Three Rivers Arts Festival And PrideFest Kick Off Downtown
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Artists could be seen finishing up last minute details for this year's Three Rivers Arts Festival on Friday morning.
"Bring art out of the museums to the people," said Sarah Aziz with the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
Before the 10-day event even began, some art was already on display for visitors, including a new, colorful family of giraffe sculptures.
"Our 4-meter giraffe is in Gateway and he's so cool. We're really excited about him," said Aziz. They're made from recycled flip flops that were collected as they washed up on the Indian Ocean shore in Kenya.
Visitors who head to the 60th annual Arts Festival this weekend will have a host of activities to choose from, including the Pittsburgh Time Capsule in Gateway Center.
There, participants can safely store messages in two different time capsules -- one held by the mayor's office and one by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust -- that will be read to an audience in 2120.
There's also a host of cuisine to sample, from the food trucks on Liberty to the concession stands in Point State Park.
WATCH KDKA'S JOHN SHUMWAY REPORT FROM THE ARTS FESTIVAL FOR MORE DETAILS:
To view a full list of the Arts Festival's offerings, click here. A daily schedule is also available to download here.
This event is expected to bring in well over 200,000 visitors to downtown Pittsburgh. But add in another event, Pittsburgh PrideFest, and the city will more than likely see the number of visitors doubled.
Pride will host several concerts throughout the weekend at a stage on Ninth and Ft. Duquesne Boulevard. Walk The Moon performs Friday with doors opening at 6 p.m. and Toni Braxton performs Saturday at 7 p.m. To buy tickets to those concerts, click here.
And the annual Pittsburgh Pride Equality March will be Sunday. It kicks off at 12:30 p.m. on the Boulevard of the Allies and makes its way through downtown until it ends on Liberty Avenue at 2:30 p.m. To register for the march, click here.
Both festivals are mostly free to attend, but that doesn't mean businesses won't benefit. People will take advantage of what downtown has to offer.
"They also eat in the restaurants, they buy things in other shops, they stay in hotels, they park in parking garages. It's a great boost for our economy, it brings millions of dollars in," said Aziz.
And more people also means more traffic. We noticed drivers struggling with road closures, specifically along Seventh Street and Ft. Duquesne Boulevard.
MORE ON THIS WEEKEND'S TRAFFIC:
Part of the intersection is blocked off, forcing vehicles to take it slow.
Tonight at 8 p.m., the Andy Warhol Bridge will be shut down for Pride Fest. Police are expected to help traffic move smoothly.
"We have no parking throughout the areas to help keep traffic moving, police officers will be working different lights to make sure traffic continues to move," said Gary Van Horn with Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh.
