Pittsburgh Current Vol. 1 Issue 9 by pittsburghcurrent

VOL. 1 ISSUE 9 â&#x2013;¶ Nov. 20 - Dec. 3, 2018

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STAFF Publisher/Editor: Charlie Deitch Charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com Associate Publisher: Bethany Ruhe Bethany@pittsburghcurrent.com

EDITORIAL Art Director: Emily McLaughlin emily@pittsburghcurrent.com Music Editor: Margaret Welsh Margaret@pittsburghcurrent.com Special Projects Editor: Rebecca Addison Rebecca@pittsburghcurrent.com Visuals Editor: Jake Mysliwczyk jake@pittsburghcurrent.com Staff Writer, Arts: Amanda Reed Amanda@pittsburghcurrent.com Staff Writer, News and Food: Haley Frederick Haley@pittsburghcurrent.com Columnists: Aryanna Berringer, Sue Kerr, Mike Wysocki opinions@pittsburghcurrent.com Craft Beer Writer: Day Bracey info@pittsburghcurrent.com Contributing Writers: Kim Lyons, Jody DiPerna, Mike Shanley, Ted Hoover, Mike Watt, Ian Thomas, Matt Petras, Thomas Leturgey, Nick Eustis info@pittsburghcurrent.com Logo Design: Mark Adisson

ADVERTISING Vice President of Sales: Paul Klatzkin Paul@pittsburghcurrent.com Senior Account Executives: Andrea James Andrea@pittsburghcurrent.com Jeremy Witherell Jeremy@pittsburghcurrent.com Account Executive: Mackenna Donahue Mackenna@pittsburghcurrent.com

ADMINISTRATION Operations Director: Thria Devlin

CONTENTS Vol. I Iss. IX Nov. 20, 2018

NEWS 6 | Leon Ford OPINION 8 | Rob Rogers 8 | Veterans 9 | LGBTQ Giving Guide

1Hood Media / Center for Life | pg. 10

Polish Hill | pg. 37

Neighborhood Conversation| pg. 39

CREDIT:

Cover Artwork by @davidjcreative

Just Harvest | pg. 15

THE FINE PRINT The contents of the Pittsburgh Current are © 2018 by Pittsburgh Current, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this publication shall be duplicated or reprinted without the express-written consent of Pittsburgh Current LLC.The Pittsburgh Current is published twice monthly beginning August 2018.

Office Manager: Bonnie McConnell

The opinions contained in columns and letters to the editors represent the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Pittsburgh Current ownership, management and staff. The Pittsburgh Current is an independently owned and operated print and online media company produced in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, 1665 Broadway Ave., Pittsburgh, PA., 15216. 412-204-7248.

Bonnie@pittsburghcurrent.com

Email us or don’t: info@pittsburghcurrent.com.

thria@pittsburghcurrent.com

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Chris Setlock Kitchen and Bath Design chris.m.setlock@gmail.com 412-368-2270

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NEWS

Leon Ford Photo: Emmai Alaquiva

LEON FORD’S NATIONAL NAME RECOGNITION

COULD GIVE HIM AN EDGE IN NEXT YEAR’S PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL RACE BY REBECCA ADDISON - PITTSBURGH CURRENT SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR REBECCA@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

his summer protests rocked Pittsburgh in the wake of the death of Antwon Rose, an African American teenager shot by Pittsburgh Police. At one of those protests on June 22, activist Leon Ford addressed a crowd of hundreds gathered at the Allegheny County Courthouse, calling on District Attorney Stephen Zappala to prosecute the officer who shot Rose. “I thought that this wouldn’t happen again,” Ford said as tears streamed down his face. Six years ago this month, Ford faced his own tragedy at the hands of Pittsburgh police officers when he was shot and paralyzed during a routine traffic stop. In the years since,

he’s toured the country sharing his story and calling for an end to police brutality. Earlier this year, after a long court battle, Ford received a $5.5 million settlement from the city stemming from that Nov. 11 2012 night. Some might see the settlement as a victory. They might have thought Ford would now shrink from the public arena. But he says his fight is far from over. “After Antwon Rose I went into a deep depression. I had to relive the trauma of me being shot through the trauma of speaking to his family and watching what they’re going through. There’s a lot of pain associated with a life being taken,” Ford

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tells Pittsburgh Current. “I had to make a decision, do I run away from this or do I step up.” On Nov. 11, exactly six years from the night he was shot, Ford kicked off his campaign for Pittsburgh City Council. He’ll face off against incumbent Councilor Ricky Burgess for control of the 9th District seat that includes parts of East Liberty, Homewood, Friendship, Garfield, Larimer, North Point Breeze and Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar. “After the speech I gave Downtown after Antwon Rose, I realized I had to be about what I was talking about. They say, be the change you want to see and over the years I’ve tried to live that,” Ford says. “When

people see me, they see hope. I love being an inspiration. I love motivating people. But now I can influence policy so people can know what it feels like to live in a prosperous community.” Ford’s opponent Rev. Ricky Burgess did not respond to requests for comment. While the issue of police brutality might be what prompted Ford to run, he says it’s not all he’s about. Ford has emerged as a national figure in the Black Lives Matter movement, but he’s also currently studying the venture capital industry in the world of Silicone Valley as an apprentice. He’s also a father and he’s had to learn how to navigate his new reality

of being confined to a wheelchair. His platform, he says, isn’t just about improving police community relations. He’s passionate about affordable housing, a major issue facing Pittsburgh where rents continue to rise and luxury housing developments take over neighborhood blocks. And, he says, accessibility and infrastructure will be the first issues he tackles. “A lot of people see my story and they automatically assume police issues will be my focus, but they forget I’m a wheelchair user. I have a very different lens of the community from being in a wheelchair. Some things as simple as rolling down the street when I pick up my son from school are difficult because of cracks in the sidewalks,” Ford says. “Another issue is housing. There’s not a lot of housing for people who are wheelchair users.” Ford doesn’t shy away from the notoriety he’s gained by being part of the national conversation around police brutality. It’s garnered his campaign national support and attention, which will undoubtedly add to his name recognition, but could also help him raise valuable funds. He’s got an army of local support in Pittsburgh, but ultimately, it’s his standing on the national stage that could give him an edge. “When a municipal candidate has national support, that’s pretty rare,” says G. Terry Madonna, a Pennsylvania political analyst. “There are always candidates who, by virtue of something in their background, develop national support. But as a whole it’s pretty uncommon. It will certainly raise his name recognition and should help him raise money.” Ford’s story has been featured in national and international outlets like Vice, Ebony, The Independent and Huffington Post. He’s also toured the country sharing his story at colleges and universities like Springfield College in Massachusetts, churches like the House of Hope in Atlanta, and events like the Families Learning Conference in Arizona last year. And this year he was named to Root.com’s Root 100.

“There’s a lot of complexity here,” says Madonna. “You have the emotional issue of what happened to him and how that can translate into overall name recognition. People might be more interested in his story than the incumbent’s record. But it’s still unclear whether that will be sufficient to win.” In October, National African American bank OneUnited announced it’s new Take A Knee campaign, inspired by activists who have refused to stand during the national anthem in silent protest of police shootings of unarmed Black people and the need for criminal justice reform. As part of the campaign, OneUnited will make a $25,000 donation to BMe (Black Male Engagement) in honor of Ford. “Rarely do we hear from survivors of police shootings. We selected Leon Ford based on his story of tragedy, survival and now advocacy for positive change, which symbolizes the story of the Black community. He is also a wonderful person,” said OneUnited spokesperson Suzan McDowell via email. “Leon Ford’s positive message, after such a tragic experience resonated with OneUnited.” In the weeks since Ford announced his campaign, his signs have been appearing in yards across the district and he’s raised more than $5,000 from 75 donors. It might not sound like much but his supporters say Ford’s local support is strong. “I think he’s substantively a really interesting candidate,” says Ford’s mentor Stephen DeBerry. “I think that it’s great that his support is national. But I think the strongest support he has is local. He has tremendous support on the ground.” DeBerry is the founder and managing partner at Bronze Investments, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund. He met Ford at a conference in D.C. a few years ago and has served as a mentor to the young man ever since, giving him the kind of business tutelage usually reserved for college classrooms. “I was startled by the injustice he experienced and I was also startled

by how brilliant he is as a person,” DeBerry says. “His story is emblematic of a much bigger point we all need to be thinking about in this country which has to do with, where are the gems that we’re not nurturing, that we’re not uncovering that we’re not preparing for the leadership that we so desperately need in this country.” DeBerry brought Ford on as an entrepreneur in residence to give him an inside look at the world of venture capital. It’s a hard world to break into, and DeBerry says the experience Ford has gained there will give him an advantage in any leadership role he takes on. “He’s learned a lot about how business works and policy and more importantly how to make connections between systemic issues of marginalization and how cities run,” DeBerry says. “He is now being surrounded by a network of folks who can support him. He has a very broad and sophisticated brain trust so that he’s not going through this alone.” Ford has emphasized that his support cuts across lines of race,

religion and sexual orientation. DeBerry believes the reason for this is that Ford’s story resonates with a large swath of the nation, especially those fed up with gun violence, whether it’s at the hands of police, on inner-city streets or in neighborhood schools. And it’s why DeBerry believes Ford can win. “We have a serious problem in this country around gun violence and police violence and I think this is an opportunity for America to stand up and say we’re going to support people working on this issue and those affected by that. For that reason I expect to see even more national support for him going further,” DeBerry says. “I think there’s poetic justice in him coming full circle. His response to what happened to him could have gone any number of ways and most of those ways could have been extremely negative. He’s channeling his energy in such a constructive way. And it’s fantastic for him and it’s fantastic for the city. He’s setting a great example to folks all over the place.”

Leon Ford Photo: Emmai Alaquiva PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 7

OPINION

FOR MANY VETERANS, THE MISSION CONTINUES

BY ARYANNA BERRINGER - PITTSBURGH CURRENT POLITICAL COLUMNIST ARYANNA@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

eadership; we haven’t really seen this dynamic quality in much abundance coming out of Harrisburg or Washington D.C. in recent years. It’s like not accomplishing anything important carries on as the modus operandi of both capital cities. So, if you’ve been feeling like you can’t look to your politicians as leaders in your community, I suggest you look no further than the veterans who are still of service to your community. The Pittsburgh region has one of the highest concentration of veterans that does not have an active duty military installation. Veterans are your neighbors, colleagues at work, and they may even be a part of your family.

Veterans Day may have just passed but I guarantee you more than they want a “thank you for your service” or a free cup of coffee, veterans just want you to get to know them. One impactful way you can do that is by joining them. There are numerous service organizations involving veterans to turn to, but I want to draw your attention to one non-profit in particular that is providing veterans an opportunity to continue to lead and serve. The Mission Continues hase three platoons here in Pittsburgh. First Platoon is led by Patti Gerhauser, a U.S. Navy veteran, and the platoon supports neighborhood revitalization in Hazelwood. Second Platoon is the Homewood Platoon and is led by another U.S. Navy veteran Derrick Clark, a childhood native of

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Homewood. The group is working to refurbish and improve existing structures and lots that support youth in the Homewood neighborhood. Pittsburgh’s Third Platoon focuses on mobilizing veterans to support the immigrant and refugee community in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. This platoon is led by Justin Thomas, a U.S. Army veteran. These veterans are fostering projects from garden clean ups and placing wreaths at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies to honor veterans who have passed, to classroom renovations for after-school programs. Even though they are no longer wearing their uniforms, veterans are fully engaged in the mission to make our communities stronger, happier, healthier places to live.

I encourage you to check out The Mission Continues and join veterans here in Pittsburgh on their next service project. Get your hands dirty, or covered in paint and watch how veterans from all walks of life come together to improve not just Western Pennsylvania, but communities across the nation. You will walk away inspired and your definition of and go-to source for service and leadership will shift to one that is more emblematic. Finally, regardless of whether you are reading this from Pittsburgh or another city, check out The Mission Continues website for the platoon closest to you: missioncontinues.org.

