Downtown Much Quieter After Weekend Festivities Wrap Up

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The arts are already out and the food vendors are all that's left to pack up after 10 days of the Arts Festival in Gateway Center and The Point.

It was a busy weekend of art and sport and parties in Pittsburgh.

"I liked the hustle and bustle of the area and the food and the art it was all real nice to me," one woman said. "It made me proud to be living in Pittsburgh."

Organizers for the Arts Festival say opening weekend this year was the biggest in 13 years.

That was helped by the big celebration on opening night for the return of the fountain at Point State Park.

And then in the closing weekend, also at The Point, a celebration for the completion of the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail that now runs from Washington D.C. to The Point.

About 1,000 people attended that event.

Plus, another 1,400 were in town for the Americans For the Arts conference at the Convention Center.

More than 100,000 people attended the three sold-out Pirates games.

"I can do without the crowds," one man said. "It was with the Pirate game going on and the concert and stuff like that it was a little too congested but it was a still fun."

Pride Fest drew visitors from 32 states and seven countries. With 86,000 last year, organizers are hoping this year was even bigger.

And the Arts Festival estimates it's surpassed 400,000 people attending.

And some vendors like the pared-down festival from three weeks now down to 10 days, but of course it all comes down to the weather.

"I think 10 days if the weather's good," one man said. "Ten days is a good number."

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