ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM’S “OFF THE WALL” SERIES
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 08:00PM
David Cale performs one of his many solo pieces, Palomino, a six-perspective tale about the adventures of an enigmatic horse-drawn Irish carriage driver in New York City’s Central Park. “Fascinating as he is to watch, and exquisite as his verbal imagery, it is Cale’s gifts as a storyteller that hold an audience rapt,” said the San Francisco Chronicle. - Gordon Spencer
Tickets: $10-$20
(Warhol Theater, The Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky St., North Shore
Event phone #: 412/237-8300
Event Website: warhol.org)
more from Lectures + Events

Dance Alloy Theater’s “Behind the Curtain”
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 07:00PM
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 07:00PM
Dance Alloy Theater's "Behind the Curtain" series with choreographers Pearlann Porter of Pillow Project and Gwen Ritchie, former LABCO director. Fri., Nov. 6: reception, 6:30 p.m.; work-in-progress showing, 7 p.m. $5. DAT also offers “Alloy on Alloy,” featuring company members’ works. Doors open 6:30 p.m.; performance, 7 p.m. Reservations recommended for both events. - Karen Dacko
Tickets: $10
(5530 Penn Ave., Friendship
Ticket phone #: 412/363-4321
Event Website: dancealloy.org)
more from Dance

OVERLY’S COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
Friday, November 20, 2009 - Friday, January 1, 2010
Harry Overly of Armbrust, Westmoreland County, got carried away with decorating his house for the holidays. (His kids loved it.) And he kept going for more than 50 years. In 1992, the display moved from his home to the Westmoreland Fairgrounds, where, this year, the event shines forth with some 2.4 million lights on 15 acres. While at the Overly home, the display raised $1 million for the Free Care Fund at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and for Westmoreland Regional Hospital. Now proceeds provide free visits to Overly’s Country Christmas for families at risk in Westmoreland and neighboring counties, and support the Juvenile Probation Center in Greensburg and other troubled-youth programs. Sun.-Thurs., 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5:30-11 p.m. - Ann Curran
Tickets: Donation: per car, $10; mini-buses, limo or motor-home $12
(116 Blue Ribbon Lane, Greensburg
Event phone #: 724/423-1400
Event Website: overlys.com)
more from Calendar

RITE AID CELEBRATION OF LIGHTS
Friday, November 20, 2009 - Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Rite Aid Celebration of Lights at Hartwood Acres boasts 400 displays, some ranging from 3- to 40-foot tall on a 3.2 mile stretch with more than 2 million lights. Allegheny County Parks Department will add three sports-related displays this year: a football player running for a touchdown, a hockey goalie interacting with a player with a puck and a NASCAR scene. There’s no definite affiliation on the players (black and gold won’t show up at night). Don’t even ask about a baseball display. The Celebration of Lights benefits the Salvation Army’s Project Bundle-Up as well as Children’s Miracle Network, St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality and others. The show is open every day, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  Sun.-Thurs., 6-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 6-11 p.m. - Ann Curran
Tickets: Donation: per car, $12; per person on bus, $5; per person on a bus from a nonprofit, $3
(200 Hartwood Acres, Indiana Township
Event phone #: 412/350-2455
Event Website: alleghenycounty.us/parks)
more from Calendar

A ROUND IS A CIRCLE
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 10:00AM
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 11:30AM
Experience singing in a round at this Chatham Baroque “Peanut Butter and Jam Session”—a concert of live music and fun for children ages 1 to 5 years old and their guardians. - Roberta Mintz Levine
Tickets: Adults, $8; children, $5.
(Chatham Baroque, Calvary Episcopal Church, 315 Shady Ave., Shadyside
Ticket phone #: 412/687-1788
Tickets online: chathambaroque.org)
more from Family

SARA PENNYPACKER AT THE “BLACK, WHITE AND READ ALL OVER” SERIES
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 10:30AM
Fans of the not-so-common third grade girl, Clementine, from the book of the same name, and fans of the Flat Stanley series will flock to hear the author talk about her books and answer questions as part of the “Black, White and Read All Over” series at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall. A book signing and refreshments follow the lecture. - Roberta Mintz Levine
Tickets: Adults, $10; children, $8.
(Carnegie Library, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland.
Ticket phone #: 412/622-8866
Tickets online: pittsburghlectures.org)
more from Family