LGBTQ GIVING GUIDE BY SUE KERR - PITTSBURGH CURRENT COLUMNIST INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM No one should be shocked to read Financial Donations: Checks and that the LGBTQ community is under money orders payable to Garden attack. From our federal government of Peace, PO Box 59114 Pittsburgh planning to erase transgender peoPa 15210. Online donations can be ple, to scurrilous bathroom bills at made at paypal.me/gardenofpeace the state level, to the simple everyPersad Center day experiences of living as a queer Persad has multiple projects servperson in a society fueled by increasing different populations. ing violence, racism and religious Project: Rural, isolated LGBTQ elextremism. ders. Collecting Giant Eagle and AmElecting allies is essential, but so azon gift cards in any amount. Giant is the work of those on the frontlines Eagle and Amazon are the most useâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; the LGBTQ community groups ful for the specific individuals as they doing unglamorous, but critical work can be used for food, groceries, gas to sustain and nourish the commuas well as special purchases. Please nity. Funding has tightened over contact Kathi Boyle with specific the past decade or so. Important questions. accomplishments such as marriage Project: Youth Giving Tree. A wish equality often overshadow the grittilist set up for 65 LGBTQIA+ youth er and hard-to-message, but equally identifying wishes under $25. Conessential, needs. tact Lyndsey Sickler to be matched Most holiday projects do not with a youth wish **Deadline is Dec clearly invite LGBTQ adults or youth. 8. Religious affiliations are not always They also have a wishlist on Amazon safe. The only exception that I know for youth programming needs. of is the Play It Forward Pittsburgh All donations can be brought to front project. So, LGBTQ organizations desk during business hours. Conwork with our families to find tact Lyndsey or Kathi to make other resources, person by person. Some arrangements. hold community dinners, others try Deadline: Wish List - Dec. 8, Gift to collect gifts on top of everything Cards - Dec. 20, Amazon Wishlist else that they are understaffed to ongoing manage. Website: persadcenter.org As you plan your holiday doFacebook: facebook.com/Persadnations this year, please consider Center investing in the work of these LGBTQ Email: lsickler@persadcenter.org community groups: kboyle@persadcenter.org Garden of Peace Contact Person: Lyndsey Sickler Projects: Backpack gift drive. Fill (Youth) Kathi Boyle (Elders) backpacks with toiletries, hygiene Financial Donations: https://perproducts, gift cards and a small gift sadcenter.org/donate (please make a for homeless, housing insecure and note on your donation for its intendtransient Trans and Queer people. ed purpose.) Also, donations for their Holiday True T Pittsburgh Meal on December 23. Project: Finding a new venue to call Deadline: Dec. 15, 2018 home. Computers, furniture, appliWebsite: gardenofpeaceproject.org ance are all welcome as donations. Facebook: facebook.com/gardenofWinter coat drive for the homeless peaceproject community in collaborations with Email: info@gardenofpeaceproject. Color Me Urban and the Urban org League Young Professionals. Contact Person: Rashod Brown, Need 100 coats. Pittsburgh Regional Director Deadline: Jan. 2019

Website: www.truetpgh.com Facebook: facebook.com/TrueTpgh/ Email: truetstaff@gmail.com Contact Person: Naheen Binion / Co-Executive Director Financial Donations: Checks to their fiscal sponsors at Kelly Strayhorn Theater/Community Theater Group to the attention of True T Entertainment. 5941 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Other Options: Other groups that do not have specific holiday programming, but do have end of year needs to keep the lights on and the programs operating. They provide vital services and often work handin-hand with the groups above to address specific needs. Dreams of Hope, www.dreamsofhope.org Renaissance City Choir, http://www. rccpittsburgh.com/ PFLAG Pittsburgh, http://pflagpgh. org/ SisTers Pgh, https://www.facebook.

com/sistersPGH/ TransPride Pittsburgh, https://www. facebook.com/transpridepgh/ ProudHaven, https://www.proudhaven.org/home.html #AMPLIFY LGBTQ Project, http:// www.pghlesbian.com/amplify Giving thanks does challenge us to invest in our community resources so they can continue to do that work that we appreciate. However, it is also critical that you continue to listen. Following these groups on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is one way. Volunteering your time, attending meetings, and participating in year round fundraisers is important as well. Giving thanks for the hard work these organizations do with shoestring budgets and mostly volunteer staff is not simply just a good thing to do, it is an investment in our neighbors. While progress doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always include everyone, we are thankful for those who work for a more just society for all LGBTQ folx.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 9

NON-PROFIT PROFILE:

1HOOD MEDIA AND CENTER OF LIFE FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE: 1HOOD.ORG AND CENTEROFLIFE.NET

BY AMANDA REED - PITTSBURGH CURRENT STAFF WRITER AMANDA@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM Current Photos by Jake Mysliwczyk

ip-hop artist Treble NLS — the nom de plume of 22-year-old Shyheim Banks — never thought of his art as activism before joining 1Hood Media earlier this year. That outlook changed after becoming more involved in the nonprofit. “We are activists because we are telling the honest stories of people of color,” he said. “we’re controlling our own portrayal in the media,” he said. 1Hood Media in North Oakland, along with Center of Life in Hazelwood, give young Pittsburghers a chance to explore the music industry, from learning instruments to producing their own tracks, while also giving them an outlet to find their voice. Founded in 2006, 1Hood Media is a collective of socially conscious artists and activists who utilize art to raise awareness about social justice matters. They offer workshops, curriculum consultation, media literacy training, conflict resolution, lyricism, songwriting and vocal instruction, music production; they also teach blogging, photography and videography. According to Banks, who was already involved in the local rap scene, 1Hood gave him a chance to take his career to the next level, teaching him

how to earn a profit, manage his finances and market his music. 1Hood also provided him with a platform to perform for larger audiences and work as a teaching artist in the organization, helping youth in the area with self-confidence. “I help them to find their worth as people, because it’s very hard to find your worth as an adolescent,” he said. Taliya Allen, 1Hood’s director of arts education and cultural enrichment, says the goal of 1Hood’s programming is to engage people with tools that are innate to them. Allen, who has a background in education, realized the gap in children’s understanding was not correlated with their ability to create. “They could create almost any level and create beautiful pieces without any formal education. So the thing is to engage people at these various levels and help them understand how their creative potential can be their gateway to the world,” she said. “They can go out and they can do fantastic things with just their words, their bodies, their songs their voice, you know, these tools that are natural to them.” Allen says that 1Hood gives children of color an opportunity to realize their potential in a society

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that tells them they don’t have any. “We have so many young people who come to us who feel alienated by the school system, but can come to us and come to similar partners in other agencies and find a voice for themselves,” she says. Center of Life in Hazelwood has a similar mission to 1Hood’s. Center of Life serves Hazelwood and its surrounding communities with academic out-of-school programs and experiences in music and arts, like its jazz and Kreating Universal New-School Knowledge Movement, or KRUNK, programs. Its jazz program provides music instruction for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. KRUNK Movement expands on that for those in grades nine through 12 by instilling professionalism and teaching music production, graphic design and photography, with those who participate getting paid for what they produce. “It’s a good opportunity for families to expose their students at an early age, and then they’re able to master instruments or vocals by the time that they’re older and consider it as a real career option, which is really our ultimate goal,” says Joy Cannon, director of programming at Center of Life.

For Neil Martin, Center of Life’s business and compliance manager and former KRUNK Movement participant, the program was a way for him to do something “cool” and make friends in a safe space. “There are a number of us who have returned to Center of Life to teach youth following in our footsteps. The impact KRUNK has had on my life can not be overstated,” he wrote in an email to The Current. Cannon says that learning music — which helps promote critical thinking — helps students in their daily lives. “Along the way, we end up enriching them academically as well because different music skills translates to other academics,” she says. Because of its universality, Cannon says music — and the other artistic modes that are associated with it — are able to reach young people in ways other forms can’t. “If you’re looking to communicate with young people especially, music is really the way to do it to get a message across,” she said.

JM the Poet Current Photos by Jake Mysliwczyk PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 11

NON-PROFIT PROFILE: THE GREATER PITTSBURGH YMCA FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE: WWW.YMCAOFPITTSBURGH.ORG

BY CHARLIE DEITCH - PITTSBURGH CURRENT EDITOR CHARLIE@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

t his lowest point struggling with homelessness and drug and alcohol addiction in the 1990s, Doug Williams spent the night sleeping in the Larimer Avenue Field. “You’re bringing up some tough, old memories,” says an emotional Williams, who now works at the Centre Avenue YMCA as head cook, housing coordinator and case manager. “I had a great life, my girlfriend and I were doing well. I worked in the food-services industry and it was always good to me. But I went from that to being homeless for a year looking for my next fix.” While laying in the field that night, a time when gang violence in the neighborhood was a constant problem, Williams heard gunfire ring out. Not in the distance, but right above him, over his head. It went on for several minutes and when it stopped, he stood up. “These guys were there and they had no idea that I had been laying in the middle of this shooting,” Williams says. “They also couldn’t believe that I didn’t get shot. I couldn’t believe it either. I began thinking about how I’d survive if God chose to wake me up the next day. “A short time after that, I was in Garfield sitting in the middle of the street when these two detectives

walked up behind me. That was my last run. I spent six months in the Allegheny County jail in a program called Strength Incorporated and it saved my life.” These days, Williams life is more than just together. Early next year, he will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in social and human services from Geneva College in May. “My life has improved so much and that’s why I want to help as many people as I can achieve their best life,” Williams says. “You know, when I went to school as a kid, I went on the ‘little bus,’ they said I was slow and later told me I wasn’t college material. But going into my second year at the CCAC, I was on the Dean’s List. Now, I’m getting my Bachelor’s degree. I want to show people that you can do what you set your mind to.” Through his work at the YMCA, he’s helping individuals and families get their lives back in order. He does that through his cooking talents and his work as a case manager, mentoring people who were once in the same position he was. He’s able to do that through donations to the YMCA and fundraisers, which also go to a slew of other YMCA programs across the Pittsburgh Region. In fact, one of the organization’s biggest fundrais-

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Doug Williams of the Centre Avenue YMCA Current Photo by Jake Mysliwczyk ers will take place on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 22. The Turkey Trot begins at PNC Park and features five different races: a one-mile family fun run at 8 a.m., the 5K Turkey Trot Walk/Run at 8:30 a.m., the Gentile, Horoho & Avalli Double Gobble: 5K at 8:30 a.m., a 5-mile course at 9:15 a.m. and a YAchievers 5-mile run at 9:15 a.m. This year the YMCA is also partnering with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Williams says funds raised from the race are essential to the YMCA’s programs and ability to help others. At the Centre Avenue YMCA alone, funds help 24 families in the community as well as 67 men that receive residential services through the YMCA. “The funds we get help a lot of people,” WIlliams says. “We have

nearly 70 men who live here daily and this money allows us to give them three square meals a day. They’re not going to live here forever, we help them get back on their feet and it’s easier for them to do that because they’re not worried about food. We’ll feed them and others in our community who need the assistance. “Across the region, the Greater Pittsburgh YMCA is able to do that for thousands of people because of donations.”

INFO: 2018 YMCA TURKEY TROT

8 a.m. Thursday Nov. 22. PNC Park. Register online: www. ymcaofpittsburgh.org

YMCA Turkey Trot Photos courtesy of: YMCA PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 13

NON-PROFIT PROFILE: MARIO LEMIEUX FOUNDATION

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE: MARIOLEMIEUX.ORG

BY BRIAN METZER - PITTSBURGH CURRENT HOCKEY WRITER INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

ario Lemieux is a legend. He’s done it all on and off the ice as a player and owner. He’s won all the individual awards, the MVP trophies, the Stanley Cups, and even kept the Penguins in Pittsburgh, but it’s his work away from the game that’s made him a hero. When he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in the summer of 1993 he did what he’s done to most opponents that have crossed his path – he beat it with style and grace. Then he decided that beating his own cancer wasn’t enough. He wanted to help everyone who has battled or will battle the disease and founded the Mario Lemieux Foundation with the assistance of his wife Nathalie. The charitable organization celebrated its 25th anniversary on Nov. 15. Mario, Nathalie and their foundation remain dedicated to cancer research and patient care and have donated nearly $25 million to foundation related programs and built 36 Austin’s Playrooms for children and families who find themselves in challenging medical situations. “It’s been such an honor to work with Mario and Nathalie because they’re so committed to the cause, and because they’re so directly in-

volved,” says Nancy Angus, executive director of the MLF. “We came from very modest beginnings to the point where we’ve donated more than $25 million to cancer research and other causes, which is remarkable for a foundation our size.” The foundation began with a focus on funding research to find a cure for cancer, but Nathalie established the Austin’s Playrooms initiative, creating playrooms for children and families in hospitals and other medical facilities after their son Austin was born premature in 1996. Austin was in neonatal intensive care for more than 70 days and the Lemieuxs realized that there was little to engage their two young daughters Lauren and Stephanie. That experience planted the seed, Nathalie devised the plan, raised the funds and launched the program in the year 2000. There are now 36 Austin’s Playrooms, including three military playrooms at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in California and Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Other Notable Achievements include: The Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; The Mario Lemieux Centers for Patient Care and Research; The

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Lemieux Family Center at the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh; The Mario Lemieux Lymphoma Center for Children and Young Adults at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Paul Steigerwald of the Penguins Radio Network has known the Lemieux family since Mario’s arrival in Pittsburgh in 1984 and he’s been wowed by their philanthropy. “The Mario Lemieux Foundation is the ultimate testament to the indomitable spirits of Mario and Nathalie,” Steigerwald says. “Their legacy is one of triumph over adversity. “Mario’s successful battle with cancer wasn’t enough. He felt compelled to transform those dark days for him and his loved ones into brighter days for hundreds

of thousands of people who will benefit from his foundation and the same can be said with regard to the premature birth of their son, Austin. Nathalie transformed that difficult experience into an idea that has made the experience of having a sick sibling infinitely more tolerable than it was for Austin’s sisters. There is no better testament to the character of Mario Lemieux than his passion for giving others a chance to win.”

