Things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend (virtually and safely)

We’re updating our virtual event guide every week, so please keep reading and sharing. Know about an interesting virtual event taking place in April? Email us here.

Thursday, April 2: Happy Hour Live! with Pittsburgh Whiskey Friends & Pittsburgh Craft Beer Society
5 p.m.
Raise a glass — and lift your spirits — with fellow whiskey and craft beer aficionados. This collective of libations lovers is here to rescue you from the isolation of social distancing with their online happy hours series — where it’s always 5 o’clock. We’re all missing the city’s awesome breweries, bars and distilleries, so join this crew for some much-needed socializing and imbibing — you supply the drinks and they’ll spark the conversations. Tonight’s gathering will feature Christian Kahle, owner of Lucky Sign Spirits. To support our local service industry, contribute to this virtual tip jar.

Thursday, April 2: Have No More Bad Days with Inner Rutz
6-7:30 p.m.
We all face overwhelming challenges in life — it’s how we experience them that can make all the difference. Dubbed Have No More Bad Days, this five-week virtual course led by Mount Lebanon-based shop Inner Rutz will provide you with tools eliminating stress and anxiety and learn to use emotions to reach your goals, with new topics to focus on each Thursday.

Thursday, April 2: Enjoy PlayTime with Pittsburgh Public Theater
7 p.m.
Every Thursday night, make a standing date with Pittsburgh Public Theater Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski, who will bring iconic plays right to your living room during live readings that showcase and the work of extraordinary writers.

Friday, April 3: Craft Business Accelerator Web Meeting: Understanding Emergency Capital Options for Regional Creative Businesses
12-1 p.m.
Are you the owner of a creative business looking for assistance during the COVID-19 crisis? Bridgeway Capital’s Craft Business Accelerator is here to lend a hand. During this free web meeting, you will learn about new loan products with very patient and flexible terms designed to inject working capital into creative businesses, including the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. Featured guests are Richard Longo, interim director of Duquesne University’s School of Business and Small Business Development Center, Michael Dunmire, growth loan officer at Bridgeway Capital and Emily Keebler, program director for Kiva Pittsburgh.

Friday, April 3: The Irishing of English Theatre: An Interactive Online Lecture Series
2-3 p.m.
Infuse your Friday afternoon with some classic theatre. Join PICT Classic Theatre Artistic & Executive Director Alan Stanford to discover how prolific Irish writers such as George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde have had a profound effect on the development of English Theatre for more than 300 years. The five-session webinar series will highlight influential Irish playwrights, and discuss the nature of their work and the influence they’ve had on the development of English theatrical writing. The free sessions will be recorded and available to watch at your leisure after the event ends.

Friday, April 3: Happy Hour Live! with Pittsburgh Whiskey Friends & Pittsburgh Craft Beer Society
5 p.m.
Raise a glass — and lift your spirits — with fellow whiskey and craft beer aficionados. This collective of libations lovers is here to rescue you from the isolation of social distancing with their online happy hours series — where it’s always 5 o’clock. We’re all missing the city’s awesome breweries, bars and distilleries, so join this crew for some much-needed socializing and imbibing — you supply the drinks and they’ll spark the conversations. While you’re at it, you can support our local service industry by contributing to this virtual tip jar.

Friday April 3: Wine Class with Christel Burks of Les Vignobles Foncalieu
6 p.m.
Calling all sippers to Dreadnought Wines/Palate Partners’ new online classes! Be transported to the Languedoc region in southern France with Christel Burks from Les Vignobles Foncalieu — one of the largest producers and exporters of French wines from Gascony — who will share some amazing varieties that have their own distinct character. A portion of the proceeds will support Dreadnought Wines and their vendor partners during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Friday, April 3: The Pittsburgh Irish Festival Live Stream Music Series
7 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Irish Festival is here to lift our spirits with the power of music. To kick off your weekend, County Mayo and The Wild Geese Turn will turn your living room into a rollicking Irish pub as they perform traditional and contemporary tunes from The Emerald Isle. Sing along with all of the bands and check out all of the performances via the Live Stream Irish Music Series Facebook page.

Friday, April 3: Enjoy PlayTime with Pittsburgh Public Theater
7 p.m.
Every Thursday night, make a standing date with Pittsburgh Public Theater Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski, who will bring iconic plays right to your living room during live readings that showcase and the work of extraordinary writers.

Friday, April 3 through Sunday, April 5: Experience Hiawatha Project’s My Traveling Song
Ever wish you could participate in a live theatrical show from the comfort of your own home? Aiming to “find joy and connection between young children and caregivers during uncertain or even scary times” Hiawatha Project’s interactive new musical, “My Traveling Song,” is sure to resonate with today’s audiences. But first, watch this fun video to find out how you can gather simple props from around your home to “catch “raindrops,” make “falling leaves” and hold your candles up to light the way” during the interactive show. The free online performance will be available for 48 hours only, from noon on Friday, April 3 to noon on Sunday, April 5.

Saturday April 4: Wine & Cooking Class with Marco Scapagnini of Niche Italy
1 p.m.
Vino is going virtual this Saturday. The charismatic Marco Scapagnini of Niche Italy — which specializes in unique food and wine tours — will lead this session from his home in Sicily. Get a behind-the-scenes look at Scapagnini’s kitchen, as he discusses Nero D’Avola — dubbed “the most important red wine grape in Sicily” — and also cooks for the group. Saluti!