LE PLUS EXQUIS DIAMOND GALA
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 06:00PM
Guests at Le Plus Exquis Diamond Gala, which translates to the most-exquisite gala, will be treated like stars as they enter this black-tie-optional affair on a red carpet with cameras flashing and onlookers greeting them. Inside, the area’s finest jewelers will display gems to gasp over, to try on and maybe even to buy. Later there’s a diamond fashion show and diamond raffle. Guests will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, champagne, specialty drinks and luscious desserts prepared by chef Kelly James. Hey, you can dance it off, too. The gala benefits Cribs for Kids, which provides cribs for the needy and also offers parents information on safe sleeping for infants and young children to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and accidental suffocation. State Sen. John R. Pippy (37th District) and his wife, Kathy, will host the gala. . Reservations required. - Ann Curran
Tickets: $100
(Pittsburgh Athletic Association, 4215 Fifth Ave., Oakland.
Ticket phone #: 412/322-5680, ext. 5
Tickets online: sids-pa.org)
more from Calendar

- Mike May
()
more from Exhibits

REOPENING OF AILSA MELLON BRUCE GALLERIES
Saturday, November 21, 2009 ALL DAY
Sure, there’s no place like home for the holidays, but (and please bear with me through this stretch of a seasonal segue) sometimes it’s fun to imagine our homes decked out with the kinds of furnishings found in the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Galleries at Carnegie Museum of Art. That fantasy (virtual window shopping) was always one of the pleasures of roaming through that space, filled with treasures of furniture and decorative arts. Remember that place? Well, it’s been closed for renovation since around 1999, but now it’s back (as of Nov. 21), and there’s no time like the holidays to discover the Bruce Galleries’ extreme makeover. “The reopening of Bruce Galleries is a milestone in the museum’s history,” says Museum of Art director Lynn Zelevansky of this 8,000-square-foot area, which showcases the museum’s permanent collection of decorative arts and design, with some 500 objects on display. “The museum is home to a first-rate decorative arts collection, and Jason Busch [curator of decorative arts] has provided a beautiful and intelligent installation that really shows it off.” The space has an interesting history. It was originally constructed in 1907 as a hall for reproduction bronze casts of objects from ancient Pompeii and Herculaneum, which now reside in the Hall of Architecture. Next, it became a temporary exhibition space, and then, in 1976, the galleries became the museum’s permanent home for decorative arts, named in honor of Ailsa Mellon Bruce, a collector (some of her pieces are in the collection) and daughter of another distinguished collector and arts benefactor, Andrew W. Mellon. “The transformation of the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Galleries affords Carnegie Museum of Art an ideal opportunity to trace the evolution of style and design in the Western world from the mid-18th century to the present,” says Jason Busch, who has been working on this project since arriving here in 2006 and has produced the first handbook documenting the collection. “During those same years, the Pittsburgh region experienced dramatic growth and an increase in the production and use of decorative arts. Our new installation presents the unique juxtaposition of parallel international developments, which should be of broad interest.” Busch’s interpretation of the space—installation design by WTW Architects and graphic design by Bally Design—encompasses four galleries. The first hosts rotating exhibitions, beginning with “Past Meets Present: Decorative Arts and Design at Carnegie Museum of Art,” which includes a tribute to Ailsa Mellon Bruce and a salute to early Pennsylvania decorative arts. The next three flow in a chronological progression: “Rococo and Neoclassicism”; “Historicism, Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau” (don’t miss a restored suite of parlor furniture from PicNic, a now-vanished local Greek Revival mansion); and “Modernism and Contemporary Design and Craft.” Some “modern” additions contribute to the depth of understanding. For example, you can watch a digital presentation about the restoration of the PicNic suite or see a video that shows how to carve a ball-and-claw foot. In celebration of the reopening of the Bruce Galleries, the annual display of holiday trees (Dec. 4-Jan. 10) in the Hall of Architecture will feature this theme: “Useful Beauty: Celebrating the Decorative Arts.” Speaking of decorative arts, also make sure to catch the annual display of the Neapolitan Presepio (Nov. 27-Jan. 10).   - Mike May
Tickets: Adults, $15; seniors, $12; children 3-18 and students, $11; under 3 and members, free
(4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland
Event phone #: 412/622-3131
Event Website: cmoa.org)
more from Exhibits

ANNUAL HOLIDAY TOY EXHIBITION
Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Sunday, January 17, 2010
Annual Holiday Toy Exhibition presents toys, dolls and “playthings that related to paintings and sculpture in the museum’s collection.” - Mike May
( Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg
Event phone #: 724/837-1500
Event Website: wmuseumaa.org.)
more from Exhibits