Mario Lemieux statue at PPG Paints Arena Current Photos by Jake Mysliwczyk

NON-PROFIT PROFILE: JUST HARVEST

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE: JUSTHARVEST.ORG

BY HALEY FREDERICK - PITTSBURGH CURRENT STAFF WRITER HALEY@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

Children enjoy apples through Fresh Access farmers market program (Photo courtesy of Just Harvest)

en Regal, executive director of Just Harvest, has been working at the nonprofit since it began in 1986. In that time, Just Harvest has continuously grown its programs to address the causes of hunger in new ways. It operates with the long-term goal of eradicating hunger through changes to public policy and the food system. “We see hunger in a broader social and economical and political context. We work to eliminate the root causes of hunger so that we’re not operating out of a place of distributing leftovers,” Regal says. “And that’s not a criticism of the wonderful work that food pantries and soup kitchens and food banks do all over town and all over the country, but without that broader perspective,

we’re kind of doomed to collect canned goods forever.” That focus on policy and institutional change has remained central to Just Harvest’s operations. Though, they’ve branched out in several directions like advocating for workers rights, higher wages, public transportation, and many other causes that all support a movement toward ending hunger. One of Just Harvest’s biggest annual efforts comes every tax season. It is the area’s leading provider of free income tax preparation services for low income people. “It turns out that the earned income tax credit is one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty programs,” Regal says. Almost a hundred volunteers are

trained through Just Harvest to help people file their taxes for free. And for some of the people they help, that refund is the biggest lump sum of money they see all year. It can be the difference between putting food on the table or not, paying the rent on time or not, and all kinds of basic everyday needs. According to Regal, Just Harvest did the income tax returns for 3,000 households last year for families whose median incomes were under $15,000 a year, and who shared a total of over 6 million dollars in tax refunds. In the 15 years since the program began, Just Harvest has filed more than 30,000 tax returns. Volunteer Coordinator Amanda Fry says that no special experience is necessary to help with tax returns or any of their other programs. All that volunteers need is the desire to help and Just Harvest can enable them do the rest. “Taxes are very personal, reaching out for help getting access to food or medical assistance, these are all things that are deeply personal and can have a lot of feelings come with that, or resistance, but seeing the way you can still develop that human connection and get through those things is really important in normalizing the nature of helping people,” Fry says. One of the ways Just Harvest helps people access food is by assisting them through the application process to receive food stamps. The bureaucracy involved in applying for benefits like food stamps is a barrier for a lot of the people who are eligible. Just Harvest helped about 1,300 people navigate that process just this year. And, Just Harvest wants low income people and those with food stamps to access fresh, nutritious foods. That’s why they run their farmers market Fresh Access and Fresh Corners programs. The Fresh Access program enables people to use Access Cards at more than 15 farmers markets in the region. Since the food subsidies operate through an electronic system similar to debit cards, vendors

at most farmers markets are unable to accept them. Just Harvest’s kiosks at these markets allow people to use their benefits, debit or credit cards to buy tokens that they can then use to purchase fresh foods. And combining the use of food stamps with debit and credit cards means that no one is stigmatized by using the tokens. “One of the things we insisted on with the entities that were running those farmers markets is that our electronic transaction kiosk was not going to be ‘the poor people’s line,’ it was going to be a way of boosting business for farmers, it was a way of serving the community and a way of providing access to that good food for low income people without judging them,” says Regal. The Fresh Corners program helps mom and pop corner stores in low income neighborhoods that don’t have supermarkets to carry fresh produce and to market it better, Regal explains. Thanks to Just Harvest and partners like Economic Development South, Produce Marketplace opened last month in the heart of Clairton. “It’s the first grocery store selling fresh produce in Clairton in a dozen years,” Regal says. But, among all the progress that Regal has seen over the past 30 years, there are some fundamental things that have remained the same and are holding the movement to end hunger back. Regal explains that we need to start seeing food as a human right. “There’s a prevailing perspective in american society that when we think about poverty and we think about creating policy to address poverty that we’re constantly trying to come up with some particular way of defining who the ‘deserving poor’ are because those are the people that we’re going to help.” “We should start fundamentally from a place that says that there’s no such thing as a person who doesn’t deserve enough food to eat,” Regal says. “That’s part of our common humanity.”

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 15

NON-PROFIT PROFILE: ALLIES FOR HEALTH + WELLBEING FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE: ALLIESPGH.ORG

BY NICK EUSTIS - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

Allies For Health Staff Members

itting across from East Liberty Presbyterian Church on Penn Avenue, Allies for Health + Wellbeing might not look different than any ordinary medical clinic. In many ways, they are not. They accept most health insurances, perform exams, tests, all things related to medicine. But there is a deeper layer to Allies for Health, one that goes back to a troubled time in American history. The 1980s saw the rise of a disease which would become one of the world’s greatest health crises. It became known as the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. Spread primarily through exposure to infected blood and other bodily fluids, the CDC estimated in 2016 that as many as 675,000 Americans have died from HIV since the beginning of the epidemic over 30 years ago. The disease was particularly brutal because it disproportionately affected some of the most marginalized communities among us. Seeing

this, LGBT activist Kerry Stoner and a group of volunteers formed the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, or PATF. They worked to provide legal advocacy to protect patients from discrimination, as well as secure money they were entitled to. They also developed a system called the Buddy Program, which paired patients with people to provide support of all kinds. As PATF evolved over the years, they added a number of new supplemental services, some of which are open to HIV-negative patients. To reflect this change, PATF rebranded as Allies for Health + Wellbeing in 2017. Today, Allies for Health + Wellbeing is the oldest and largest AIDS service organization in Southwestern PA. According to Brogan McGowan, Allies’ marketing and communications manager, they continue to provide some of the most comprehensive care for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

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“Allies is proud to provide rapid and free HIV and Hepatitis C testing services to folks. The Allies Medical Clinic allows for immediate consultation and treatment the same day for those experiencing symptoms or [who] receive a positive result,” McGowan said. Testing and education are also taken outside of the clinic to the communities who need them. “Allies works to bring community education and free testing out into the community. Allies is equipped to provide free HIV, STI, and viral hepatitis testing at most community events, spaces and health fairs,” McGowan said. Allies for Health also provides PrEP and PEP, two breakthrough medications for preventing HIV. It also helps to connect patients with programs to assist with the payment of any co-pays. For those who are HIV-positive, Allies provides a number of different services to help them manage the challenges of the disease, especially

lower-income patients. This includes case management, access to pharmacy and legal services, even emergency housing and financial assistance. Allies also continues to operate the Buddy Program. As they are a nonprofit, Allies for Health receive funding from the community. While donations are accepted year round, their largest fundraising effort is their annual Allies Ball. “The Allies Ball is a premier gala inviting stakeholders of all perspectives, backgrounds and experiences to come together as Allies for Health + Wellbeing to improve the services available for folks that experience discrimination in their access to healthcare services,” McGowan said. Last year, the Allies Ball raised $127,000 to benefit those living with HIV/AIDS. The goal for next year’s Ball, scheduled for March 30, 2019, is even higher. And for all those who depend so much on them, that is something to be thankful for this holiday season.

We’re your friend with benefits. Discreet sexual health services with no strings attached. -Birth Control -STD Testing -Gynecological Care -Pregnancy Testing -Emergency Contraception -HIV Testing & PrEP

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania

933 Liberty Ave. 1.800.230.PLAN www.ppwp.org @PPWPA

NonProfit Directory

Since most people tend to donate more money around the holidays, Pittsburgh Current decided to put together this directory of nonprofit organizations. This directory is in no way inclusive nor was it meant to be, but rather provide a cross-section of organizations in and around the area (nonprofits that appear in other sections of this guide are also not included here). On our website, pittsburghcurrent.com, we have a list of more than 150 nonprofits and we’re not done adding to it yet. To have your organization considered for inclusion in our online directory, Email a link to your nonprofit’s website to charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com.

Arts and Music

Afro American Music Institute afroamericanmusic.org Engaging youth in the practice, theory and knowledge of Afro American musical contributions to the world. Alumni Theater Company alumnitheatercompany.org Alumni Theater Company (ATC) is a driven ensemble that creates bold theatrical work that gives fresh voice to the experience of young urban artists and highlights their rich contribution to the community. Arcade Comedy Theater arcadecomedytheater.com Arcade Comedy Theater provides an interactive platform for players of all levels, both onstage and off, to experience various forms of theatrical comedy, from proven standards to offbeat styles. Artist Image Resource artistsimageresource.org Artists Image Resources (AIR) is an artist run, non-profit print and imaging organization established in 1996 to serve as a laboratory for artists, educators and the community. AIR’s mission is to integrate the creation of fine art prints with educational programs that explore the role of the artist in contemporary culture. Assemble assemblepgh.org The intersection of art and technology meets at Assemble whose main goal is education. Bodiography Contemporary Ballet bodiographycbc.com

Originally conceived as a performance outlet for exquisite ballet dancers with healthy, athletic, but non-stereotypical ballet bodies, Bodiography Contemporary Ballet strives to bring the beauty of ballet to new dance audiences in Pittsburgh and beyond. Bricolage Production Company bricolagepgh.org Bricolage’s mission is to immerse artists and audiences in adventurous theatrical experiences that foster connections and alter perceptions. Calliope calliopehouse.org Calliope promotes and preserves traditional and contemporary folk music and its allied arts. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh carnegielibrary.org This venerable Pittsburgh institution offers way more than books at dozens of branches across the region. They offer community and literacy programming, meeting spaces and more.

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh carnegiemuseums.org Carnegie Museums present exhibits and educational opportunities that inspire, educates, engages and challenges patrons. Chamber Music Pittsburgh chambermusicpittsburgh.org Presents world-class chamber music ensembles and soloists, promising emerging artists, and innovative programs; and to foster an appreciation for chamber music in the Pittsburgh community by offering educational programs and experiences. City of Asylum cityofasylum.org City of Asylum creates a thriving community for writers, readers, and neighbors. City Theatre citytheatrecompany.org City Theatre specializes in new play development, and is the largest theatre in Pittsburgh dedicated to a full season of all new work, commissioning and producing plays by writers at the forefront of the industry.

Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh craftsmensguild.org Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh’s mission is to act as an interface between craftsmen and the general public and to develop and preserve excellence in craftsmanship in the region served it. Front Porch Theatricals frontporchpgh.com The mission of Front Porch Theatricals is to provide our region with professional, high-quality musical theater productions featuring Pittsburgh’s diverse actor, artistic and technical talent base. Girls Rock! Pittsburgh girlsrockpittsburgh.org Girls Rock! Pittsburgh utilizes the process of making music to instill tools for amplifying self-confidence, creative expression, independent thinking, mutual respect, and cooperation while cultivating a supportive and inclusive community of peers and mentors. Girls Write Pittsburgh girlswritepittsburgh.com Girls Write Pittsburgh inspires girl-identified teen writers to grow their voices through writing. Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council pittsburghartscouncil.org GPAC champions the arts in Southwestern Pennsylvania, providing financial, professional, and political support for the arts and culture sector. It provides grants for artists, leads the region’s arts advocacy at the local, state, and national level, and models best practices for accessibility and equity in the arts.

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Handmade Arcade handmadearcade.org Handmade Arcade is a nonprofit organization that provides craft artists working outside mainstream and fine arts sectors with opportunities to sell products, build community, network and share their artistic practice at an award-winning marketplace. The Harmony Singers of Pittsburgh harmonysingers.org The Harmony Singers range in age from early 20’s to mid 70’s, both men and women, who enjoy singing, dancing and doing comedy. Hip Hop on L.O.C.K. Hiphoponlock.org This arts-education program teaches students how to produce a music CD project from conception to completion. New Hazlett Theater newhazletttheater.org The Theater’s mission is to provide a nurturing, collaborative environment for artists. Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures pittsburghlectures.org The mission of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures is to connect celebrated authors with the community, elevate civic discourse, and inspire creativity and a passion for the literary arts. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre pbt.org Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s mission is to be Pittsburgh’s source and ambassador for extraordinary ballet experiences that give life to the classical tradition, nurture new ideas and, above all, inspire. Pittsburgh CLO pittsburghclo.org Pittsburgh CLO is a not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to the preservation, creation and promotion of the American musical theater art form, the furnishing of arts education and providing outreach and meaningful community service opportunities in Western Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Pittsburgh Cultural Trust trustarts.org Since 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has worked to make the Steel City a place where the arts can flourish. Pittsburgh Festival Opera pittsburghfestivalopera.org Pittsburgh Festival Opera presents innovative opera, producing American works, reinterpretations of older works, and new works, for the widest possible audience. Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra pittsburghfestivalorchestra.org

The Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra seeks to serve the public through presentation and interpretation of music by providing neighborhood concerts, with professional ensembles of highly skilled musicians Pittsburgh Fringe Performing Arts Festival pittsburghfringe.org The Pittsburgh Fringe is an all-out, no-holdsbarred, inclusive multi-disciplinary performing arts festival featuring international, national and local artists. Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PF/PCA) pfpca.org PF/PCA teaches, exhibits, and promotes the arts and artists in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh Glass Center pittsburghglasscenter.org Pittsburgh Glass Center is a nonprofit, public access school, gallery and state-of-the-art glass studio dedicated to teaching, creating and promoting glass art. Pittsburgh Opera pittsburghopera.org Established by five intrepid women in 1939, Pittsburgh Opera is viewed as one of the most vibrant opera organizations in the U.S., with a rich artistic tradition, outstanding educational programs, an acclaimed artist training program, and a progressive outlook toward the future. Pittsburgh Musical Theater pittsburghmusicals.com Pittsburgh Musical Theater (PMT) is a non-profit organization committed to providing quality, affordable musical theater to the Pittsburgh region, educating youth in the arts, and employing and developing local talent. Pittsburgh New Works Festival pittsburghnewworks.org Pittsburgh New Works Festival is dedicated to fostering the development of original one-act plays. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Pghplaywrights.org Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company was

