The annual South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association Holiday Party will be on Tuesday, December 13 at 7PM at St Paul’s Monastery Retreat Center.
Dinner will be provided, but feel free to bring a dessert, side dish, or appetizer.
Have extra this holiday season? The Association will be collecting toys for Brashear’s annual toy drive. Bring a new unwrapped gift or toy for children up to age 12 to the party – or you can drop them off at: The Brashear Center, 2005 Sarah St.
Hope to see you there!
Congratulations and welcome to the newest members of the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association Board of Directors:
Thank you to our departing members: Sarah Alessio Shea, Laura Officer, and Pavel Yakovlev.
Through a crowdfunding campaign conducted primarily through social media, we raised more than $6,500, allowing us to hire an artist to design and lead the project. Dozens of community members tiled the 77 step risers in 2016.
Click here to see more details about the project: http://www.southsideslopes.org/oakley-street-mosaic-steps-public-art-project/
StepTrek wrap-up and the Board Elections for the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association will be at the next general meeting.
The meeting will be on Tuesday October 11 at 7pm at the Brashear Association, 2005 Sarah Street, 15203.
Voting Members of SSSNA are eligible to vote at the October Meeting. Voting Members must be eighteen years old or older and have attended at least two General Meetings this past year. (See By Laws, Article IV, Section 1.)
In its 16th year, the Pittsburgh StepTrek will begin Saturday, October 1st at 11am at South Side Park (Josephine & 21st Streets) on the South Side. The event has lasted this long due to the backing of individuals with a curiosity as to what lies at the top or bottom of the numerous public stairs in the neighborhood.
This “Urban Hike” through one of Pittsburgh’s most unique neighborhoods is self-guided. The course narrative in the program book points out the landmarks and gives a history of the stairs and buildings, counts the steps (over 2,000) and also provides instruction as to the route.
The family-friendly (and pet-friendly) event also includes the StepTrek Market Place featuring entertainment, raffles, sponsor displays, historic photos, and food trucks.
This event also helps to benefit The Brashear Association’s Food Pantry. Please remember to bring a canned food item to help stock the Brashear Association Food Pantry. Top items needed include: Peanut Butter & Jelly Spaghetti Sauce Tuna Cereal Baby Food
Where: The Brashear Association, 2005 Sarah Street, 15203
When: Tuesday, September 20 at 7PM
Agenda:
Q&A with Mayor Peduto
Committee Updates
This year StepTrek is partnering with Steppin Stanzas, a new performance arts project created to promote the use of Pittsburgh’s public steps and celebrate the city’s rich heritage, its diversity, and distinctive geography.
Steppin Stanzas co-founders and lead artists Paola Corso, a poet and literary activist, and Andrew Edwards, a poet and performance artist/translator will launch their project by creating original work inspired by city steps and performed along a StepTrek route this year.
“Along with its three rivers, Pittsburgh’s hills and the stairs that traverse them are one of the most unique, recognizable, and defining characteristics of our city, “says Corso. “Steppin Stanzas brings art to a new venue that few other cities could offer.”
“We intend to use art and spoken word performances to draw attention to city steps and challenge the audience to see them in a new way,” Edwards added.
Steppin Stanzas artists will perform poetry with music and movement at the registration area and during water breaks.
“The South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association will provide the water. Steppin Stanzas will provide the words to help refuel trekkers as they finish the last leg of the two courses. They will already have climbed more than a thousand steps. We’ll cheer them on as they catch their breath and carry on,” Corso said.
Corso is the author of six books of fiction and poetry set in her native Pittsburgh, most recently The Laundress Catches Her Breath, winner of the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing from the Working Class Studies Association, and Edwards, who studied Spanish and creative writing at Ohio Wesleyan University with a focus in modern poetics, is the author of The Kobe Reality Series, a book of poetry based on his experience living in Japan.
Corso and Edwards will collaborate with guest artists Aaron LeFebvre, an acoustic finger-style guitarist combining traditional and folk with modern sounds, and movement artist Daniel Dongilli for their Steppin Stanzas launch, which was awarded a Sprout Fund grant.
In its 16th year, the Pittsburgh StepTrek will begin Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 at 11AM at South Side Park (Josephine & 21st Streets) on the South Side. The event has lasted this long due to the backing of individuals with a curiosity as to what lies at the top or bottom of the numerous public stairs in the neighborhood.
This year’s event will highlight:
The routes will take a tour of the hillsides and spectacular views that distinguish Pittsburgh. The family-friendly event combines photography, historic narrative and a sense of a neighborhood dependent upon steps. Each pre-registered trekker receives a map and a course narrative.
StepTrek is what the trekker makes it. Participants may choose to use this noncompetitive event as a test of fitness or a leisurely stroll. The benefits of a stirring walk through the Slopes have earned this event the heart-healthy rating of the American Heart Association. Special pricing makes the walk an attractive way to experience the city on an autumn afternoon.
The Trek itself is self-guided. The course narrative points out the landmarks and gives a history of the stairs and buildings, counts the steps and also provides instruction as to the route. Arrows along the course provide direction as well.
Proceeds from the StepTrek benefit the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association (SSSNA), an all volunteer organization committed to improving this unique neighborhood and providing a unified voice for slopes residents. Primary areas of focus are public safety, neighborhood development and beautification.
This event also helps to benefit The Brashear Association’s Food Pantry. Please remember to bring a canned food item to help stock the Brashear Association Food Pantry. Top items needed include: Peanut Butter & Jelly Spaghetti Sauce Tuna Cereal Baby Food
#StepTrek
Tickets are $13 and available here: https://www.showclix.com/event/StepTrek
This is your opportunity to be part of a public art project in the South Side Slopes!
Artist Laura Jean McLaughlin will be teaching us how to break tiles and glue them into a mesh template design that will be used for each step riser.
Attendees will be provided with all tools and instructions necessary to take home the materials required to build a mosaic stair riser for planned installation by the artist in Fall of 2016!
No previous skills are necessary because the artist will be teaching us all how to do the work. There are 77 risers to create this summer, so the more people the merrier!
More details on the project here: http://www.southsideslopes.org/oakley-street-mosaic-steps-public-art-project/
Can’t make this date? We are having weekly workshops. Check our Facebook page or website: http://www.southsideslopes.org
Thursday September 1, 2016 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
At: The Brashear Association, 2005 Sarah St, 15203
This is your opportunity to be part of a public art project in the South Side Slopes!
Artist Laura Jean McLaughlin will be teaching us how to break tiles and glue them into a mesh template design that will be used for each step riser.
Attendees will be provided with all tools and instructions necessary to take home the materials required to build a mosaic stair riser for planned installation by the artist in Fall of 2016!
No previous skills are necessary because the artist will be teaching us all how to do the work. There are 77 risers to create this summer, so the more people the merrier!
More details on the project here: http://www.southsideslopes.org/oakley-street-mosaic-steps-public-art-project/
Can’t make this date? We are having weekly workshops. Check our Facebook page or website: http://www.southsideslopes.org
