frozen. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., July 27. Benedum Center. Seventh Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. $66.64-133.84. trustarts.org
SAT., JULY 19
AUTO • SQUIRREL HILL
Pittsburgh Grand Prix Schenley Park Car Show and Races. 9:30 a.m. Continues through Sat., July 20. Schenley Drive and Forbes Avenue, Squirrel Hill. $10. pvgp.org
MUSIC • BURGETTSTOWN
Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul: Good Vibes Only Tour 6:30 p.m. The Pavilion at Star Lake. 665 Route 18, Burgettstown. Tickets start at $31. pavilionstarlake.com
THEATER • SQUIRREL HILL
Quantum Theatre presents Seagull. 8 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 17. Chatham University. 107 Woodland Rd., Squirrel Hill. Tickets TBA. quantumtheatre.com
SAT., JULY 26
FESTIVAL • SOUTH SIDE
Goat Fest PGH 12-4 p.m. Arlington Ball Field. 2000 Julia St., South Side. Free. All ages. fosspark.org/overview-2025
DANCE • NORTH SIDE
Dance Africa Pittsburgh: A Moment in Time. 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Continues through Sun., July 27. New Hazlett Theater. 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $30-60. newhazletttheater.org
MARKET • SOUTH SIDE
SouthSide Works Night Market. 5-9 p.m.
SouthSide Works New Town Square. 27th Street and Sidney Street, South Side. Free. All ages. southsideworks.com
MUSIC • BURGETTSTOWN
Kesha and Scissor Sisters: The Tits Out Tour 7 p.m. The Pavilion at Star Lake. 665 Route 18, Burgettstown. Tickets start at $46. burgettstowntheater.com
MUSIC • DOWNTOWN
TUE., JULY 22
MUSIC • UPTOWN
Shinedown: Dance, Kid, Dance with Bush and Morgan Wade 7 p.m. PPG Paints Arena. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. Tickets start at $38. ppgpaintsarena.com
THU., JULY 24
MUSIC • MCKEES ROCKS
JoJo Siwa 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Roxian Theatre. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. Tickets start at $48. roxiantheatre.com/shows
FRI., JULY 25
ART • DOWNTOWN
Ben Schonberger: Hi-NRG. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Continues through Nov. 2. 707 Gallery. 707 Penn Ave., Downtown. trustarts.org
Nas with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 p.m. Heinz Hall. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $65-200. trustarts.org
SUN., JULY 27
PARTY • NORTH SIDE
Pittsburgh Festival Opera presents An Evening at the Moulin Rouge 6 p.m. National Aviary. 700 Arch St., North Side. $125-175. pittsburghfestivalopera.org
SAT., AUG. 2
THEME PARK • WEST MIFFLIN
Fall Fantasy Mardi Gras Parades Times TBA. Continues through Sun., Aug. 17. Kennywood. 4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin. Included with regular admission. kennywood.com
KIDS • UPTOWN
Hot Wheels Glow-N-Fire. 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 3. PPG Paints Arena. 1001 Fifth Ave., Uptown. Tickets start at $19. ppgpaintsarena.com
ART • LAWRENCEVILLE
Lawrenceville Art Crawl. 1-9 p.m. Multiple locations, Lawrenceville. Free. $10 after-party tickets. redfishbowl.com/lac2025
MUSIC • NORTH SHORE
Rock Reggae and Relief 3 p.m. Stage AE. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. $91-204. promowestlive.com
MUSIC • DOWNTOWN
Marvel Infinity Saga with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra 7 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 3. Heinz Hall. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $35-120. trustarts.org
WED., AUG. 6
MUSIC • DOWNTOWN
An August Evening with Wilco 8 p.m. Heinz Hall. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. $76-97. pittsburghsymphony.org
MUSIC • BURGETTSTOWN
The Doobie Brothers with the Coral Reefer Band 7 p.m. The Pavilion at Star Lake. 665 Route 18, Burgettstown. Tickets start at $31. pavilionstarlake.com
FRI., AUG. 8
THEATER • HILL DISTRICT
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company presents Fences 7 p.m. Continues through Sat., Sept. 6. August Wilson House. 1727 Bedford Ave., Hill District. $45. pghplaywrights.org
PODCAST • MCKEES ROCKS
Ear Hustle Live. 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Roxian Theatre. 425 Chartiers Ave., McKees Rocks. $34-46. roxiantheatre.com/shows
SAT., AUG. 9
FESTIVAL • STRIP DISTRICT
Barrel and Flow Fest 9 a.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 10. The Stacks at 3 Crossings. 2875 Railroad St., Strip District. $30-225. barrelandflow.com
PHOTO: BRENDAN WALTER
Kesha at The Pavilion at Star Lake
MARKET • HILL DISTRICT
Steel City Spooky Market. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Frankie Pace Park. 901 Centre Ave., Hill District. Free. All ages. instagram.com/ steelcityspookymarket
FESTIVAL • NORTH SHORE
Bocce Tournament and Festival. 10 a.m.5:30 p.m. Acrisure Stadium. 100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore. Free. heinzhistorycenter.org
MUSIC • NORTH SHORE