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founded by Mark Clayton Southers in 2003 and is located on Penn Avenue in the City’s Cultural District. Mission: to develop and showcase the works of local playwrights; from accomplished masters like August Wilson to promising new talents. We seek to nurture a racially and culturally diverse community of artists. Pittsburgh Public Theater ppt.org The mission of Pittsburgh Public Theater is to provide artistically diverse theatrical experiences of the highest quality. Pittsburgh Savoyards pittsburghsavoyards.org The Pittsburgh Savoyards, Inc. is a semi-professional, community-based, non-profit theater company dedicated to perpetuating the heritage of Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas. Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators pittsburghillustrators.org Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators brings local illustrators together to facilitate artistic and professional growth, advocacy for artists’ rights, and the comradery and promotion of our collective Pittsburgh talent. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra pittsburghsymphony.org The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs music at the highest level of expression and artistic excellence to enrich our community and provide stellar experiences for our audiences. Pittsburgh Youth Philharmonic Orchestra pypo.org The mission of the Pittsburgh Youth Philharmonic Orchestra is to educate, inspire and foster a life-long love of music. Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra pyso.org The mission of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra is to teach and inspire excellence through orchestral training, to perform in premier venues, and to cultivate audiences for classical music. Prime Stage Theatre

primestage.com The mission of Prime Stage is to entertain, inspire and enrich through professional theatre by bringing literature to life. Puppetry Guild of Pittsburgh pgop.org The Puppetry Guild of Pittsburgh aims to provide an accessible community promoting communication, networking and awareness within the field of puppetry arts. Quantum Theatre quantumtheatre.com Quantum Theatre is a company of progressive, professional artists dedicated to producing intimate and sophisticated theatrical experiences in uncommon settings, exploring universal themes of truth, beauty, and human relationships in unexpected ways. Silver Eye Center for Photography silvereye.org Silver Eye promotes the power of contemporary photography as a fine art medium by creating original exhibitions, unique educational programing and a space for artists to learn, create and connect through its digital lab. Society for Contemporary Craft contemporarycraft.org Contemporary Craft offers cutting edge exhibitions focused on multicultural diversity and non-mainstream art, as well as a range of classes and community outreach programs. Sweetwater Center for the Arts sweetwaterartcenter.org Sweetwater offers nearly 400 classes, workshops, and lectures annually in the visual, performing, literary and culinary arts for children, teens and adults at every skill level, from beginner to experienced. Texture Ballet Company textureballet.org The mission of Texture Contemporary Ballet is to create and present authentic and dynamic movement that is based in classical ballet. Throughline Theatre Company throughlinetheatre.org The mission of Throughline Theatre Company is to demonstrate the existence of common themes throughout literary history that bridge generations and bring into perspective the constancy of the human condition. The Westmoreland Museum of American Art thewestmoreland.org The mission of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is to stimulate imagination and innovation through great experiences with art.

Children

Amachi Pittsburgh amachipgh.org Amachi Pittsburgh works with a network of secular and faith-based partners to strategically provide encouragement, guidance, and support to children with incarcerated parents, ages 4-18, and their families. Apraxia Kids apraxia-kids.org Apraxia Kids is the leading nonprofit whose mission is to strengthen the support systems in the lives of children with childhood apraxia of speech. It helps children find their voice through education, research and support networks working to improve the systems of support in the lives of children with apraxia and their families. Carnegie Science Center carnegiesciencecenter.org Carnegie Science Center offers a family-centered experience that delights, educates, and inspires through interactive experiences in science and technology, in order to foster a scientifically literate community. Children’s Home of Pittsburgh childrenshomepgh.org The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh, established in 1893, is an independent, non-profit licensed organization whose purpose is to promote the health and well-being of infants and children through services which establish and strengthen the family. Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh pittsburghkids.org Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh provides innovative museum experiences that inspire joy, creativity and curiosity. Gwen’s Girls Since 2002, Gwen’s Girls has enriched the lives of young women with programs and services that expose them to all of the world’s possibilities. It seeks to connect girls with the skills, opportunities, and relationships they need to succeed. Homewood Children’s Village Hcvpgh.org HCV’s mission is to improve the lives of Homewood’s children and simultaneously reweave the fabric of the community in which they live. Tickets for Kids ticketsforkids.org Tickets for Kids provides at-risk children with experiences that inspire hope, dreams, and achievements for a lifetime. Vision: A world where our most vulnerable children feel

included, valued, and inspired to reach their full potential. YouthPlaces youthplaces.org YP focuses its efforts on underserved youth in high-risk communities where few other agencies operate through afterschool programs that engage youth from within their community, and are responsive to input and feedback from youth leaders and the community as a whole.

Community

Casa San Jose casasanjose.org Casa San Jose is a community resource center that advocates for and empowers Latinos by promoting integration and self-sufficiency. Islamic Center of Pittsburgh icp-pgh.org The ICP’s mission is to shape the American-Muslim identity by educating, empowering, and uniting our dynamic and diverse community. Jewish Community Center Pittsburgh jccpgh.org For more than 120 years, the JCC has enriched the community by creating an environment rooted in Jewish values that strengthens the physical, intellectual and spiritual well-being of individuals and families. Light of Life Rescue Mission lightoflife.org Light of Life will provide a home for the homeless and food for the hungry, and works to change the lives of the poor, addicted, abused and needy through Christ-centered care. Little Sisters of the Poor littlesistersofthepoor.org Anytime a conversation of Pittsburgh Nonprofits is raised, Little Sisters of the Poor is one of the first to be named. Ironically, their name would come up whenever discussions would be held about nonprofits like UPMC

and Highmark paying their fair share to the city. Undoubtedly, one of the giants would bring up how taxing nonprofits would affect the “Little Sisters,” even though that was never anyone’s intention. Their good works are focused on the neediest of our elderly community. Operation Better Block obbinc.org The mission of Operation Better Block, Inc. is to strategize, organize and mobilize, block by block, to benefit the Homewood Community. PGH Equality Center pghequalitycenter.org Formerly known as The Gay & Lesbian Community Center (GLCC), the PEC provides LGBT individuals, their families and supporters in Western Pennsylvania with resources and opportunities to promote visibility, understanding, and equality within the LGBT communities and the community at large. Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh wcspittsburgh.org For more than 40 years, Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh has been a leader in providing safety, shelter, support and guidance to all victims of domestic violence. Last year, WC&S served over 7,500 women and children through its many programs and services.

Food/Nutrition

412 Food Rescue 412foodrescue.org Not only does 412 Food Rescue collect surplus food from retailers to reduce waste, it partners with other nonprofits to get that fresh, healthy food to people who need it. Backpack for Hunger backpackforhunger.org To prevent weekend hunger in children of low-income families in the Fox Chapel Area School District, Backpack for Hunger sends them home with a bag full of meals and

snacks. Community Human Services Food Pantry Chscorp.org On average, 123 families visit the CHS Food Pantry per week, where they’re offered a “shop around” experience that allows them to choose what they take home. Community Kitchen PGH Ckpgh.org Community Kitchen trains disenfranchised community members in the culinary arts and gives them access to secure and stable employment in the food service industry. East End Cooperative Ministry eecm.org The East End Cooperative Ministry provides a number of services to those in need, including serving hot lunches in their Community Kitchen every weekday and offering an emergency food pantry for those in immediate need. Ethical Farming Fund ethicalfarmingfund.org The Ethical Farming Fund helps farmers improve the lives of their animals, advocates for humane, sustainable animal farming, and connects Southwestern Pennsylvanians to local sources of humanely raised meat, eggs, and dairy. Giving2Grow giving2grow.org A ‘grassroots giving circle for southwestern Pennsylvania,’ Giving2Grow supports local organizations that already have the skill and knowledge and commitment to address childhood nutrition and food security through grants. Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank pittsburghfoodbank.org Last year the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank distributed more than 33 million meals in the the 11 county area it services. Grow Pittsburgh growpittsburgh.org By making gardening accessible through educational programs, Grow Pittsburgh encourages people of all ages to grow and eat fresh, local and healthy food. Islamic Center of Pittsburgh Food Pantry Icp-pgh.org The ICP Food Pantry distributes food and toiletries on the third Saturday of each month from their location in North Oakland. JFCS Food Pantry jfcspgh.org Jewish Family and Community Services’ Squirrel Hill Food Pantry offers one-time and recurring food assistance to people who meet

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income requirements that live in the 15217 zip code, as well as those outside the 15217 zip code that keep kosher homes. Jubilee Soup Kitchen jubileesoupkitchen.org North Hills Food Bank northhillsfoodbank.org With the motto ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ the North Hills Food Bank is staffed solely by volunteers who serve approximately 225 families each month. Northside Food Pantry Northsidefoodpantry.org A part of Northside Common Ministries, the Northside Food Pantry provides food for about 700 food-insecure families each month in a supermarket-like setting. Plum Food Pantry Plumfoodpantry.org Operating at the Holiday Park United Methodist Church since 1982, The Plum Food Pantry is committed to providing individuals and families in Plum Borough with nutritional food and grocery products. Rainbow Kitchen Community Services rainbowkitchen.org Rainbow Kitchen runs a Breakfast Program each week day, a Kid’s Cafe for children at risk of hunger, and multiple food pantries for disabled and low-income residents of retirement apartment complexes, as well as for residents of Homestead, West Homestead, Munhall, Duquesne, Whitaker and West Mifflin.

Health

Adagio Health adagiohealth.org Adagio Health and their partners provide comprehensive reproductive health care to over 100,000 women and their families across 23 counties in Western Pennsylvania. Alexis Joy Foundation alexisjoyfoundation.org The mission of this foundation, created in memory of Alexis Joy D’Achille, is to be a shining light for women and families suffering from and affected by perinatal mood and anxiety disorders spanning, but not limited to, infertility, postpartum depression, and infant and child loss. Consumer Health Coalition consumerhealthcoalition.org CHC believes health care should focus on the needs of each patient as well as the social and economic barriers that impact people’s access to health and wellness. It has worked to enhance access to quality, affordable healthcare

titis C, and STD screening.

Sports and Athletics

in Southwestern Pennsylvania since 1996. Familylinks familylinks.org Familylinks’ services range from outpatient mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment to education for children whose behavioral or developmental health issues keep them from thriving in a traditional school setting, as well as mobile therapy for older adults who aren’t able to travel to an outpatient office for counseling. The Garment Project thegarmentproject.org The Garment Project aims to empower women recovering from an eating disorder by providing them with new, size-less clothing, individualized for their healthy bodies and lifestyles. Global Links globallinks.org Global Links is a medical relief and development organization dedicated to supporting health improvement initiatives in resource-poor communities and promoting environmental stewardship in the US healthcare system. Since 1989 it has been working to redirect still-useful materials away from US landfills to support public health programs in targeted communities throughout the Western Hemisphere. McGuire Memorial Foundation mcguirememorial.org McGuire Memorial is a non-denominational facility that has, since 1963, served those who are physically and developmentally challenged. Located in Western Pennsylvania, it has created a unique program that includes the care of those with severe disabilities. New Voices Pittsburgh newvoicespittsburgh.org New Voices is a grassroots organization whose mission is to build a social change movement dedicated to the health and well-being of Black women and girls through leadership development, human rights and reproductive justice.

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Pennsylvania Health Access Network pahealthaccess.org PHAN works to expand access to and improve the quality of the PA’s health coverage options by educating consumers, advocates, providers and organizations on health policy issues, and helping uninsured Pennsylvanians enroll in coverage through the marketplace, Medicaid and CHIP. Persad Center persadcenter.org Persad is a human service organization whose mission is to improve the well-being of the LGBTQ communities and the HIV/AIDS communities. Persad serves its target populations and their loved ones across western Pennsylvania, with service centers in Pittsburgh and Washington, PA. Pittsburgh Mercy Pittsburghmercy.org Pittsburgh Mercy is a person-centered, population-based, trauma-informed community health and wellness provider. It reaches out to offer help and hope to some of our community’s most vulnerable populations, such as people with disabilities, or who are experiencing addiction, homelessness or abuse. Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania plannedparenthood.org PPWP provides complementary health care to those in need of services at seven locations across the region. It also spreads information about human sexuality and the need for family planning, and advocates for public policies which guarantee these rights and ensure access to health services. Prevention Point Pittsburgh pppgh.org PPP is dedicated to providing health empowerment services to injection drug users through needle exchange services, assistance to drug treatment, individualized risk-reduction counseling, health education, condom and bleach distribution, overdose prevention with Narcan prescription, and free HIV, Hepa-

The Heyward House Cam Heyward Foundation thecameronheywardfoundation.org Dedicated to impacting the lives of today’s youth. Working to support: Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs of Western PA, DKMS, Kidsvoice, Smyrna Stars Basketball Club, Iron Indians 7 on 7 Football Team, After School Physical Fitness Programs. Best of the Batch (Former Steeler Charlie Batch) batchfoundation.org Best of the Batch Foundation is a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the lives of children and families in distressed communities by building character, self-esteem, and appreciation for education. Clint Hurdle’s Win for Kids mlb.com/pirates/community/wins-for-kids All Wins for Kids contributions are split evenly between Pirates Charities and the Prader-Willi Program at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare, complex genetic disorder that affects many parts of the body and the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh continues to be a model for excellence in helping patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Clint and Karla’s daughter Maddie has Prader-Willi. Miracle League Fields mlb.com/pirates/community/miracle-league-fields The Miracle League concept was developed in Conyers, GA in 2000 to help children with special needs play the game of baseball. Most Miracle Leagues play on custom-designed fields that feature cushioned, rubberized surfaces to help prevent injuries, accessible dugouts and completely flat surfaces (no raised bases or pitching mounds) to eliminate any barriers to wheelchair bound or visually impaired players.

