Next Stop is WQED’s arts and culture must-do list to make the most of what our region has to offer each season.
Think of it as your guide to local experiences, with a fresh set to discover several times a year. Designed to encourage our neighbors to get out and explore the more than 100 arts and culture organizations in the Pittsburgh region, each Next Stop highlights eight experiences across visual arts, dance, music, craft, theater, and more. Collectable buttons are available at each stop on the passport – all exclusive to that organization and all designed by a local artist.
The Fall 2026 Next Stop includes experiences at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, City Theatre, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens, Contemporary Craft, Mattress Factory, and Texture Contemporary Ballet.
Grab your guide and join your neighbors
Explore eight unique experiences across visual arts, dance, music, craft, theater, and more. As you check off each stop, pick up a collectable button designed by WQED’s artist-in-residence, Joe Wos of Cartoon Academy®.
Scraposaurs
Through October 31, 2026
Pittsburgh Botanic Garden
Check in at the Welcome Desk
Lavett Ballard: A Rose is a Rose is a Rose
Through December 27, 2026
August Wilson African American Cultural Center
Check in at the Box Office
Echoes and Illusions
September 18 – 20, 2026
Texture Contemporary Ballet
Check in at the Entrance Lobby
In Clay
September 19 – October 11, 2026
City Theatre
Check in at the Box Office
Textures of Being
September 25, 2026 –
January 16, 2027
Contemporary Craft
Check in at the Front Desk
Akea Brionne
October 17, 2026 – August 2027
Mattress Factory
Check in at the Front Desk
Giselle with the PBT Orchestra
October 23 – 25, 2026
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Check in at the Marketing Table in the Lobby
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto
November 6 – 8, 2026
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Check in at the Entrance Lobby
How Next Stop Works
1. Purchase tickets through participating
organizations (WQED members receive exclusive discounts)
2. Present your guide when checking in at the venue
3. Receive an exclusive button designed by
WQED artist-in-residence Joe Wos
4. Share on social media and use
hashtag #NextStopWQED
Discounts are available to WQED qualified members.
Members must be signed in to see the discounts.
Please login with your WQED+ or PBS Passport account.
Meet the Fall 2026 Next Stop Artist
The Fall 2026 Next Stop buttons are designed by WQED’s artist-in-residence Joe Wos. Joe is an award-winning, internationally syndicated cartoonist based in Pittsburgh. He is the creator and host of WQED’s Cartoon Academy, where he shares easy to follow cartooning lessons for all ages. Joe has been working professionally as a cartoonist since the age of 14 and teaching cartooning for more than 30 years. He has performed with symphony orchestras, established a world record, and performed live at over 1,000 venues worldwide, including visits as the guest cartoonist of the Charles M. Schulz Museum for nearly 20 years. Learn more about Cartoon Academy.
The Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD) funds WQED and these arts organizations.
For over 30 years, RAD has invested in Allegheny County’s quality of life through financial support of public libraries, parks & trails, regional attractions, arts & cultural organizations, sports & civic facilities, public transit, and local municipal services with revenue from an additional, countywide one percent sales and use tax. Since its inception, RAD has resulted in over $5 billion invested in the region.
More information at RADworkshere.org.