Rain, Rain Go Away - We Wanna Go To Arts Fest!

As I mentioned in my last post, the Three Rivers Arts Festival, hosted by Dollar Bank and the Cultural Trust, is a go! With the big opening night on Friday filled with the new Point State Park fountain and headlining band, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, I'm thinking this year will be the best yet.

Although when Eric and I were down there on Friday we were not able to make it in time to be able to walk around to explore the art booths (I had us on a strict schedule of fountain, food, music) we do plan to go back on Wednesday for our mama's birthday. She's never been to the Arts Fest and is an avid fair goer and visual artist herself, so we're taking her and letting her pick her own present. She's stoked. :)

If you are unfamiliar with the Arts Fest, let me help you. I talked about it briefly last year but basically it is ten straight days of music, food and various kinds of art from mostly local artists. You can check out their daily schedules to help you plan your day, but to be honest, unless you see a specific performer, musician or artist at a certain time then the best you can do is just go down and soak it all in at once. Seriously, this is certainly the kind of thing you can just show up to without any kind of plan and have a fantastic time. See the map below for an idea of where everything is set up.

How could you go wrong with strolling through Point State Park and the Gateway Center grounds looking at (and possibly buying) art, making some art of your own in the Giant Eagle Creativity Zone, listing and watching performances on the three stages and/or eating some fair food? Sound like a great time to me, and judging by the popularity of this event, year after year, the rest of Pittsburgh too! Check it out, especially if you haven't before and be sure to walk to the very end of the Park to see the newly renovated fountain as well. Enjoy!

The main stage - Dollar Bank Stage - at the far end of the first lawn in Point State Park.

Hey guys - I finallllllllly saw Donora!!!!!! If you remember me wishing for this in a previous post.

Alex and Jade of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, this year's headlining band.

They invited this lucky kid, Nelson, up on stage with them for a song during Friday's show.

What I think of first when I think of Arts Fest - street performers everywhere!

Map from the Arts Fest website so you know where everything is located :)

Bob Your Head & Smile with Donora

All photos property of Donora.

About a month ago, my brother and I were planning on going to Brillobox in Lawrenceville to see one of our favorite local bands, Donora. Naturally, I planned that I would be able to get two blog posts out of the deal, one about my first experience in Brillobox and one about a local band I love. We got there an hour and a half early, knowing that the venue is smaller than most and that they were going to have to push people away. We just didn't expect to be those people. The Donora show was sold out almost two hours before they started and we were headed out of the city to an Eat 'n Park.


Now, why do you need to know this little anecdote about Donora instead of me just diving in to tell you all about them and their new EP? Because for the longest time, I could count the number of people who know who Donora is on one hand, and two of those fingers included myself and my brother. Now, one of their songs is in a Nationwide commercial and they are selling out shows around the city, and you need to know about them before they get too big to mention on this little blog that encourages its readers to go to things and listen to bands before they become too famous to mention. So, here I am, mentioning them and spilling out my love for them, to you my readers, whom I also love, before they become too big to mention. That totally made sense right?

You cannot help but love them - just by looking at them - just wait until you listen to them!

Donora currently has two CD's out and about floating around, being awesome. Their first, a self-titled work of art and the second, "Boyfriends, Girlfriends" which is also amazing. Now, they have this EP called "Play Nice" which is swoon-worthy. My favorite song on it is "Float Away" which, like all of my favorites of theirs make me, 1) Want to dance, 2) Just "smile I can't help it," 3) Randomly quote their lyrics, 4) Bob along with the beat in the car, and 5) Blog about them.


I don't know how to describe Donora without just saying that their lyrics will instantly make you smile and are easy enough for you to learn right away to sing along with and that they have the most infectious beats and floating melodies. You want to listen to them. You want to love them. You will be happier because you did. Yes, that was me doing hypnosis through the Internet. Trust me, they will bring an instant smile to your face and a total What is Love/Night at the Roxbury moment to you, and come on, who doesn't want another reason to do that...in double time? Listen to them here and follow them here.