Veterans

PAServes- Greater Pittsburgh pittsburgh.americaserves.org PAServes- Greater Pittsburgh is a program hosted by Pittsburgh Mercy and designed for military veterans, service members and their families to aid them in connecting with resources in the greater Pittsburgh area. Pets for Vets

petsforvets.com/pittsburgh Pets for Vets Pittsburgh has teamed up with Animal Friends to help heal the emotional wounds of military veterans by using the power of the human-animal bond to provide a second chance for shelter animals by rescuing, training and pairing them with America’s servicemen and women who could benefit from having a companion animal. Steel City Vets steelcityvets.org Steel City Vets provides support and guidance to post 9/11 era veterans in the Western Pennsylvania area throughout their transition out of military service, and maintains continual support thereafter. Veterans Breakfast Club veteransbreakfastclub.com The mission of the Veterans Breakfast Club is to create communities of listening around veterans and their stories to ensure that this living history will never be forgotten. Veteran’s Place veteransplaceusa.org Veterans Place is dedicated to ending homelessness among veterans in the Pittsburgh region. It offers homeless veterans a safe, supportive and regenerative environment as

they gain the necessary skills to face real life challenges, secure permanent housing and lead productive and self-sufficient lives. Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania Vlpwpa.org In the past 30 years, VLP has grown to be one of the largest providers of subsidized housing for veterans and their families in Western Pennsylvania and operates two of the nation’s most effective veteran employment programs. Veterans Research Foundation of Pittsburgh vrfpittsburgh.org VRF Pittsburgh is devoted to partnering with Veterans and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in the name of enhancing clinical care through research and education. Though its focus is on medical research to benefit the country’s veterans, the resulting scientific breakthroughs extend to enhance the standard of care for all patients.

To have your organization considered for inclusion in our online directory, Email a link to your nonprofit’s website to charlie@pittsburghcurrent.com.

Comedy grows communities.

The city’s only non-profit comedy theater is dedicated to advancing the arts and building communities through humor. Check out a show, try a class, and laugh every weekend together.

ARCADECOMEDYTHEATER.COM 943 Liberty Avenue in the Cultural District

Call or email today: (412)408-3388 maggie@threeriversvillageschool.org www.threeriversvillageschool.org TRVS admits students without regard to race, religion, citizenship, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin. TRVS is primarily tuition funded and is committed to creating a workable ﬁnancial plan for the family of every child who wants to attend.

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ART ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OUT-OF-THE-MAINSTREAM ARTISTS MAKE THEIR OWN SPACE IN PITTSBURGH’S ART SCENE

BY LAUREN ORTEGO - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

Derek Peel Current Photos by Jake Mysliwczyk

t was on a drive from St. Louis, Missouri that Darnell and Naomi Chambers, with only $2,000 in their pockets, decided they needed to create their own art space. A space that would welcome children and adults alike in a community that hosts an 80-percent black population, and is distanced from the galleries of Downtown Pittsburgh. The art scene in Pittsburgh is dominated by creators of all race, gender, class, and sexuality. However, many of these artists and curators, those considered “alternative,” have

found that it’s not so much the work they do that deviates them from the mainstream, but a lack of funds and traditional workspaces for them to occupy. The creators that inhabit these spaces are often found without the money to afford larger, more traditional galleries and studios, giving them their “alternative” label, even if they don’t choose it themselves. Derek Peel is one of those artists. Having a background in sculptures, they work with materials like garbage, car scraps, and wires.

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“I think [art trends] come in waves, you know?” Peel says. “It’s hard to tell what’s going to be mainstream tomorrow. I don’t necessarily see what I do as ‘alternative,’ it’s just what I do [right now].” Currently, Peel is working on a project for their art collective, Public, that includes an interesting use of baby strollers as trash bins. This work was inspired by a group of masked individuals who would push around the baby carriages and collect the garbage. Public does gallery shows without

gallery locations — having some shows in basements, punk venues, and even the ballroom of a Lithuanian Social Club. “A lot of galleries can be booked up two years in advance, so a great way around that was for us to just find [alternative] spaces that would be ready quicker,” Peel says. “Plus, it’s always fun to show in a ‘non-art’ space.” Emma Vescio, an independent curator, is no stranger to using nonart spaces for art purposes. As the owner of Lucky Cloud, she has also

Current Comics

Matt Bors

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ANDREA SHOCKLING

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Jim Benton

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Best In Show

By Phil Juliano

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found a creative way around booking with traditional galleries. Using a small cabinet area above her closet that, according to Vescio, is about “five-feet-by-four-feet” big, Vescio hosts small, private shows. “It’s literally a very small gallery,” Vescio said. “I live in a one-room apartment, though, so it’s not the most accessible [place]. It’s mostly for friends and to take photos of the work to put online.” Vescio puts together shows that are geared toward queer, conceptual art that focus on the marginalization that non-binary and queer women artists feel in the current political climate. “I feel like it has been a race throughout history for people of color and women [to be seen],” Vescio says. Tara Coleman, another local curator, has also worked to lift the voices of women by only putting women artists in shows. “I love doing all-women shows,” Coleman says. “That’s something that I’ll probably continue to do for the most part.” At the start of Coleman’s career, she worked primarily with men in a project about graffiti art. While Coleman understands that the legality of working with her on a show about something that, especially at the time, could’ve gotten artists arrested, the rude comments and treatment she received is what led her to her now all-woman shows. As a curator, Coleman says the support felt by artists in the community could be stronger, citing the lack of grants for curatorial work in Pittsburgh. “In terms of financial support [for curators], that’s something that I really, really want to institute,” Coleman says. “But it’s really a matter of finding a way to institute that, finding funding pools… there are curatorial residencies in other cities, but nothing like that exists in Pittsburgh.” Economics drives the success of any business in Pittsburgh, but for artists, curators, and their spaces, it’s the divide between major and minor

Tara Coleman Current Photos by Jake Mysliwczyk successes. Anna Nelson, an independent curator and artist, is a CMU grad and says that their schooling didn’t quite prepare them for the economy of the Pittsburgh art scene. “I feel like the program in art school mostly prepares you to move to a larger city and working as an artist there, and then making money selling your work,” Nelson says. “Which, in the context of Pittsburgh… you’re not going to be making oil paintings for $20,000 because there’s not the buying audience for that.” After graduating and realizing that the art scene in Pittsburgh has a bit of a way to go before such a buying audience exists, Nelson got more into art administration, putting together shows, and curatorial work. “Right now we have a lot of people who don’t have excess money to be investing in art,” Nelson says. “And if that’s the audience that you

are making art for, it’s kind of an uphill battle.” Curators and artists who don’t have the economic status to display their work in large galleries or create work that has value to investors, need spaces to work in. That’s where small, independent, DIY studios come in. Darnell and Naomi Chambers are the directors and founders of FlowerHouse, a community art studio in Wilkinsburg. FlowerHouse acts as a space for workshops, galleries, and a safe place for neighborhood kids to express themselves through works like photography, screen printing, painting, and more. “We just wanted to make a space for a community that needed it,” Darnell said. “There aren’t a lot of resources here… and a lot of people aren’t able to access [those resources]. So we wanted to do a free art program.” FlowerHouse is an intimate stu-

dio, one that is small in size, congregation, and funds. “We pay for a lot of our stuff out of pocket,” Darnell said. “And then everything else in our space is either donated or just given to us.” In a 52-page report released by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council in May 2018, of the $351,993,256 worth of public and private art grants, 86 percent went to White, non-Hispanic art organizations and 16 percent went to ALAANA (Asian, Latinx, African, Arab, and Native-American) organizations. “Until you sort of build up a name for yourself outside of Pittsburgh, it feels like they try to ignore you,” Naomi says. “That’s starting to change, but small spaces like [ours] are necessary for emerging artists.” The Do-It-Yourself trend in art spaces doesn’t stop at FlowerHouse, Christina Lee is a co-director at PULLPROOF Studio, a silkscreen printing studio on Penn Avenue in Garfield. PULLPROOF acts as a coworking space for artists in screenprinting, one that you can rent out on either a month-by-month plan or 3-month plan. “We also exhibit work during First Friday every month,” Lee says. “We’re a little bit flexible, too, so you can use our space for design work, or drawing, or anything else, really.” First Friday is an event hosted on Penn Avenue that allows studios and galleries to present shows to the general public for free on, you guessed it, the first Friday of the month. Alternative art spaces like PULLPROOF and FlowerHouse have popped up all over the city, and their willingness and success in hosting artists and shows of every variety is indicative of the need for more spaces like them. “I wouldn’t say that there is a ‘mainstream’ or ‘alternative’ art scene in Pittsburgh,” Nelson says. “There’s not really two scenes, here. I think that what happens often is that smaller spaces and the work that artists are doing before they ‘make it’ just get erased.”

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THE TEST OF TIME

‘THE SKIN I’M IN’ STILL MAKES AN IMPACT 20 YEARS LATER BY JODY DIPERNA - PITTSBURGH CURRENT LIT WRITER JODY@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

n the 20 years since Sharon G. Flake published her groundbreaking young adult novel, The Skin I’m In, she has influenced several generations and her books have been taught in schools from New York to Oklahoma. It’s no wonder, as this book, the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, does all the things that we look to literature to do. There is tension and growth. There are fully-realized, multi-dimensional characters driving the narrative. And the language is clear and concise, but also evocative. Protagonist Maleeka sums up the feelings many of us had in middle school when she says, “I stare at myself for maybe twenty minutes in Daddy’s mirror. I think I’m kind of nice-looking. Why don’t other people see what I see?” Most grown people wouldn’t return to that most awkward age on a dare, but Flake is able to really immerse herself in the experience. “I probably was born to it,” she told the Pittsburgh Current recently. “It’s a hard time for everybody. You look in

the mirror in 5th grade, you probably think you’re cute and wonderful because your mom is telling you. Then you get to 7th grade and you start to look outward at the world and compare yourself a lot. It wasn’t that other people made it so hard for me, so much as that my internal critic started chirping. I’ve never forgotten what it was like. At heart, I’m probably still 15.” Flake grew up in Philadelphia, but studied at the University of Pittsburgh and remained, making Pittsburgh her home. The author of numerous books including Bang!, Who Am I Without Him? and Unstoppable Octobia May, she is, of course, at work on something new, but also taking time to travel and speak on the 20-year anniversary of The Skin I’m In. Since publication in 1998, the young adult market has changed and is taken seriously by educators and marketers alike. In recent years, we have also seen the emergence of “We Need Diverse Books” as a movement. The needle is moving, ever so

slightly, toward awareness within the publishing world of the importance of books that serve as both mirrors and windows for children and teens — books which reflect the life experience for kids in minority or marginalized communities, as well as books that open up kids to an understanding of lives that are different from theirs. But this wasn’t always so. “I wrote a story about an African-American inner-city girl,” Flake explained. “America is not always kind to that group — African-American inner-city young people. We don’t always care what kind of schools they attend, whether they get shot or not, whether people say horrific things, whether they get stereotyped. We don’t care. So it’s okay if we fail them, as a society.” Teenager Maleeka Madison is struggling with all sorts of things — poverty, the death of her father and her mother’s enduring grief, her own intelligence and talent, and how to navigate school with her peers at

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MUSIC THE FRONT MAN

FOR NEARLY SIX DECADES, JUNIOR BROWN HAS DONE THINGS HIS OWN WAY. BY CHARLIE DEITCH - PITTSBURGH CURRENT EDITOR CHARLIE@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

hen Junior Brown started playing country music as a session musician in the 1960s, his idea of “stardom” was a lot different than a lot of other folks. He played guitar and pedal steel for a variety of groups including the Last Mile Ramblers and Asleep at the Wheel. But, by and large, he was pretty happy with where he was. “I had no other skills in life than playing music,” Brown told the Pittsburgh Current recently. “But back then you could make really good money as a sideman. You just went out and played gigs. I’m telling you, there was good money to be made in a classy club. “And to be completely honest, even the dumps were paying well. There was no recession back then. A lot of my people in the business back then will remember; we were buying Cadillacs. Now, they were used Cadillacs, but, hell, it sure didn’t matter to us!” Brown has been a touring musician most of his adult life and shows no sign of stopping now. He hits town Dec. 2 as one of the opening acts for Rev. Horton Heat’s Holiday Hayride, an annual roadshow that hits Jergel’s in Warrendale. Fans of rockabilly, western swing, Americana and traditional country, have long followed Brown, his melodic baritone voice and his iconic guitsteel, a hybrid electric/steel guitar. “I play both instruments and it would be frustrating because if I wanted lead guitar behind the vocals, I couldn’t have steel in that song,” Brown says. “So, the idea of

the guit-steel is to have this double-necked instrument so you can change from one to another in the same song. It also allows you to just hire one player instead of two.” The idea for the guit-steel came when Brown was at a music store owned by a man name Michael Stephens in the 1980s. “He had all these double-necked things, a Fender mashed with a Gibson, that kind of thing,” Brown says. “I showed him what I was looking for and it pretty much invented itself.” Brown owns the instrument on stage. He rocks his originals with his band that includes rhythm guitarist, his wife Tanya (I was her guitar teacher. I kept her after class,” Brown jokes) and longtime Austin-based drummer Scott Matthews, formerly of the Derailers (“He may be the best drummer, I’ve ever worked with,” Brown acknowledges). Although life as a sideman was lucrative, Brown admits that he might have gotten a little too comfortable. “I think it did make me lazy,” Brown says. “Instead of writing songs and hustling to get a deal, I was pretty content which was definitely not a good attitude.” Finding himself not necessarily a Nashville-type of artist, Brown considered heading to Austin, Texas in the 1970s along with an anti-Nashville contingent of artists that included WIllie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Steve Earle, Jerry Jeff Walker and many others. “At that time, everyone was getting a contract,” Brown says. “If you