Do you realize … that The Flaming Lips are playing at Stage AE? The psych rock band, best known for the album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, stops in Pittsburgh during a world tour with indie rock pioneers Modest Mouse. Soak in a night of off-beat earlyaughts music that includes an appearance by Friko. 6 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. $78-272. promowestlive.com
THU., AUG. 14
FESTIVAL • BLOOMFIELD
Little Italy Days 5-9 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 17. Liberty Avenue from Ella Street to Gross Street, Bloomfield. Free. littleitalydays.com
ART • OAKLAND
SAT., AUG. 23
after school. 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Continues through Jan. 11, 2026. Carnegie Museum of Art. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Included with regular admission. carnegieart.org
CONVENTION • DOWNTOWN
Oddities and Curiosities Expo 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 24. David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. $12-239. odditiesandcuriositiesexpo.com
FESTIVAL • SOUTH SIDE
TacoMania. 2-8 p.m. SouthSide Works New Town Square. 27th Street and Sidney Street, South Side. Tickets TBA. southsideworks.com
WED., AUG. 27
OPERA • OAKLAND
Pittsburgh Festival Opera presents An Evening Under the Stars with OUR Stars 7 p.m. Schenley Plaza. 4100 Forbes Ave., Oakland. $10-55. pittsburghfestivalopera.org
FRI., AUG. 29
FRI., AUG. 15
THEATER • NORTH SIDE
Front Porch Theatricals presents Sunday in the Park with George. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 24. New Hazlett Theater. 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $29-39. newhazletttheater.org
SAT., AUG. 16
SPORTS • AVELLA
Vintage Base Ball Day. 1-4 p.m. Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village. 401 Meadowcroft Rd., Avella. Included with regular admission. heinzhistorycenter.org
FRI., AUG. 22
PARTY • DOWNTOWN
Riverlife’s Party at the Pier: Dreamscape 7:30-10:30 p.m. David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. $125-300. partyatthepier.com
ART • DOWNTOWN
Celebrating 45 Years of CAPA: Alumni and Faculty Exhibition 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Continues through Jan. 25, 2026. SPACE Gallery. 812 Liberty Ave., Downtown. Free. trustarts.org
FRI., SEPT. 5
FESTIVAL • RANKIN
Pittsburgh Irish Festival. 4-11 p.m. Continues through Sun., Sept. 8. Carrie Blast Furnaces. 801 Carrie Furnace Blvd., Rankin. $10-65, free for kids 12 and under. pghirishfest.org
MUSIC • NORTH SHORE
2025 Women Who Rock Benefit Concert with Jessica Simpson 6:30 p.m. Stage AE. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. $75.63. promowestlive.com
SAT., SEPT. 6
CONVENTION • DOWNTOWN
ToonFusion Expo 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Continues through Sun., Sept. 7. David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd.,
Downtown. $23.81-192.74. toonfusion.com/pittsburgh
FESTIVAL • STRIP DISTRICT
Pittsburgh Taco Festival. 12:30-7 p.m. The Stacks at 3 Crossings. 2805 Railroad St., Strip District. $17.20-53.47. pghtacofest.com
SUN., SEPT. 7
TOUR • NORTH SIDE
Mexican War Streets House and Garden Tour. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 604 West North Ave., North Side. $30. mexicanwarstreets.org
TUE., SEPT. 9
MUSIC • NORTH SHORE
Alabama Shakes with Sam Evian 6:30 p.m. Stage AE. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. $67-361. promowestlive.com
THEATER • DOWNTOWN
A Beautiful Noise 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Sept. 14. Benedum Center. Seventh Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. Tickets TBA. trustarts.org
FRI., SEPT. 12
THEME PARK • WEST MIFFLIN
Phantom Fall Fest 12-10 p.m. Continues through Nov. 1. Kennywood. 4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin. Included with regular admission. kennywood.com
MUSIC • NORTH SHORE
Pixies with Spoon and Fazerdaze. 5:30 p.m. Stage AE. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. $67-198. promowestlive.com
ART • NORTH SIDE
Exhibition Opening: Yasmine El Meleegy. 6-8 p.m. Mattress Factory. 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side. Free. mattress.org
SAT., SEPT. 13
ART • OAKLAND
Black Photojournalism. 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Continues through Jan. 19, 2026. Carnegie Museum of Art. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Included with regular admission. carnegieart.org
PHOTO: BRANTLET GUTIERREZ
Alabama Shakes at Stage AE
JULYSAT.,12
FESTIVAL • SHADYSIDE
Pittsburgh Chinese Culture Festival
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mellon Park. 1047 Shady Ave., Shadyside. Free. pghccc.org
FESTIVAL • WASHINGTON
Four Chord Music Festival 12 p.m. Continues through Sun., Sept. 14. EQT Park. One Washington Federal Way, Washington. Tickets start at $154.12. fourchordmusicfestival.com
MON., SEPT.
