Free and Affordable Pittsburgh for 5/25: Affordable Memorial Weekend Fun!

Hip hip hooray for the three day weekend! Spend this holiday weekend with those you love, doing fun things you can afford. This week's Free & Affordable Pittsburgh, we're talking about a ridiculously affordable BBQ & craft beer festival (for a good cause!), free Shakespeare in the Park performances, a traditional Memorial Day celebration, fishing with the family. Plus, there's some great information about whether camping is for you... and then a great camping deal to boot. Read on and learn more about all the fun in store!

BkSq's BBQ & Craft Beer Festival
Bakery Square
6425 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
www.facebook.com/events

Date: Friday, May 25, 2012
Hours: 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Price: $5 Donation

BBQ and craft beer lovers unite! Although it's actually free to attend, a $5 donation benefitting Bike Pittsburgh allows you to sample all the tasty BBQ and craft beers available this Friday evening at Bakery Square. Table magazine's favorite local chefs will be serving up tasty BBQ delights, and those 21 and older can sample all the delicious craft beers available. Breweries featured in the Beer Garden include Yuengling, Brooklyn Brewery, Woodchuck Hard Cider, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Flying Dog, Brewery Ommegang, Duvel, Great Lakes, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, The Church Brew Works, Penn Brewery, Atwater Brewery, Samuel Smith, Lindemans, Rogue, Anchor Steam, 21st Amendment Brewery, Ithaca Beer Co., Harpoon Brewery, Boulder Beer, Avery Brewing, and Lagunitas Brewing Company (Brought to you by Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale).  You'll also enjoy live music by Brennan Peirson & Coronado. There's free WiFi, as well as free parking in the Bakery Square garage.

As You Like It presented by Poor Yorick's Players
Tall Trees Amphitheater
Monroeville Community Park
2447 Tilbrook Road
Monroeville, PA 15146
(412) 537-1705
www.pooryoricksplayers.org

Date: May 25-27, June 1-2, 2012
Hours: 7 p.m.
Price: Free to Attend

Enjoy this free performance of William Shakespeare's As You Like It all weekend long, performed by Poor Yorick's Players. Poor Yorick's Players is a performance troupe dedicated to entertainment, educations and cultural enrichment through the dramatic arts, with specific emphasis on Shakespeare's works. Free performances are available thanks to state funding through the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. As You Like It is considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies. Recognize the phrase "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players?" It came from this play! Rosalind, the daughter of a banished duke falls in love with Orlando, the disinherited son of one of the duke's friends. When she is banished from the court by her uncle, she switches genders and travels to visit her father living in exile. The play is full of love, death, aging, and friendship... my recommendation - go see the play!

Annual Memorial Day Celebration at Soldiers & Sailors
Soldiers & Sailors Museum
4141 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 621-4253
www.soldiersandsailorshall.org

Date: Monday, May 28, 2012
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Price: Free to Attend

This annual Memorial Day Celebration is presented by the University of Pittsburgh, and is free and open to the public. This traditional celebration is aimed at remembering the men and women who currently serve, or who have served in our country's armed forces. This year, there will be a special ceremony for fallen Pennsylvania service members from the War on Terrorism, along with a Cornerstone Rededication Ceremony featuring Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and other dignitaries as they place a new time capsule into the cornerstone. There will also be entertianment, including a "Patrioteer Challenge" contest for all ages and DJ Bill Lemon. You'll also enjoy free admission to the museum, and kids activities including a jump around and crafts. Food and drink (including beer) will be available for purchase as well, so bring blankets and lawn chairs and picnic on the lawn!

2012 Fish for Free Days on Pennsylvania's Waterways
Any of Pennsylvania's Waterways
www.fish.state.pa.us

Date: Monday, May 28, 2012
Hours: All Day
Price: Free

Normally a fishing license is required to fish on any of Pennsylvania's waterways. Two days a year, one of which is Memorial Day, anyone (resident or non-resident) is allowed to legally fish with no fishing license required! All other fishing regulations still apply. Fishing licenses vary in cost, depending on your age, your residency status, your military status, or what type of fish you're fishing for, but a PA resident license for someone 16-64 years old is $22.70. A day to fish for FREE is a great deal!

CBS Local Offers has great deals everyday, anywhere from 50-90% off the retail value. This week, you'll find 50% off at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park at Mill Run, which is a little over an hour away from Pittsburgh. . You'll pay $15 for admission for two into this famous fun park - a $30 value. Enjoy entrance to the Wetland, including Pirate Lagoon and Hurricane Mountain water parks, a fishing pond, basketball and volleyball cours, a picnic basket, and access to wagons, trains, fire trucks and carousel rides. Campgrounds are available at an additional cost. You can buy up to two for yourself and two for your friends. This deal IS valid Memorial Day and Labor Day too, so no pesky date limitation! You can find all the details on CBS Local Offers.

Speaking of camping, it can be a fun way to affordably vacation with your family... that said, it's not for everyone. In Family & Pets you'll find Is Camping The Right Vacation For You And Your Family? Before you decide to load up the fam for a camping adventure, take a good look at this article. Good intentions and exciting plans can turn into frustration and disappointment if you're not the "camping type." Does cooking over a gas stove or open flame sound relaxing or annoying? Do you like getting dirty? Do you need a constant connection to the outside world, or does that freedom sound liberating to you? This article helps you examine the questions you need to ask before you load up the car and camp in the great outdoors. Note: I have now learned camping is NOT the right vacation for me and my family. Lesson learned - frustration avoided!

Our Family & Pets category dominates this week! Also in Family & Pets you'll find the Best Mini Golf Courses in Pittsburgh. Mini-golfing is one of our family's favorites, and it's quite affordable as well... in fact, there's a mini golf course right in Pittsburgh that's only $4.50 for adults and $3 for kids 6 and under, PLUS, additional rounds are even less! Either way, there's a great variety of courses to choose from in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, so be sure to check out this article and visit your favorites!