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Above and facing page: Junior Brown and his famous Guit-Steel were any kind of decent country guy at that time with long hair, you could start a band and get a deal. “But I just think it wasn’t my time.” Brown has been leading his band since the 1980s. They moved to Austin in the 1990s during a second rush of counter-culture country artists looking to play a more traditional sound of music. Brown and his band became the house group at the famed Continental Club. His sound really struck a chord with fans starting with 1993’s 12 Shades of Brown LP. “I made it to Austin a couple of decades after those guys, and when I got there, the blues guys like Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughn were the main attraction,” Brown says. But traditional country sounds, in a

JUNIOR BROWN

opening for Rev. Horton Heat’s Holiday Hayride with Big Sandy and The Blasters. 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2. Jergel’s Rhythm Grille, 103 Slade Lane, Warrendale. $33-49. All ages if accompanied by parent or legal guardian. jergels.com way, were returning. It came from the likes of the Derailers and Dale Watson in Austin, the Mavericks out of Miami, Two Dollar Pistols from North Carolina and Nashville’s BR549. But this time around, bands weren’t solely focused on making country music per se. Take Brown, for example, his style, while steeped in Western Swing, also contains elements of blues, rockabilly and

Photo By: George Brainard rock-and-roll. It’s an evolution of traditional country music that still contains the country soul but is miles away from the audio buffoonery that makes up today’s country music. “People often are looking for a resurgence in original country music, but its time has passed,” Brown says. “I don’t consider myself a traditional country artist. People aren’t going to come out and listen to that. You’ve got to give them something new.” And that’s what Brown has done. While he writes new music often, he will often take quite a bit of time in between releases. Earlier this year he released Deep in the Heart of Me, his first record in eight years and only his second since 2005. When asked about the gaps between releases, Brown once again jokes about his laziness. Oh, I’m just

lazy, I guess,” he says with a laugh. “But, no, I put this last record out without support of a label and when you’re doing this on your dime, you tend to take your time. And also, I don’t put out a record unless I’ve written all of the songs, so I like to take time to accumulate material.” It’s also tough to write when you tour as much as Brown does, He enjoys playing live and says, coincidentally, that Pittsburgh is one of his favorite places to play. “There’s a buzz for live music in Pittsburgh that a lot of other cities have lost over the years,” he says. “There’s a lot of live music there; there’s a thirst for it. I think that says a lot about the humanity of a city.”

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 31

Adam Hopkins’ Crickets (Hopkins, center) Photo courtesy of TJ Huff

ON “CRICKETS,”

BALTIMORE’S ADAM HOPKINS RECONCILES JAZZ WITH THE INDIE-ROCK OF HIS YOUTH BY MIKE SHANLEY - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

dam Hopkins says Crickets, his debut as a band leader, could have been a rock-trio record. The Baltimore-born bassist spent his high school years playing indie rock that owed a good deal to Pavement, Nirvana and the Dismemberment Plan. During his senior year, though, he started to uncover a new musical world when he began studying upright bass. Now a resident of Brooklyn, he composed Crickets, the first release on his Out Of Your Head label, with a mind to merge his musical past with a group that includes three saxophones, all blown

by experienced free jazz musicians. In his hands, these two styles work together naturally. The bassist had a working knowledge of jazz before college but it was vastly different from what he played in Baltimore’s DIY spaces. “At that time, I didn’t see the [mu-

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sic] as being compatible. It took me a little while to figure out that they could be one and the same,” he says. The revelation came while attending James Madison University. A professor encouraged him to see iconoclast John Zorn’s Masada, an acoustic quartet that combined Ornette Coleman-style jazz with Jewish music, delivering it like a punk band. “Hearing John Zorn for the first time I thought, ‘woah, this isn’t actually that different from the stuff I was listening to in high school,’” Hopkins says. Since moving to Brooklyn in 2011, he has logged many hours as a sideman with players like Ideal Bread, a quartet devoted to the work of saxophonist Steve Lacy, and legendary composer/saxophonist Henry Threadgill. Many of the tracks on Crickets start with Jonathan Greenberger’s single-note guitar lines, doubled by Hopkins, somewhat in the style of ’90s rock. Baritone saxophonist Josh Sinton teams up with tenors Anna

Webber and Ed Rosenberg, working as a whole section and frequently breaking off into solos. When Rosenberg switches to bass sax on “I Thought the Duck Was Fine” the sounds only get wilder. The album cover features illustrations of the gigantic title insect sneaking up on a vacation house, but Crickets wasn’t written as either a concept album or a suite. In fact the album name preceded the song titles — which also include proclamations like “They Can Swim Backwards But Sometimes Choose Not To.” To illustrate the cover, artist TJ Hull asked Hopkins for vacation pictures from Hopkins’ teens, the time that inspired the writing. “I named all the tunes relating to that period of my life knowing that TJ was doing the art that way. I don’t ever name my songs until I have to,” he says. “I write all the music and then I think about how I can relate this, through song titles, to what I was thinking about when I was writing the music.”

Imani Winds With Pittsburgh’s Monica Ellis November 26, 2018

Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland 7:30 PM Tickets and information: 412-624-4129 OR chambermusicpittsburgh.org

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 33

FOOD

Chrissy Costa Current Photo by Haley Frederick

THIS TASTES FUNNY: BRUNCH AT THE PORCH WITH CHRISSY COSTA

BY HALEY FREDERICK - PITTSBURGH CURRENT STAFF WRITER HALEY@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

hrissy Costa joins me for brunch at The Porch in Oakland on a Sunday morning. It’s a big, bright space bustling with college students and baby-toting couples enjoying their morning coffee or sipping on morning cocktails — the way only that not-quitebreakfast, not-quite-lunch time slot allows. Costa and I aren’t here to mess around, so we pour ourselves glasses of water from our table’s carafe and then order two coffees, a Bloody Mary for her and a Peach Bellini for

me. We agree that coffee is always better when someone else makes it for you, and the coffee talk flashes a memory into Costa’s mind. When she worked in her last corporate job about 15 years ago, Costa discovered that her male colleague, who did the exact same work she did and started at the same time, was being paid more than she was, even though she had the college degree that he lacked. “So I figured out, ‘okay, if you make this and I make this, that means I’m going to take an hour of

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downtime a day,’” Costa says. “So I brought a coffee pot in and I started making like Starbucks-type drinks at my desk in that downtime. I had my own little coffee station.” She’d make drinks and find ways to avoid work for that unpaid hour each day, and she certainly wasn’t hiding it. If someone came to her desk in that hour, she’d tell them they’d have to take it up with someone with a penis. “I think they were excited to see me leave when I finally went to Chicago,” she says.

Costa went to Chicago to study with The Second City, the famed improv and sketch comedy troupe known for producing a pantheon of comedians who would end up on Saturday Night Live or with their own sitcoms. “I was out in Chicago for three years and all the people that I was in the writing groups with, most of them were doing stand up and I thought I could never do that,” she says. Costa always considered herself primarily a writer. She’s been writing

stories and jokes for as long as she can remember. Back in the days of Myspace, before she knew of The Onion and long before Trump cried ‘fake news!,’ she garnered a following from writing humorous fake news stories and posting them online. “I wrote this story when Oprah realized she had a half sister and made a big deal out of it on her show; I rewrote the story as if I was the half sister,” Costa says. “And I wrote a story once on how Tom Cruise had been hiding a vagina.” By this point, we’re already digging into the dishes our server has placed down on the table. I ordered fried chicken and biscuits with sausage gravy and Costa got the brunch ‘nachos.’ They don’t look a whole lot like nachos, but the components are there--pulled pork, salsa verde, queso, refried beans, cheese, scallions and cilantro. It’s all been arranged in a neatly layered tower and topped with a sunny side up egg to make it, you know, brunch. So while she’d been writing comedy for a long time, Costa didn’t start getting on stage to tell her jokes until seven years ago. She found herself at a low point, having gone out to live in a trailer in Missouri for a rebound relationship that resulted in a neck tattoo and getting cheated on. “But when I came back I felt so low that I thought, ‘why not do comedy now?’ I felt like I had nothing else to lose.” She ended up doing her first show as a part of a showcase at the Brillobox with only five days to prepare. And she’s been doing it ever since. “I do comedy and I just so happen to be gay and I talk about it, but I notice that I’ve gotten labeled a queer comedian. There’s so many other things I could be called,” she says. “It’s fine, I just feel like comedy is comedy and if you can connect with people it doesn’t matter.” Costa says that she will vary the content of her sets depending on what she thinks the audience will relate to most. She’s been able to open for national names like Dana Goldberg, Jessica Kirson and Suzanne

Current Photo by Haley Frederick Westenhoefer, who are particularly well known in the LGBTQ scene, and she approaches those shows slightly differently than she’ll approach something like The Improv’s ‘Stand Up Pittsburgh’ contest, where she’ll be competing on Nov. 28. She’s also developed characters through videos she posts on social media. Her friend and fellow comedian Maria Fusca requested that she perform as one of her characters, Patty, at his holiday show. “Her name is Patty but her friends call her Barb — it’s kind of a gay joke because there’s a lot of lesbians named Patty and Barb for some reason,” Costa says. “So I dressed up as a woman with really bad hair who was joining an online dating site because she was looking for the right man, and she’s the only one that doesn’t realize she’s gay.” Costa (and Patty) will appear at Fusca’s Special Sessions Live on Dec. 15 at Black Forge Coffee House at 7 p.m.

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DAY DRINKING:

KEEPING TABS ON PITTSBURGH’S CRAFT BEER SCENE

NOW OPEN

BY: DAY BRACEY - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CRAFT BEER WRITER INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM Nov. 7, 8am: Congrats to Dom Costa on his successful write-in campaign. Nov. 7, 6pm: I’ve been invited to guest bartend at Community Forge in Wilkinsburg for an event called Help or High Water, “a volunteer fair to connect Pittsburghers.” Basically, every few months Pittsburgh Cares gets a bunch of nonprofits together in a room with booze and invites people to drink and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Getting shitfaced for a good cause is easily one of my top three favorite reasons to get shitfaced – along with quitting a job and tolerating family over the holidays. Voodoo brought Hoodoo and White Magick, which I’m calling “Black Magick,” while I’m behind the bar. Red Star Kombucha is making a cocktail called “Secret Boyfriend,” & Maggie’s Farm donated a keg of “Dark And Stormy.” This draft list sounds like a great divorce story. Revival Chili is outside serving this crazy spicy chili and I’m bout that life. They are also dedicated to second chance employment – hiring former inmates, because America has no problem paying them $2/day to fight fires, but sees no use for them once released. Trash. Nov. 9, 9pm: Hootie, owner of Blowfish BBQ, is down at Brew Gentlemen in my hometown of Braddock. He stewed up some wild shit and I was too busy inhaling it to really listen to what it was, but I’ll try my best to describe what I remember. He smoked three animals – pig, cow, and chicken – then pulled them apart and threw them in a stew with tomatoes, okra, and other things before putting that on top of smoked mashed taters. BRUH! Smoked. Mashed. Taters! Unlike his smoked shrimp mac that I’ve been

begging him to bring back, this will be around for the winter season. It pairs well with the Mexican Coffee oatmeal stout from BG. I’d imagine it pairs well with anything on their menu. Those guys are among the Pittsburgh elite. Nov. 18, 7pm: Felonious Munk, one of Chicago’s most prominent comedians, is in town for a weekend of shows at Arcade, and I have the honor of hosting his stay. Our cirrhosis tour included Apis Mead, Mindful Brewing, some Pabst I found in a fridge at Arcade, and an after-hour roast session at Hambone’s with Ed Bailey and John Dick Winters. We’re now in the Basement Bar, winding down and sipping slowly. Me: So, honey wine is an Ethiopian thing? (He’s Ethiopian) Munk: Yeah. It’s called tej. Me: Word. I’m interviewing you now. So, feel free to expound and be wordy. Munk: It’s good. Ethiopians are the Irish of Africa. We all have drinking problems. But we handle it so well that no one says anything about it. Ethiopians have tej lounges, where all you drink is this sweet wine. But to handle it you get up in the morning & eat quanta firfir. That’s our hangover remedy. It’s injera soaked in berbere sauce and has small chunks of beef jerky in it. Me: (after 30 minutes of Googling “burberry sauce”): Fuck. Marry. Kill. Bourbon. Honey wine. Beer. Munk: Marry honey wine. That’s family. Fuck bourbon all day. In fact, bourbon fucks me. Kill beer. Me: If you had a message for Pittsburgh, what would it be? Munk: Thank you for keeping me drunk. Touchdown! Those have been my experiences since being here.

