Mattress Factory

June 22
1 – 5 p.m.

Where can you square dance, pan for gold and don your own sheriff’s badge right in the middle of the city?

Just 36 hours after throwing summer’s best party, the Mattress Factory museum of contemporary art will swing open its doors on Sunday, June 22nd, to host its annual Community Urban Garden Party. Tapping into the family-friendly side of the Wild West, the afternoon festivities will feature free hands-on art activities and performances for visitors of all ages.

Learn to square dance with the Haygood Paisleys, watch Zany Umbrella Circus perform dazzling circus acts and enjoy toe-tapping banjo fun led by father and son group, the Chiodi Trio. Create a Wild West postcard with Fishstep Studios, play Skee-ball with Nomadic Arcade and learn how to make colorful screenprints with Artists Image Resource.

Ready to ride a mechanical bull? The Bull Guys will be on-site to help you get your rodeo on. If mother nature is more your style, be sure to explore the Flower Tunnel with the Fortress Project. Hang out with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, bling out your very own sheriff’s badge and even build an old-timey town. When you’re ready for some sustenance, head to the PGH Taco Truck for lunch.

A celebration of the Mattress Factory’s Northside neighborhood, local families and art lovers of all ages and backgrounds, the welcoming and engaging day showcases making, exploration and creativity inside and on the grounds of the museum.

Jennifer has worked at the Mattress Factory, Brooklyn Museum of Art and Dahesh Museum of Art and is co-author of Pittsburgh Signs Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania. She also is co-coordinator of Handmade Arcade. Musically, she is in a band called The Garment District and is a founding member of Brooklyn's The Ladybug Transistor.