15
MUSIC • OAKLAND
The World of Hans Zimmer: A New Dimension 7 p.m. Petersen Events Center. 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. $75-487. peterseneventscenter.com
LIT • OAKLAND
Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures presents Jill Lepore 7:30 p.m. Carnegie Music Hall. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Tickets TBA. pittsburghlectures.org
TUE., SEPT. 16
MUSIC • DOWNTOWN
An Evening with David Byrne: Who Is the Sky? Tour 8 p.m. Benedum Center. Seventh Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown. Tickets TBA. trustarts.org
FRI., SEPT. 19
FESTIVAL • DOWNTOWN
Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Continues through Sun., Sept. 21. August Wilson African American Cultural Center, 980 Liberty Ave., Downtown. Ticket prices vary. pittsburghjazzfest.org
DANCE • NORTH SIDE
Texture Contemporary Ballet presents In This Moment. 7:30 p.m. Sun., Sept. 21. New Hazlett Theater. 6 Allegheny Square East, South Side. $24-39. newhazletttheater.org
SAT., SEPT. 20
THEATER • SOUTH SIDE
Another Kind of Silence 5:30 p.m. Continues through Oct. 12. City Theatre. 1300 Bingham St., South Side. $24-35. citytheatrecompany.org
DANCE • DOWNTOWN
Compagnie Hervé KOUBI. 7:30 p.m. Byham Theater. 101 Sixth St., Downtown. Tickets TBA. trustarts.org
MON., SEPT. 22
MUSIC • MILLVALE
Panda Bear 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Mr. Smalls Theatre. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $33.45. mrsmalls.com
PHOTO: CHAD ISAIAH House Party: Lavender Wave at Kelly Strayhorn Theater
MARKET PLACE
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage, on behalf of itself or its affiliates, Life Storage or Storage Express, will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 700 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. July 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM. 1026 Carla Runco, 2201 Josie Collins, 4182 Taylor Blair, 4196 Courtney Cole. The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage, on behalf of its affiliates, Life Storage or Storage Express, will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s Lien at the location indicated: 3200 Park Manor Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15205 on July 2, 2025 at 1:00pm. 3174 LaShonne Peake; 3179 LaShonne Peake . The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage, on behalf of itself or its affiliates, Life Storage or Storage Express, will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 141 N Braddock Ave, Pittsburgh PA, 15208 on July 2nd, 2025 at 11:00 AM. 1062 Martel Palmer, 2002 Sunsune Bey, 2230A Santorria Knox, 3050 Keisha Fisher, 3131A Sandra Sztorc, 6072 Raven Bradford. The auction will be listed and advertised on www. storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 110 Kisow Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15205
July 2, 2025 at 11:15AM. Freddy Castillo-252, Paige Mckee-133, Shay Akers-211. The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com.
Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction.
Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 111 Hickory Grade Road, Bridgeville, PA 15017, July 2, 2025 at 12:30pm. Andrew Henry 2277. The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction.
Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage, on behalf of itself or its affiliates life Storage or Storage Express, will hold a Public Auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extras Space’s lien at the location indicated: 902 Brinton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15221 on July 2, 2025 at 11:30am. Latoya Kenion 3302, Aaron Sealey 3291, Courtney Albrecht 3174, Brayla Cohen 3040, Carl Parker 3021, Tiara Law 2229, Julian Nutter 1118, Shakela Hines 1094. The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction.
Extra Space Storage may refuse and bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage, on behalf of itself or its affiliates, Life Storage or Storage Express, will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 880 Saw Mill Run Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15226, July 2, 2025, at 1:15 PM. Christopher Jozefowicz 2117, Valerie Redinger 3042, Skylar Woodall 3189. The auction will be listed and advertised on www. storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 1212 Madison Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. July 2nd, 2025 at 1:30 pm. L5 Mackenzie McCool, 3007 Jenea Laymon, 4009 John Moon, L126 Nina Bryanyt. The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com.
Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction.
Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 6400 Hamilton Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15206. July 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM. Charmaine Moore-1035, Jeremy Oliver-3051, Sheena Peoples-3075, Dawna MIles-5052, and Charles Anderson-L017. The auction will be listed and advertised on www. storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PUBLIC AUCTION
Extra Space Storage, on behalf of itself or its affiliates, Life Storage or Storage Express, will hold a public auction to sell the contents of leased spaces to satisfy Extra Space’s lien at the location indicated: 1005 E Entry Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15216 on 7/2/2025 at 11:30 AM. Justin Bush 4160. The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com.
Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction.
Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
PERSONAL
A happy guy who loves good food, great conversation, and even better company—just looking for someone who enjoys the same interests! Give me a call at 412-313-4320—and if I miss your call, leave a message and I’ll get back to you soon!
“Get them to buy”…Responsible for the sales development to
pecting new business clientele… - “Buy them a beer”…Enhance relationships with existing customers. - “Type it up”…Basic computer knowledge.... - Interested candidates first go to Monstersmash.com……Look at the videos….That is the service you are
ESTATE NOTICE
ESTATE OF RIZZUTO, ROBERT, C, DECEASED OF PITTSBURGH, PA No. 022503609 of 2025. Patricia Smith Extr. 130 Piper Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15234
ESTATE NOTICE
ESTATE OF VALENTOVISH, MARY ANN, DECEASED OF DUQUESNE, PA No. 022502370 of 2025.
Gregg Valentovish Extr. Gregg Valentovish Adm 618 Redwood Court, Cranberry Twp, PA 16066
Many Americans are fortunate to have dental coverage for their entire working life, through employer-provided benefits. When those benefits end with retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock, leading people to put off or even go without care.
Simply put — without dental insurance, there may be an important gap in your healthcare coverage.
When you’re comparing plans ...
Look for coverage that helps pay for major services. Some plans may limit the number of procedures — or pay for preventive care only.
Look for coverage with no deductibles. Some plans may require you to pay hundreds out of pocket before benefits are paid.
Shop for coverage with no annual maximum on cash benefits. Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.
Medicare doesn’t pay for dental care.1
That’s right. As good as Medicare is, it was never meant to cover everything. That means if you want protection, you need to purchase individual insurance.
Early detection can prevent small problems from becoming expensive ones.
The best way to prevent large dental bills is preventive care. The American Dental Association recommends checkups twice a year.
Previous dental work can wear out.
Even if you’ve had quality dental work in the past, you shouldn’t take your dental health for granted. In fact, your odds of having a dental problem only go up as you age.2
Treatment is expensive — especially the services people over 50 often need.
Consider these national average costs of treatment ... $222 for a checkup ... $190 for a filling ... $1,213 for a crown.3 Unexpected bills like this can be a real burden, especially if you’re on a fixed income.
ROUGHING IT
“Absolutely love”
“I absolutely love my dental insurance. My dental office files the claims, leaving me with very little balance to pay.” Dorothy P., TN
ACROSS
1. Lemon-lime soda
4. Actionable words
9. Balkan capital
14. Mayo is part of it
15. Battery terminal
16. Projecting part 17. “I can’t believe it!”
18. Rough it for way longer than is healthy?
20. Part-human, part-machine
22. Paesano’s land
23. “Can’t argue with that”
24. 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis ___
26. “Darn it!”
27. Attribute
28. Bus-stop convenience
30. Darling
46. “Time’s awastin’!”
48. Anger
49. Esport enthusiasts
50. Hubbub
52. They’re history
53. Outdoor shelters outfitted with AI, fusion reactors, etc.
56. Kind of Buddhism
58. Attack locale
59. Pack carrier
60. Cheer for a banderillero
61. One of five
62. Mentions
63. Timeworn
DOWN
1. When some bakeries open up
9. Detect
10. Financial guru
Suze
11. Bungle
12. Stir up
13. Horrified
19. Lubricant containers
21. Name on many armored trucks
23. Put on board
24. Guest at a synagogue
25. Completely committed
28. Teasing
29. Half a laugh
32. Available
33. Lentil or bean
35. Farm female
36. Attraction run by Joe Exotic, e.g.
37. Hype too much
38. Congers
41. Shoe marks
42. Like some thoughts
43. Boxer Ken
45. Part of the Corn Belt
47. Bread and butter, e.g.
49. “I’m stumped!”
51. Museo offering
52. Punkie
54. Special attention, for short
55. Teacher of Samuel
57. Connecticut governor Lamont
31. Valhalla V.I.P.
32. DraftKings rival
34. Creeps around while stepping over outdoor shelters?
39. Bombing raids
40. Looseness
41. Wrong
44. Young seal
45. Baked noodle pudding
2. With the soft pedal depressed, on some scores
3. Braid relative
4. Floor plan
5. Accustom
6. Five-time Wimbledon champ Bjorn
7. Summer clock
setting: Abbr.
8. Court do-over