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Polish Hill Current photo by Jake Mysliwczyk

BY BETHANY RUHE - PITTSBURGH CURRENT ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER BETHANY@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

n 2007, incoming President Terry Doloughty was preparing to run his inaugural Polish Hill Civic Association meeting. He happened across the minute book from the first PHCA meeting ever, held in 1969. The pages were full of people complaining about real estate prices. Residents were completely up in arms over a local apartment renting out for $75 a month. Who, they fumed, made that kind of money? Fast forward almost 50 years, and the same question gets asked in Polish Hill over and over and over again. What is going on with these insane real estate prices? Who, they still fume, makes this kind of money? While some issues ebb and flow, old problems get solved and new problems rear their head, there seems to be one that keeps coming back: affordable housing. Geographically isolated and

perched on a steep incline, Polish Hill is one of the scrappiest, proudest, and most storied neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. Originally settled in 1773, the area was known as Springfield Farms. The immigrants who lent their name to the neighborhood didn’t start arriving until the late 1800s. Once here, they quickly set down roots and imbued the entire neighborhood with the food, language and culture that is still very-much-so a part of living in Polish Hill. And, one could imagine, arguing over escalating real estate prices. John Rhoades, current president of the PHCA, sees his organization as an important force in trying to keep Polish Hill affordable. One of the best ways a community can protect their land from being snapped up by out-of-town developers is to have a way to purchase those lands them-

selves. That’s where an expansion of the Community Land Trust comes into play. The expansion, which resulted in the creation of a new nonprofit, City of Bridges Community Land Trust, works with Etna, Sharpsburg, Millvale, Lawrenceville, and Polish Hill. They are working to help Polish Hill itself purchase properties and swatches of land that could be appealing to outside developers. Or, as Rhoades puts it, “places in danger of gentrification.” The dreaded G word. Aubrey Halliburton, the lead organizer of the Polish Hill Arts Festival and 2nd Vice President in charge of Membership for the PHCA, recounts a story, “We moved here 8 years ago from Seattle,WA. Within a month of moving here, there was a reporter at the coffee shop and she said ‘I’m here from Brooklyn. I’m here to interview local folks because I’ve heard that

Polish Hill is the next Williamsburg;’ everyone was like, ‘fuck off.’ Only in Pittsburgh would that be an insult, and that’s why I love it here.” Polish Hill also has a reputation of being an enclave of punk rockers and counterculture enthusiasts. Whether a resident identifies themselves as punk rock or not, there is a certain sense of belonging and community that stands out for its depth, even in a City that prides itself on that very thing. And to be fair, all residents, punk or not, are pissed about the lack of affordable housing in their neighborhood. Councilwoman Deb Gross, who has been serving Pittsburgh’s District 7 since 2016, puts it like this: “They are fierce about it. We have a lot of neighborhoods that have that, but I always joke that Polish Hill would secede from the Union if they could, and I would be fully supportive.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 37

They have an independent streak. People who chose Polish Hill are a community unto themselves. They chose to come to Polish Hill, they chose to build their lives here.” Halliburton echoes that sentiment. “There are zero conveniences. We have three bars, a record store, a coffee shop and a bookstore. Why are you moving here unless you want to be a part of this community?’ Outsiders have seen plenty of reasons to want to move to Polish Hill. Nestled between the Strip District and Oakland, with a straight shot downtown and close proximity to the East End, the location is desirable to a lot of people. A lot of developers. And with a small geographical area and not a lot of real estate inventory, prices can skyrocket pretty quickly. Nigel Swat, long-time bartender of the Rock Room, is one of the locals who bought in when the prices were low. She bought her house for $25,000 15 years ago, and she quotes her aunt when she says, “I always wanted to live in a $100,000 house, and now I do.” It’s rare that a neighborhood can be so welcoming, yet so wary of strangers at the same time. Their fear is not unwarranted. The rental market is shrinking, and the units that are available are priced to the point that locals can’t afford them. Housing prices have gone up 400%, with some homes topping the charts at almost $500,000. They are right to be suspect of out-of-state tags and folks who scurry in and out of buildings with their collars pulled over their faces. The key, it seems, is to not just show up but to be here. Get involved. Be engaged. Kim Teplitzky, co-organizer of the Polish Hill Arts Festival, puts it this way: “The best thing we can do is to continue building strong communities. The more of our neighbors who are engaged and participating in civic association activities, whether it’s becoming members or joining a committee, or coming out the Arts Festival, whether you’ve lived there for 40 years or for 2, the more people we have showing up and talking to each other and meet-

ing each other and building relationships with each other, the stronger the community is going to be.” Halliburton has an Airbnb in her backyard. It used to be the garage. The building was split into two sides. One was the garage and one was the kitchen. It was owned by a polish immigrant family. They turned the garage turned into a duck barn. As Halliburton explains, “the Polish do a lot with duck, like duck blood soup.” As the family grew larger they turned the duck barn into apartments. After Halliburton’s family bought the property they gutted the entire thing and turned it into a very cute guest house. Now Halliburton faced a conundrum. Did she charge $750 a month, which she knew she could get, and take another rental off an already squeezed market? How were they to recoup the thousands and thousands of dollars they put into the renovations? She solved it in the most Polish Hill way possible. It’s now a community house/Airbnb. “When our family comes in, they stay back there. Parents of our friends that come into town stay back there. Bands that come to play at the Rock Room or Gooski’s, stay back there.’ And when no one is staying back there, she offers it up to the Airbnb gods and hopes that her guests will be someone who appreciates her community as much as the residents of Polish Hill do. Another perk? “They go to my local bar and my local coffee shop, and they reinvest their money into my friends’ local businesses, and that’s pretty cool.” So perhaps the lesson here is that there is a way you can ensure a community stays affordable, but still grows. Brings in money, but does good. Embraces that wild sense of community togetherness and civic engagements, but still welcomes outsiders. The answer might very well lie in a converted duck barn, nestled in a backyard in Polish Hill, between a row of motorcycles and a recording studio.

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Councilwoman Deb Gross Current photo by Jake Mysliwczyk

Looking down Brereton Street Current photo by Jake Mysliwczyk

CURRENTLY@ RockRoom

Aubrey Halliburton Current photo by Jake Mysliwczyk

NEIGHBORHOOD CONVERSATION:

AUBREY HALLIBURTON OF THE POLISH HILL CIVIC ASSOCIATION

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29 4-7 PM

1054 HERRON AVENUE COME SPEND HAPPY HOUR WITH THE PITTSBURGH CURRENT!

PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

BY BETHANY RUHE - PITTSBURGH CURRENT ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER BETHANY@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

n 2010, Aubrey Halliburton and her family took off from Seattle, WA, and relocated to Polish Hill. They were staying with a friend who lived in the neighborhood, and it didn’t take long for her to fall in love. The vibe of the community just felt right to her, and in time they bought their own home and deepened their roots. She quickly went from a Polish Hill Arts Festival vendor, displaying her own wares, to an organizer and now member of the Polish Hill Civic Association. Polish Hill has, obviously, so many amazing components. One thing missing is easy access to creature comforts. If you could pluck one resource out of the sky and set it down in Polish Hill, what would it be? A grocery store has always been our number one community need. There are a few light-commercial zoned spaces on Brereton St. I think another great idea is a laundromat, which poses some infrastructure issues.

Other than that, I feel like we enjoy the residential feel of the neighborhood, and there really isn’t much space for a business district as far as commercial buildings or parking goes. We also have the advantage of being so close to all the great places Pittsburgh has to offer. We are walking distance to the Strip District, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville and Oakland. Polish Hill also has many small business owners, who don’t necessarily have store fronts, such as accountants, contractors, writers, caterers, artists, landscapers. And this ties back into the affordability of housing being so important. For working-class people to be able to afford to own their own home and business, which I think we did a great job of attracting, due to affordability and community connections. Now, the current housing sale prices are simply out of reach for those same residents. What are the benefits you’ve seen from being civically engaged?

When people come together, they learn about things they didn’t know about before. When people find out, “oh, there’s a way to be involved, there is a way for my voice to be heard,” they get excited and get involved. When you have people on the ground communicating with each other and they learn how much power that they have, and they learn who their neighbors are, they also learn how to work with each other on a real level. Even in a problematic way. If I know who my neighbor is, I can go know on his door and say, “here’s the thing…” There is action you can take this is legit. I have friends in this neighborhood who are straight anarchists, and here’s the thing, you may not be a registered voter in our political system. Vote for your local PHCA. If you vote for anything, here is a way you can directly affect what happens in this neighborhood. What makes a great Arts Festival organizer?

Organizing the Art’s Fest is perfect for me. I’m a creative person. I work in food and beverage, so much of that aligns itself with artists and creatives and musicians. My husband is a musician, too. My dad has a recording studio next to me in his house in Polish Hill. So it’s like I have all the creative angles in my life already, and the Art’s Festival is something no one wanted to lose, but no one wants to take over. It’s unpaid work, and it’s a lot of work. And there are so many other wonderful community volunteers that make it happen. At the end of the night, we have neighbors who attended pitch in to help break down tents. How cool is that? What’s up next for the Arts Festival? As far as Arts Fest goes, we start planning next year’s fest in January, so not many updates for ya there, BUT, we do hope to have more art performances, like Rachel, Pittsburgh’s poetess, as well as all the great bands who perform every year.

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 39

NWA CHAMP HEADLINES

KSWA’S ANNUAL FANFEST/TOY DRIVE BY THOMAS LETURGEY - PITTSBURGH CURRENT CONTRIBUTING WRITER INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM

n a world where mainstream wrestling is dominated by WWE, younger fans may have no idea how important the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is to the sport’s history. The title dates back to 1948, was first held by Orville Brown and on Saturday Dec. 1, it will be defended right here in Pittsburgh. It’s all part of the 14th annual Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) FanFest/Toy Drive, which has become the closest thing to a Holiday-season, television-free Wrestlemania on the East Coast. The event takes place at 7 p.m. at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville. Since 2005, KSWA has asked fans to bring new, unwrapped toys to the event to benefit needy children through the Allegheny County Holiday Project. Fans have responded by donating thousands of toys each and every year. A representative of the Holiday Project called the toy-raiser a “highlight” on their gathering season. This year, the card will be highlighted by NWA World HeavyWeight Champion Nick Aldis defending his title against KSWA’s own Shawn Blanchard on Aldis’ Pittsburgh debut. Blanchard, who will have legendary manager James J. Dillon in his corner, is a 20-year ring veteran and among the most decorated independent wrestlers around. Aldis, aka The National Treasure, recently defeated Cody Rhodes, the son of the late, great former NWA Champ, the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes at last month’s NWA’s 70th Anniversary event in Nashville. He has taken his “crusade” of title defenses all over the country and he is preparing for his visit to Spirit Hall. Over the years, FanFest has been

a truly Pittsburgh-centric mix for all sports fans. Former Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare has served as guest ring announcer. In 2011, George “The Animal” Steele drew a capacity crowd so large that Pittsburgh city police officers had to turn away a crowd of 250. In 2012, Bruno Sammartino was on hand for his final independent wrestling event. In 2014, fans sang The National Anthem during Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s match. In 2015, Hillbilly Jim spent the second half of the show tossing back beers with the “Krazies.” “FanFest is always one of the most anticipated shows of the year,” says KSWA Owner Bobby Orkwis, known in Lawrenceville simply as “Bobby O.” “It’s exciting because of the special guests that come in for the show. Plus, it’s always rewarding for us to show appreciation and give back to our great fans.” There should be no shortage of excitement this year. In a recent email, Aldis noted that he “always delivered” in every match of his 13year career. For his part, Blanchard says that he will “do anything necessary” to bring the NWA title to Pittsburgh, including employing Dillon to second his corner. Meanwhile, real-life attorney “The Gavel” David Lawless, Esquire, the defending KSWA Heavyweight Champion, defends his title against Mitch Napier, the 617-day former title holder. Golden Triangle Champion Anthony Alexander defends against fellow Pittsburgh product and international wrestling phenomenon, Sam Adonis. Adonis earned headlines earlier this year as an American wrestler performing in Mexico as a “Pro-Trump” villain.

