💭 What’s mean, green and turning 50?

Plus, where you can drink beer for a good cause.

By Francesca Dabecco

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️ We’re shouting “Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, everybody!” But no — not that kind.

Pittsburghers take this holiday very seriously. Maybe it’s because nearly 14% of our residents are Irish or maybe it’s because yinzers love to drink. Either way, you’re sure to be lucky this St. Patrick’s Day if you stay masked and hit up that home bar — which doesn’t seem too different from what we’ve been doing all year, right?

Still, the pandemic couldn’t keep Pittsburgh’s Irish community from marching in celebration. Instead of the normal 22,000 people participating in the parade, a few dozen took to the streets this weekend to keep the tradition alive.

Now, speaking of shots …  more than 1.4 million Pennsylvanians have been vaccinated, and most in the 1A category will be able to make appointments by the end of March. Maybe next year we’ll hear bagpipes and drums parading through Downtown again.

In other news today: Vaccine administration is ramping up throughout the city, how to help the restaurant and entertainment industries get through the pandemic, a (literal) local icon turns 50, and breweries that sell suds for a good cause.

What Pittsburgh is talking about

3 things to know today

💉 Vaccination appointments begin today for people 65 and older at Petersen Events Center, and UPMC and the Pittsburgh Penguins began a vaccination clinic at PPG Paints Arena. More than half of Pittsburgh Public School staff have received their vaccine through the Giant Eagle clinic at Heinz Field. (WTAE / TribLIVE / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

🍽️ Some pandemic restrictions on restaurants and bars will be lifted in April. Meanwhile, restaurant workers are not under the 1A category to receive a vaccine, and local eateries are all too familiar with opening and shuttering with the virus wave. (90.5 WESA / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

💵 Want to help restaurant and entertainment workers? Night Life Line, a new fund created by Pittsburgh Restaurant Workers Aid and the National Independent Venue Association, will benefit Pittsburgh’s service and entertainment industries. Census data says that 1 in 10 residents of Allegheny County are employed by the nightlife industry. The fund’s goal is to raise $250,000 to help with rent relief, food, and other living expenses. (Pittsburgh City Paper)

3 things to make you smile

😝 Mr. Yuk’s mean, green face has been saving lives for 50 years and was all started by 81-year-old Lawrencville native Richard Moriarty. You can still get the stickers from the poison center, which might be a good idea considering the Pittsburgh center’s medical director has noticed a 50% increase in hand sanitizer, bleach and disinfectant calls in 2020 over the year before. (TribLIVE)

🖼️ Marvel at nearly 2,500 local artifacts at the Hyde Park Museum, tucked inside a former church along the Kiski River. The museum features old photos, military memorabilia, a relic from the town’s brewing history, and even the tale of the town’s infamous resident. (TribLIVE)

🍻 Say cheers for charity with this list of breweries doing good with their beers. For St. Paddy’s Day, you might want to check out Aurochs Brewing Co.’s Irish breakfast stout. (NEXTPittsburgh)

Add some fun to your inbox

Things to do

Submit your events to our calendar.

Today

👩 Join other female-identifying and gender-nonconforming artists, arts administrators, and arts supporters for lively conversation on womanhood and the arts (Online)

Tomorrow

🎭 Catch Pittsburgh Public Theater's virtual benefit reading of North of Forbes, a contemporary Pittsburgh adaptation of Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles. (Online)

📣 Find your capital S 'Story' with tips from marketing pro Paul Furiga, who founded Pittsburgh's WordWrite (Online)

🏥 Meet with Pittsburgh's Cancer Caring Center for "A Night of Education and Hope" focusing on colorectal cancer during Colorectal Cancer Month (Online)

🏠 Learn about the life and legacy of Pauline Rosenberg (1863-1940) and her Deutschtown home in this Preservation Pittsburgh event (Online)

Saturday

☘️ Tap your toes to the musical stylings of Colm Keegan, from Celtic Thunder, in this livestream with the Pittsburgh Irish Festival (Online)

🎭 Calling all educators: Learn practical ideas on how to enhance student engagement using basic drama methods at Prime Stage Theatre's All the World's a Stage: Creative Ways to Bring Your Lesson to Life (Online)

♻️ Help beautify Hazelwood in this seasonal winter clean-up (Hazelwood)

🌯 Support SHIM's March to Sack Hunger campaign by ordering Chipotle in the South Hills where proceeds go toward the campaign (South Hills)

Sunday

📗 Discus the book "Veganism of Color: Decentering Whiteness in Human and Nonhuman Liberation" with the Pittsburgh Vegan Society (Online)

🎭 Spend a night at the theater (at home) with this one-act play "A Matter of Trust," with the Pittsburgh New Works Festival (Online)

🌳 Zumba in the park with Kemah — and bring the kids, too (Hazelwood)

Monday

🌟 Peek inside a Pittsburgh astronomer’s tiny house in this Doors Open Pittsburgh event (Online)

⏰ Make a plan for better time management at this workshop for Pittsburgh artists (Online)

One more thing …

Do you want to discover your Irish roots? 

Family history researchers can celebrate St. Paddy’s Day safely from home this year during the Senator John Heinz History Center’s seventh annual Irish Genealogy Workshop, which will be presented virtually later this month. 

☘️ Lucky me, you read until the end!

Signing off for this edition.

— Francesca at The Incline

🎉 Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

📩 Tell a friend to subscribe.

📎 Advertise with us.