Saturday, April 4: Live from The Oaks Theater
6 p.m.
Local artists are experiencing significant setbacks due to the Covid-19 crisis, and the Oaks Theater and Pittsburgh Concert Audio are here to help. Broadcast via YouTube and Facebook, this evening of live streaming and prerecorded entertainment will include a web-a-thon benefitting the Greater Pittsburgh Council’s Emergency Fund for Artists. Hosted by performer Phat Man Dee, the event will feature Bill Deasy, Aubrey Burchell, Deryck Tines and others.

Saturday, April 4: Chamber Music Pittsburgh presents Emanuel Ax & Friends
8 p.m.
Even though Grammy-winning classical pianist Emanuel Ax can’t perform in Pittsburgh, the show will still go on. Streaming live from their homes, Ax will be joined by fellow pianist Jon Kimura Parker, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, clarinetist Anthony McGill and harpist Bridget Kibbey to share some of their favorite pieces. Proceeds from the virtual concert will benefit Artist Relief Tree.

Saturday, April 4: Knights of the Arcade Online Adventure
9 p.m.
We could all use some geeky humor as we navigate these uncharted waters. Arcade Comedy Theater’ is here to deliver the goods with its latest live online show that blends Zoom, Twitch and Dark Magic. The laughter will flow when you open your home, and your heart, to the improv comedy, role-playing games and D&D Adventures of the Knights of the Arcade.

Sunday, April 5: Attend a Virtual Summit with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
5:30-7 p.m.
What can Pittsburgh and the rest of the country learn from the impactful interfaith, cross-community responses to what was the country’s worst antisemitic attack in 2018? Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh to participate in this interactive summit featuring dynamic speakers, performers and action-oriented solutions. The event will include a virtual vigil and name-reading ceremony honoring victims and survivors of identity-based violence and a town hall dialogue.

Through Sunday, April 5: Cry It Out with City Theatre Company
If you missed the chance to see Molly Smith Metzler’s play, “Cry It Out” before it ended its run early due to COVID-19, then don’t miss the virtual performance available through April 5. Directed by Kim Weild, the new play chronicles Metzler’s real-life experiences with maternity leave. Thanks to the theater’s organization’s Pick Your Price initiative, virtual tickets start at just $10.

Through April 9: Watch an Italian crime drama with Row House Cinema
Thanks to Lawrenceville movie house Row House Cinema, you can still get your fill of first-run movies via the theater’s innovative streaming portal. Tickets are now available through April 9 for the 2019 Italian film, “The Traitor,” about the life of Sicilian Mafia boss Tommaso Buscetta, who became one of the first to become an informant.

Through Monday, April 10: Submit your movie to Steeltown’s Lights! Camera! Quarantine! Contest
Some days it seems like the COVID-19 crisis is something straight out of a movie. If you could make a film about a global pandemic, what would it be like? Steeltown is calling all budding directors to flex their creative muscles, pick up that camera or phone and compete for cash prizes. Read the rules and guidelines here, and start rolling.

Through April 20: Submit a proposal to The Office of Public Art
Are you a visual or performing artist based in Southwestern PA who’s creating new work during this unprecedented time of social distancing? The Office of Public Art wants to hear from you! Its newest initiative, titled “Artists Bridging Social Distance in the Public Realm,” seeks proposals for new artwork promoting social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more, join the virtual information session on April 13.

Watch the Alone Together Streaming Show
Nightly at 7 p.m.
Created by Pete Spynda, Patrick Jordan and Alexi Morrissey, this new, nightly livestream show is bringing our community together remotely during the COVID-19 crisis. View a nightly schedule of guests and watch the virtual show via 25 Carrick Ave’s Facebook page.

Check out the Live at 25 Series
Nightly at 8 p.m.
Created by Hear Corp and Crafton’s 25 Carrick Ave., this virtual program series was one of the first initiatives launched locally to support working musicians whose concerts and tours have been canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. The project provides artists with a platform to stream content live from safe, remote locations and can be viewed online via 25 Carrick Ave’s Facebook page. Check their page for dates and performers.

Watch documentary films via WQED
Cinephiles have even more great content to check out while practicing social distancing. WQED is presenting Digital Docs, a free series of short documentaries that are now available exclusively here. Shorty but mighty, the documentaries explore everything from history and sports to medicine and human interest stories. Featured this month is “Pittsburgh Circus,” which chronicles the local subculture of jugglers, fire breathers, aerialists and more. You’ll enjoy a circus performance without leaving your house as meet people who can “turn a wedding into a big top event, heat up a party or take ballet to new heights.”

Send a note to City of Asylum’s exiled writers
While City of Asylum‘s event space, bookstore and restaurant are temporarily closed, you can still support the organization in meaningful ways. All writers in the nonprofit’s exiled writer sanctuary program are safe, however, it is a very difficult time for them to be both exiled and now also socially distanced. Send a message to any of the writers via email here.

For more virtual events, go here. Know about an interesting virtual event taking place in April? Email us here.

Looking for things to do with kids? Read Keep the kids engaged and entertained with these hands-on activities and online videos.