Lights, Karaoke, Action: Kicking off the Downtown Holiday Scene

Downtown Pittsburgh’s highly anticipated holiday event schedule has arrived, and it’s full of warm-welcome programming to attract visitors during the cold-weather months. If you’re looking to take in the sights or inject some seasonal spirit into your calendar, the downtown lineup has everything you need. From a national headliner at the Xfinity Riverfront Stage to a winter wonderland at Mellon Square, the key elements of this year’s events are wonder and light, which makes planning a downtown outing an easy task.

Make your list (and check it twice) of all these happenings for a breathtaking holiday season ahead.

Hosted by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP), Highmark Light Up Night on Nov. 23 is the unofficial start of the holiday season and arguably the best time of the year for downtown, according to PDP CEO Jeremy Waldrup.

Light Up Night begins at 4 p.m. with family-friendly activities at the Highmark Holiday Block Party at Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street. The Pirates Parrot and Pierogies mascots will appear at a Pirates Mini-Fest featuring holiday-themed face painting, balloon artist stations, inflatables, backyard games, prizes, pierogi races and photo ops with Santa Claus.

“This region celebrates the holidays in a pretty special way, returning to many beloved traditions while also embracing new and engaging experiences,” Waldrup added, pointing to the new light display “Aurora: Illuminating the Holiday Magic of Mellon Park.” Supported by the Benter Foundation and the Eden Hall Foundation, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy enlisted Pittsburgh-based artist Joshua Challen Ice to create the 25-foot installation featuring hundreds of diamond-shaped panels that change colors when the wind blows or people touch them.

Over at Market Square, the 13th annual Peoples Gas Holiday Market opens for the season at 11 a.m. Nov. 23; nearby, the Rink at PPG Place offers daily ice-skating sessions through March 2, with extended hours during the holiday season.

From 4-6pm a new ‘Light Up Night Bridge Party’ will spark up the 6th Street (Roberto Clemente) Bridge and offers $5 beers, bites, and bargains plus live music from DJ Arie Cole.

Alternative rock band The Fray will headline the concert at the 63rd annual Highmark Light Up Night, performing at 8:30 p.m. on the Xfinity Riverfront Stage on Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Sixth Street, with a spectacular “supersized” fireworks display closing out the evening.

The holiday window competition kicks off on Light Up Night weekend, where shoppers can vote for the store with their favorite display via a QR code on the retailer’s window or online before Dec. 18. Spirit of Giving Around the World, also known as Santas of the World, displays 16 life-size Santas at One and Two PPG Place.

All season long, the Heinz Hall Courtyard’s selfie garden will feature life-size cutouts of characters and scenes from Fred Rogers Productions. A cozy house in that courtyard is also the top spot for photo ops with Santa, which opens on Friday. And be sure to visit the city’s 22nd annual Gingerbread House Competition Display in the City-County Building lobby.

On Saturdays and Sundays throughout the season, the Holiday KidsPlay area at 600 Liberty Ave. offers an indoor crafting area, with activities such as decorating a Mister Rogers sweater ornament, visits with Pittsburgh Pirates mascots and story time in a warm, welcoming space.

“Those things are all here for the taking, for the enjoyment of everybody, and it’s not exclusively about consumerism, so it’s a very different experience than going to the mall,” Waldrup said. “You can grab a hot chocolate or a Glühwein and walk around and just see the sights and enjoy being with the people you love.”

Photo collage credit: Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership