PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PITTSBURGH DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP

Sick of winter yet? The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is hosting a new three-week festival in Market Square this month to help you melt into spring.

It’s called The Thaw and welcomes in spring by celebrating the city’s arts and culture scene, toasted with some St. Patrick’s festivities in the middle. A fixture each weekend will be The Lounge, which will host drag shows, pub trivia, an Irish pub experience and more. And highlighting the opening of the third weekend will be the ceremonial burning of a snowman to officially say goodbye to winter.

This is the latest effort by the Downtown Partnership to keep the city vibrant year-round. It introduced the 11-day Oktoberfest last fall, which featured a Ferris wheel on the Roberto Clemente Bridge as a centerpiece of an all-ages Karneval there. The festival drew 80,000 attendees to Market Square, which hosted a biergarten, games and musical entertainment. The partnership said that foot traffic increased in the area by 160%, compared to the same time in 2023.

The Thaw’s concerts and other events are free. Here’s the schedule:

Ice & Snow Celebration: March 8-9

Market Square will be filled with ice sculptures, live carvings and an 18-foot ice luge for youngsters. Kid-friendly activities from noon to 4 p.m., including arts and crafts, science experiments and an “instrument” petting zoo, where visitors can learn about different musical instruments provided by School of Rock and get a chance to play them.

There will be musical entertainment at night.

Saturday, March 8: Our old favorite Billy Price (8-9:30 p.m.)

Sunday, March 9: Beauty Slap (6-6:45 p.m. and 7-7:45 p.m.)

Shamrock & Roll (March 15-17)

A celebration of Irish culture takes over Market Square beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday March 15. There will be Irish whiskey tastings, a Pub on the Square and pop-up cocktail lounge.

The musical entertainment includes:

Saturday, March 15: The Low Kings (8-10 p.m.)

Sunday, March 16: Rich Patrick Trio (1-2:30 p.m.), Bealtaine (3:30-5 p.m.), Z Town Street Band (6:30-8 p.m.)

Monday, March 17: Michael Lindner (5-6:30 p.m.), Bastard Bearded Irishmen (7:30-9 p.m.)

Warm-Up Music Festival (March 21-23)

In addition to the musical entertainment, the weekend kicks off Friday at 7:30 p.m. with the ceremonial burning of a snowman in Market Square. There also will be fire performances by Flow n’at at various times throughout the weekend.

Here’s the musical line-up:

Friday, March 21: Paging Doctor Moon (6:30-7:30 p.m.), Sneezy (8:30-10 p.m.)

Saturday, March 22: Posterchild (1:30-2:30 p.m.), Tony from Bowling (3:30-5 p.m.), Illiterate Light (8:30-10 p.m.)

Sunday, March 23: Melissa Quinn Fox (1:30-3 p.m.), Hillbilly Biscuits (4-5:30 p.m.), Dani Rose (6:30-8 p.m.