This year’s ULTRAparty, set for August 3 from 8 p.m. to midnight, promises lots of new surprises. The street party takes place on Washington Road from Cedar Boulevard to Castle Shannon Boulevard.
New this year, the featured band will be Jimbo and the Soupbones, a self-described combination of “funk, rock and soulful emotion.” Expect a lot of party music that the band promises will make you happy.
Admission is free but if you wish to purchase beer from sponsor Wilson-McGinley, wristbands will be on sale for $5.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Mt. Lebanon Partnership and Accessible Lebo, a fund to help purchase playground equipment for people with physical challenges.
For a preview of the music, check out www.jimboandthesoupbones.com [1].
[2]FIRST FRIDAYS remain a signature Mt. Lebanon event, when you can bring the family and friends up to Washington Road to hear a free concert, get some delicious dinner and dessert treats, do some shopping and see your neighbors. Commercial Districts Manager Eric Milliron has put together a great lineup of shows, sponsored by PNC Bank. Festivities are from 6 to 9 p.m.
The July 5 theme is Positive Vibrations and features the reggae of Freedom Band on the Clearview Common main stage and the surf rock Retro Agents on the second stage.
The August 2 theme of Left of the Dial will include alternative rock from City Dwelling Nature Seekers on the main stage. September 6, catch an evening of Blues Noir, with music by Chalk Outlines on the main stage and Vertigo-go on the second stage.
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PINK CADILLAC ALERT The Mt. Lebanon Police Association sponsor this family-friendly event with help from Mt. Lebanon Sunrise Rotary, the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Department and the Pontiac Oakland Club of Western Pennsylvania. Proceeds benefit the police department’s youth programs. Washington Road will be closed to street traffic from Lebanon Avenue to Cedar Boulevard beginning at 8 that morning.
THE SECRET GARDEN A lot of people don’t realize that Mt. Lebanon Library has a wonderful, private garden accessible from the rear of the main floor—the perfect place to relax with a good book or enjoy a special event. Check out the garden at 6 p.m., Saturday, August 24, by attending the Beer Garden Bash featuring more than a dozen ales and lagers as well as a gourmet picnic meal. Steel drum artist Dan Meunier will create a Caribbean vibe for the event. Tickets go on sale Monday, July 8, at the library’s front desk for $30 each.
At 6 p.m., Saturday, July 6, is the annual pre-tour Garden Party where you can enjoy wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres in the library gardens. Tickets are $30 at the door. The pre-tour party is the kickoff to the library’s annual Garden Tour, which happens noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 7 (rain or shine), and will showcase the gardens of Lois and David Bodnar, Bower Hill Road; Eileen and Charles Jacobs, Fruithurst Drive; Kathleen and William Simpson, Ordale Boulevard; Lanie Spector, Ridgway Court; Carol and Victor Borelli, Outlook Drive, and Patricia and Richard Suhody, Morrison Drive. Newly added is the Baer house, overlooking Cedar Lake on Lakemont Drive. The Lincoln Elementary School teaching garden, maintained by students and their advisors, also is part of the tour. At each stop, the gardeners will be on hand to share their successes and disappointments.
The garden tour also features a perennial plant sale at the library (you do not have to purchase a tour ticket to take advantage of the great bargains at the plant sale), free consultations with a Pittsburgh Rose Society Consulting Rosarian and special offers at the library’s Book Cellar used book store. Purchase tour tickets in advance at the library for $15. Or pay $20 at the door.
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CELEBRATE THE 4TH Independence Day starts with all-day baseball and softball all-star games beginning at 9 a.m. at Wildcat Field. Games and activities for kids start at noon in Mt. Lebanon Park, leading up to an evening concert with Airborne at 7:30 and of course, the big giant fireworks display at 9:30. Please note that the fireworks return to the traditional spot at the park/high school this year. In between are a climbing wall, bungy jump, petting zoo, pony rides, all kinds of fun summertime stuff. Rain date for the concert and fireworks is July 5.
swing your partner Get outside, have some fun and help raise some money for some causes. Generations Swinging Together is a fund-raiser for Mt. Lebanon Village and the Mt. Lebanon High School golf teams. The golf tournament is Friday, July 19, at the Mt. Lebanon Golf Course.
Cost is $75 per golfer, and that includes a golf clinic with golf pro and Mt. Lebanon commissioner Matt Kluck and professional golfer Missie Berteotti; nine holes of golf, cart included; and a picnic dinner catered by Pittsburgh BBQ. Additional dinner guests are $22.
Check-in is at 1 p.m., clinic starts at 1:30 and the tournament begins with a shotgun start at 2. Picnic dinner, dessert dash and chinese auction will follow.
[5]GET FRESH The Mt. Lebanon Lions Club’s Farmers Market is Wednesday from 4 to 7, through October 30, in the parking lot of the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church at the intersection of Washington and Cochran Road. Pick up locally grown produce, jams and jellies, cut flowers, cheeses, desserts and other products including a variety of wines. Also for sale are the popular Lions Club heavy-duty trash bags and brooms. On Saturdays, the Mt. Lebanon Uptown Farmers Market, a project of the Mt. Lebanon Partnership, runs from 9 a.m. to noon into October.
The library’s CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARD series returns 7 p.m., Thursdays in August. No reservations or tickets required. Sit back and relax—or get up and dance.
August 1: Olga Watkins Band playing original blues, soul and funk. Pittsburgh City Paper readers voted the band as Pittsburgh’s Best Blues/Jazz Band in 2012 and 2010. www.olgawatkinsband.com.
August 8: Hardbark Sycamore, the folk, rock and acoustic duo of Ben Minett and Dan Petrich www.hardbarksycamore.com.
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August 15: Resonance Trio, a Caribbean/Jazz quintet founded by Dan Meunier, who plays steel drums and percussion. danmeunier.net/resonance.
August 22: Jeff Berman’s Eye 2 Eye, a folk-jazz dulcimer and percussion duo. www.appalasia.com/index.
August 29 Mt. Lebanon High School’s string quartet plays classical music.