Get Your Fill of Football & Food at Heinz Field
The free Coors Light Kickoff and Rib Festival is an annual barbecue-soaked marker of football season’s return.
PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO
FILL UP ON COUNTRY, ROCK, FOOTBALL AND RIBS AT HEINZ FIELD
In a city as festival-focused as ours, there are innumerable good reasons to get out of the house; nearly every warm weekend features an alluring event. Few are as irresistible as the free Coors Light Kickoff and Rib Festival at Heinz Field, an annual barbecue-soaked marker of football season’s return. And to get to the product in the marquee first, yes: There will be a bevy of award-winning ribs for you to sample throughout the weekend and on Labor Day.
This is no mere food festival, though; a lineup of free concerts includes local rock titans The Clarks, rising country stars Craig Morgan and Eric Paslay, “The Voice” finalist Chris Jamison and more. Meanwhile, the football part of the equation will be provided by a preseason warmup between the Steelers and Carolina Panthers tonight as well as your Pitt Panthers, who face off with the Youngstown State Penguins at 1 p.m. Saturday in their season opener. Unlike the rest of the fest, you will need tickets to see the games.
(100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore; noon-midnight, Thu-Sun, noon-9 p.m., Mon; click here for full schedule and info)
— Sean Collier
LAWRENCEVILLE’S PINTS ON PENN OPENS FOR BEER AND BITES
This weekend is the grand opening for new Lawrenceville beer destination Pints on Penn. The bar and restaurant boasts an impressive draft list, beer cocktails — including a housemade Watermelon Shandy that sounds perfect on a hot late-summer night — and a menu of tantalizing favorites such as stuffed pretzels with IPA beer cheese and sweet-and-spicy bacon. Can it draw thirsty ’Burghers in bar-heavy Lawrenceville? Find out how it stands up to the Bar Exam in this week’s edition of After Dark!
MILITARY HISTORY ON THE NORTH SHORE
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, America bulked up its arsenal. Then we needed to get those weapons overseas. We did this using giant barges called Landing Ship, Tanks — or LSTs. The most famous is LST 325, which was present at the invasion of Sicily in 1943 and D-Day in 1944. LST 325 is traveling the country for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and will be docked through Sept. 8 at North Shore Riverfront Park. Guided tours of the vessel will be available through Tuesday for $10 (children’s tickets are $5).
(100 Art Rooney Ave., North Shore; through Tuesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; click here for more info)
— Eric Lidji
IN THEATERS: The interseasonal lull continues at the box office, as a motley crew competes at the multiplex this weekend. “The Transporter Refueled” revives the action franchise with its star, Jason Statham, who is replaced by Ed Skrein. “Mistress America,” from Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, is a hipster version of an old-school farce; Bill Bryson’s travelogue “A Walk in the Woods” gets an adaptation; and the Irish drama “Jimmy’s Hall” visits that country during the Great Depression. Of the four, we can speak only to “Mistress America,” which is often funny, if sometimes irritating; this is instead a fine weekend to catch up on “Straight Outta Compton” or, if you’re the last person in the country who hasn’t seen it, “Jurassic World.” — S.C.
For the eighth time, local favorites Rusted Root headline the Allegheny County Music Festival Sunday at Hartwood Acres. The event is a benefit for children and youth programs of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services. — S.C.
Grab some chicken on a stick and catch a jousting match: the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival is in full swing. Get your tickets here for a trip this weekend; the festival is open for business on Labor Day. — S.C.
