PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

Every year, as I’m preparing to host a large Thanksgiving gathering of friends and relatives from across the country, I do some serious redding up.

This year, I’ve already brought in my handyman to fix the broken towel bar in one of the bathrooms and to reinstall a glass doorknob that fell off one of the French doors months ago. And there will be a deep cleaning of the refrigerator and a refresh of the bathmats.

It’s hard not to notice that redding up is underway on a grand scale in Pittsburgh as it prepares for as many as 700,000 visitors for the NFL Draft, scheduled for April 23-25. You can barely travel anywhere Downtown without seeing a plaza, a square or a park that isn’t behind orange construction fencing. And these upgrades that aim to appeal to the largest crowd ever to come to Pittsburgh aren’t just temporary fixes for the draft — they’re permanent improvements.

So is the cleverly named Immaculate Collection initiative, which just kicked off in September to “blitz the litter” and help beautify the region. Litter has been a chronic problem in the Pittsburgh area for years. The organizers vow that the effort will continue long after the throngs of fans have left the Steel City next April.

In an update on activities in October, Immaculate Collection leaders said that clean-up activities were underway in 36 neighborhoods and that 648 illegally dumped tires had been removed from East Hills. And it had honored 80-year-old Hill District resident Reggie Howze as a “trash collection hero,” for his 40 years of tidying up neighborhoods. “A clean neighborhood helps to make for better behavior, a clean mind, cleaner thinking,” he says.

Pittsburgh Magazine also is preparing for the draft with plans to publish a special commemorative magazine in March. What Publisher Betsy Benson bills as a “high-quality keepsake” will feature stories on the region’s football history and how that has helped to drive our economy. It will provide resources on must-see attractions and information for visitors, and explain how civic and corporate leaders have worked together to prepare for this colossal event that will introduce hundreds of thousands of people to Pittsburgh for the first time.

The special issue also will include contributions and resources from VisitPITTSBURGH, the region’s official destination marketing organization.

The commemorative magazine will be available at VisitPITTSBURGH welcome centers and mailed to hotels, newsstands, sponsors and magazine partners. Subscribers will receive the issue packaged with the regular March/April edition.