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EVENTS

THE CAN’T MISS AMANDA REED AND MARGARET WELSH - PITTSBURGH CURRENT STAFF INFO@PITTSBURGHCURRENT.COM FEATURED EVENTS IN AND AROUND THE PITTSBURGH REGION

Nov. 21

The Frick Pittsburgh gets festive starting today with its holiday tours of Clayton, the Henry Clay Frick family home. The 23-room restored mansion is transported to 1908, when Helen Clay Frick — Henry Clay Frick’s only daughter — made her debut into Pittsburgh society, choosing the Steel City over the Big Apple. Mural-like photo enlargements immerse visitors in the past and plentiful party decorations join poinsettias and holiday greenery to give perspective on the Frick family’s festive celebrations. 10:15 a.m.-3:45 p.m. (10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. on select days). Through Jan. 6, 2019. $15 ($13 for seniors, military and students; $8 for youths 16 and under). 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. thefrickpittsburgh.org

Nov. 25

A Charlie Brown Christmas — the 1965 holiday movie based off of the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz — comes to life at the Byham Theater this afternoon with “A Charlie Brown Christmas - Live on Stage!” as part of the Cohen & Grigsby TRUST PRESENTS Series. Join Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the whole “Peanuts” gang as they put on their own Christmas play and discover the reason for the season. Listen to the music of Vince Guaraldi and beloved holiday carols sung by your favorite “Peanuts” characters. 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. $30-40.

101 Sixth Ave., Downtown. 412-4566666 or www.trustarts.org

Nov. 26

Any time you have a chance to be in the same room as John Brannon’s near-iconic scowl you should, IMHO, take it. As the frontman for hardcore trailblazers Negative Approach, which formed in Detroit in 1981, Brannon set a standard for a certain kind of nihilistically belligerent stage presence. Drawing as much from the Stooges as from Discharge or Blitz, NA’s underlying rock ‘n’ roll sensibility – that ability to find a groove in even the harshest, most straight-ahead songs -- is part the band’s enduring appeal. Brannon later stretched out with artier rock bands like Laughing Hyenas and Easy Action, but all these years later he can still sell NA’s teenage anthems. The band plays the Rex Theater, Monday, Nov. 26 with Leftover Crack, Crazy & the Brains, Killer of Sheep and Plasmid. 7:30 p.m. 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. $18. www. rextheater.net

Nov. 29

Attack Theatre’s “In Defense of Gravity” debuts today at the George R. White Studio. “In Defense of Gravity” grapples with memory and tragedies that cannot be unseen. The poetry of Frequent Current contributor Jimmy Cvetic guides the gritty and poignant story, which tells the audience how hard it is to forget and

that have helped Storyburgh since its inception in 2016. Storytellers include Adrienne Walnoha, former CEO of Community Human Services Corporation; Anthony Stewart, CEO of Deco Resources; police officer David Shifren and story subject in “Making the Right Moves”; editor/writer/comic/podcaster Sean Collier; Scott Wolovich, New Sun Rising Executive Director and Torrey Shineman, regional Moth winner & assistant professor, along with slideshows and printed posters of previous Storyburgh stories. 7 p.m. Free. 120 South Whitfield St., East Liberty. www.storyburgh.org

Dec. 5 A Charlie Brown Christmas - Live on Stage! why we remember. Anqwenique Wingfield and Ben Opie perform original music and reimagined jazz classics with pianist Ben Brosche and percussionist Jeff Berman. 8 p.m. Through Dec. 2. $30-$45 ($15 Student, Teacher, Artist, Senior; all ticket prices increase by $5 at the door). 2425 Liberty Ave., Strip District. 412-281-3305 or www.attacktheatre.com Fans of A Tribe Called Quest are already well-acquainted with the work of Ali Shaheed Muhammed. But more recently the DJ, producer and rapper – along with composer Adrian Younge -- has been helping to guide the emotions of Netflix viewers. The two co-produced the soundtrack to both seasons of Luke Cage, and that compositional chemistry spilled over into their ultra-chill, highly eclectic, meticulously constructed soul record The Midnight Hour. See the duo when they take The Midnight Hour on the road: they’ll appear at Club Café Thursday, Nov. 29 with support from Pittsburgh’s own Selecta. 8 p.m. 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $15. www. clubcafelive.com

Nov. 30

The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh joins the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra beginning tonight at Heinz Hall to perform Haydn’s Great Mass, along with Mozart’s Symphony No. 31, “Paris” and Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Five soloists — soprano Rachele Gilmore, mezzo-soprano Corrie Stallings, tenor Paul Appleby and bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba — join the night to make a powerful musical statement. 8 p.m. Also Sunday, Dec. 2 at 2:30 p.m. $21-$98. 600 Penn Ave., Downtown. 412-392-4900 or www.pittsburghsymphony.org

packages for the top three performers, things tend to get pretty wild. Don’t miss it on Friday, Nov. 30 at the Hollywood Music Room. 7:30, 2961 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont. www.facebook.com/kingoftheburgh

Dec. 4

Join Storyburgh, a local online platform dedicated to community stories, tonight at the Ace Hotel for “StoryburghLive! Presents: Inspirations and Appreciations.” The night features Moth-style storytelling to appreciate people and organizations

Kississippi’s origin story is a very modern one. Phildadelphia-based singer/songwriter Zoe Allaire Reynolds launched the daydreamy indie-pop project a handful of years ago with a friend she met on Tinder (who says dating apps are a total waste of time?). Fans of other Philly bands like Waxahatchee and Hop Along will find plenty to enjoy in Reynold’s sound. But despite those au courant beginnings, Kississippi’s first full-length, Sunset Blush, which came out this past spring, also brings to mind the likes of 1999s-era artists like Lisa Loeb or even, sometimes, Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries. Kississippi plays the Funhouse at Mr. Smalls Wednesday, Dec. 5 with Ruler, Dinosoul and Leggy. 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $1012. www.mrsmall.com

Wanna stay on top of Pittsburgh’s hip-hop scene? King of the Burgh 14 isn’t a bad way to do it. Founded by internationally-touring DJ, producer and manager DJ Afterthought, the series of battle of the bandsstyle hip-hop and r&b competition and showcase pits Jay Fifth, Four Eyes, TrapGurl Rae, Tommy Cole, and many more artists against one another. With a panel of industry judges and around 10 grand in prize PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 41

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Savage LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET

I’m a recently divorced single mom and a full-time student. I’m really beginning to hurt financially and have decided to start working as an escort. I am at a point of great emotional stability, happiness, and confidence—all reasons that led to my decision—and I’m surrounded by people who love me and won’t judge me. (Not that I will be telling most of them.) I’ve been seeing a man who I like, but I’ve made it clear that I am not committed to him and can see him only once a week. I’ve explained that I don’t think I can ever be monogamous and I do not want a relationship. He has struggled with this and told me early on he was in love with me. We have AMAZING sex, and I think this causes him to have a hard time understanding why I don’t want a relationship. I do not want to tell him I am escorting. I feel the fewer people who know, the better. And I don’t know him that well, as I have been “seeing” him for only six months. I know he would want to know, and a huge part of me feels that the right thing to do is be honest with him if I am going to continue seeing him. I also know that cutting him loose would hurt and confuse him, especially without being able to give him a reason. How do I handle this? What is the right thing to do? My site goes live in three days, and what’s keeping me up at night is not how best to verify clients, it’s what to do about the man in my life who I respect and love, even if I am not in love with him. New To Escorting Let’s set the escorting issue aside for a moment. You don’t want the same things (he wants monogamy and a defined relationship, you don’t

want any of that shit), you don’t feel for him the way he feels for you (he’s in love, you’re not), and you’re a busy single mom and full-time student—all perfectly valid reasons to end a relationship, NTE. You aren’t obligated to tell him that something you were thinking about doing but haven’t yet done, i.e., escorting, factored into your decision to cut him loose. While I definitely think people have a right to know if their partners are escorts, I don’t think people have an absolute right to know if their partners were escorts. So if the sex is really good, and you think there’s a chance you could one day feel as strongly for him as he does for you, and you’re planning to escort only until you get your degree, NTE, you could tell him you want to take a break. Explain to him that you don’t have the bandwidth for a boyfriend just now—kid, school, work—but you’re open to dating him after you’re out of school if he’s still single and still interested. I’m a 30-year-old single monogamist and I recently realized I’m bisexual. I feel much happier. Except I recently crossed a line with a very close friend of mine, a man I’ll admit to having some romantic feelings for. After he broke up with his ex, I started getting random late-night text messages from him. And a couple weeks ago, we hooked up sans penetration. We acknowledged that we both have feelings but neither of us is in a good place. He’s still dealing with the end of his LTR, and I am only just coming out as bisexual. I love this person and our friendship is important to me, but I can’t stop thinking of the possibility of us being together. I’m confused by

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the timing and I wonder if this is real or just something I’ve allowed to distract me—or both! Also, what would this mean for my bisexuality? I’ve been to this rodeo before—meaning opposite-sex relationships—but what about the part of me I haven’t fully explored? Between Every Thorn Solitude Yearns You describe yourself as a monogamist—so, yeah, entering into a committed relationship with this man would prevent you from exploring your bisexuality. And the timing feels off: He may be on the rebound, and you’re still coming to terms with your bisexuality. So don’t enter into a committed relationship with him, BETSY, at least not yet. Date him casually and keep hooking up with him, with the understanding—with the explicit and fully verbalized and mutually consented to understanding—that you will be “exploring” your bisexuality, i.e. you’ll be getting out there and eating some pussy. I’m a 37-year-old woman married for eight years to a wonderful man. We’re happy and GGG to the point where his kinks have become my kinks and vice versa. However, he loves anal sex and I cannot do it. No matter how much lube we use or how slowly we go, it’s not just uncomfortable, it’s red-hot-poker-inmy-ass painful. Can you give me any concrete, practical advice to get to a point where I can enjoy anal? Beyond Uncomfortable Tushy Trauma P.S. Do some women actually enjoy anal? After my experiences, I find that really hard to believe. If you’re still interested in exploring anal after all those red-hot-

poker-in-your-ass painful experiences—and you are by no means obligated to explore any further—focus on anal stimulation, BUTT, not anal penetration. Try rimming, try a vibrator pressed against your anus (not shoved into it), try running his lubed-up dick up and down your crack (across your anus, not into your anus), and try all of these things during masturbation, vaginal penetration, and oral sex. Having a few dozen orgasms—or a few hundred— while your anus’s sensitive nerve endings are pleasurably engaged could create a positive association between anal stimulation and sexual pleasure. It’s going to take some time to create a positive association powerful enough to supplant the negative association you have now—an association with echoes of regicide (google “Edward II and red hot poker”)—so your husband shouldn’t expect to get his dick back into your butt anytime soon, if he ever will at all. Some people, for reasons physiological or psychological or both, just can’t experience pleasure during anal intercourse. If you’re one of those people, BUTT, your husband will just have to grieve and move on. P.S. I find it hard to believe that a woman could possibly enjoy, say, a Donald Trump rally. But some women do, BUTT, and we have video to prove it. The same could be said about anal. On the Lovecast, what evangelical Christianity does to women: savagelovecast.com. Reach out and touch Dan: mail@ savagelove.net, @fakedansavage on Twitter, ITMFA.org

PITTSBURGH CURRENT | NOV. 20, 2018 | 45

NEWS OF THE BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION WEIRDNEWSTIPS@AMUNIVERSAL.COM BRIGHT IDEA Another birthday staring you down? Perhaps you can follow the lead of a man in the Netherlands who has launched a legal battle in the town of Arnhem to change his age from 69 to 49. “(Y)ou can change your name and change your gender,” Emile Ratelband noted. “Why can’t I decide my own age?” The Dutch positivity trainer told BBC News that he feels discriminated against both in the career realm and on Tinder. “When I am on Tinder and it says I’m 69, I don’t get an answer,” Ratelband said. “When I’m 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position.” He also describes himself as a “young god.” The arbiters of his case aren’t so sure, though: One judge wanted to know what would become of the 20 years that would be erased by such a change. “Who were your parents looking after then? Who was that little boy?” he wondered. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT Roxy Sykes, 33, of London, had a brainstorm that started when someone complimented her on her beautiful feet. “I was convinced to set up a social media account to show them off,” she told Metro News on Nov. 1. But that was just the ground floor for the pedo-preneur. “It wasn’t until I started getting thousands of followers and messages about selling used items that I realized I could profit from it,” she said. In her busiest month, she grossed more than 8,000 pounds peddling socks, shoes and videos to foot fetishists. “Pairs of shoes that I would wear for two months would sell for 200 pounds, and a pair of socks that I wore for a day would sell for 20 pounds. Then a single video of me just wiggling my

toes would make 100 pounds, so I was really raking in a lot of money,” she continued. Overall, she says she’s pulling down about 100,000 pounds a year. Sykes has also mentored fellow fetish models: “It’s great to be able to help others and teach people my apparent ‘talent,’” she said. NEW WORLD ORDER Coming soon from the state-run news agency Xinhua in China: the first artificial intelligence anchorman. “Artificial Intelligence Anchor” debuted at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China, on Nov. 7. The virtual host, based on images of human news broadcasters, can have real-time news typed into its system even while it’s on air. A synthesized voice reads the script. Xinhua told Time that its new anchor can work “24 hours a day ... reducing news production costs and improving efficiency.” But does it have a personal catchphrase, such as “Good night, and good news”? WEIRD SCIENCE Duuuude! Scientists at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey have created a mushroom that can produce electricity using light, Discover magazine reports. Using common button mushrooms, cyanobacteria (very adept at photosynthesis) and graphene nanoribbons (to make electrodes to transport the electricity), researchers were able to produce harvestable electricity by shining a light on their “bionic mushroom.” While the amount of electricity created was small, the team noted the experiment demonstrated an “environment-friendly and green source of photosynthetic bioelectricity.”

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