Art What You Got 2009
Art What You Got is Polish Hill’s art festival, the second summer street fair in this small neighborhood. The main intersection of Polish Hill, Brereton and Dobson streets, is closed for an entire weekend each July when the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church holds a church community festival. The church event is on Saturday only, but tents, tables, chairs and lighting would stay in place until Monday morning. The Polish Hill Civic Association saw an opportunity to create a new tradition for the neighborhood and utilize the second day of the street closing. With the assistance and cooperation of the church, the West Penn Recreation Center, and a squad of volunteers, the PHCA presented the first Art What You Got in July of 2008. Despite a fierce storm that blew through in the afternoon, the bands kept playing, people kept eating pierogis and kielbasa, the sun eventually came out again, and the festival was counted as a rousing success.
This year, this new tradition continues with the second Art What You Got festival, on Sunday, July 19th from noon to 8 pm. Attractions will include an artist’s market for vendors selling their own artwork and craft items; food including traditional Polish favorites like kielbasa and pierogies, as well as traditional American items such as hamburgers; musical performances, hands-on art activities, and demonstrations. And we are determined that it will not rain this year.
UPDATE 7-11-09: We are not accepting any more vendors. If you wish to get on the notification list for next year, email phcapgh@gmail.com
Parking and access information
The festival takes place at the intersection of Brereton and Dobson streets. This is the main intersection in Polish Hill and it will be closed all day. There will be no through traffic on Brereton. No vehicles will be permitted in the festival area between 11:30 am and 8:30 pm. This is a safety measure—the festival area will be crowded with tents and people.
Getting to Polish Hill
There are three main entrances to the neighborhood:
From Bloomfield and Lawrenceville: go over the Herron Bridge and up Herron Avenue; park at the gravel lot in the S-curve of Herron Avenue
From Downtown and the Strip: At Liberty and 28th, go up the hill and cross the 28th Street Bridge; park on Brereton near 30th Street or turn right on 30th Street and immediately, another right into the driveway for West Penn Recreation center. The recreation center has two parking lots, one behind the other. If the front lot right outside the building is full, continue thru to the back lot.
From Bigelow Boulevard: Turn down Herron Ave into Polish Hill. There is a gravel lot on the S-curve of Herron Avenue, past Dobson Street. You may also be able to find street parking.
Buses to Polish Hill
Alternating 54C buses go through Polish Hill--make sure the one you catch says Polish Hill, not Penn and Main. This bus will be diverted by a couple of blocks due to the street closing, but it’s still the closest bus to our location.
The East Busway stops right at the base of Polish Hill. When exiting the busway, you will be on the S-curve of Herron Avenue. Turn right and go up Herron, skip the first set of very long steps and walk up to the second set of shorter stairs (next to the Witamy Do Polish Hill sign). The stairs lead up to Dobson Street. Turn right on Dobson; the festival is one block up, in front of the church.
Any of the buses that go along Liberty between Lawrenceville and Downtown will take you to 28th Street; get off there and walk up the hill, across the 28th Street Bridge, and go left up Brereton.
Parking
Polish Hill is a small city neighborhood with limited street parking that is mostly in use by residents. You may find street parking next to the festival, but more likely you will need to park in one of the suggested spots a few blocks away, and walk over to Brereton and Dobson. If you are bringing elderly or disabled visitors, they may be dropped off at the festival location, but you will need to park elsewhere.
Suggested parking locations:
--Along Brereton Street between the 28th Street Bridge to 30th Street. (Distance to festival site: 2 blocks)
--West Penn Recreation Center: the entrance to parking lot is on 30th Street, above the park. (Distance to festival site: 2 blocks)
Halfway up the Herron Avenue S-curve, just up from the Herron Bridge, there’s a gravel parking lot. Walk up Herron to Dobson, turn right and walk up to the festival (distance: 3 blocks)
Here is a link to a Google map of the festival location.
AWYG Event Overview
Bands and performances
Joy Ike (singer/songwriter and band)
Ar Eigean Gael (traditional Irish music)
Stan Syzmanski (solo bass guitar praise and worship)
Chet Vincent and the Big Bend (rock, roots)
Joy Toujours (acoustic, kids)
Timbeleza (Brazilian drumming and samba)
The Incline (folk/rock)
CAPA dance performance
Organizations and hands-on projects
The Andy Warhol Museum (paper flowers project)
The Mattress Factory (collage-book project)
Project 53 (making simple musical instruments)
Fossil Free Fuels (biofuels vehicle and education)
Carnegie Library (buttonmaking)
Carley Parrish (plaster casting)
Food
IHM church (pierogies, kielbasa, burgers, sodas and water)
Ben and Jerry’s Scoop Shop cart (fruit sorbets)
The Goodie Truck (baked goods, vegan and conventional, ice cream sandwiches)
PHCA sale table
The Polish Hill Civic Association will have a table selling Polish Hill t-shirts, buttons, postcards, cookbooks,pierogie pins and ornaments, and more. Proceed benefit the PHCA.
Tamara Barker/Barker's Herbs and Heirlooms
Mixed Media, collage art, wearable art pieces and jewelry made from pop cans and bottlecaps.
Si Brown/John Jiremoz/Union Project
ceramic/decal
Maura Doern Danko painting/cutouts/small jewelry made from paintings
Kylie Dickman/Silent Lotus Creations
Original Chinese brush paintings, jewelry handcrafted from gemstones, pure brass, sterling silver.
Jack Franks
fused dichroic glass/fine woodworking
CheAna Fraser
jewellry and clothing
Diane Gambassi/Treasures in Glass
stained glass jewelry, purse mirrors, hanging angels, mermaids; painted terra cotta art planters.
Malcolm Gittins/The Monster Shoppe
pop art, movie monsters
Kathy Hast/Bead-azzled by Kat
jewelry-beadweaving/gemstone/swarowski crystals
Joseph Holtz Jr./Hands of Holtz
mixed media on glass
Bernadette Kazamarski/Portraits of Animals
paintings and photographs of animals and nature, some derivative merchandise
Elizabeth Klevens
mosaic
Yelena Lamm/Yelena Lamm Design
original paintings and drawings, limited edition art prints and notecards
Chaz Letzkus
pen and ink hidden animal drawings
Melissa Venneri-McCabe and Lew McCabe/Whimsical Wonders
windchimes and jewelry from recycled silverware and other kitchen items
Ruth McCormick
watercolor paintings
Shirley McCormick
fabric purses, backpacks, wallets and laptop bags
Becky Mercatoris/BBK Bags
super fun tote bags and wallets
Rita Mullen
one-of-a-kind fabric purses w/ vintage accents
Inna Nirenburg/ eeni-ren designs
jewelry, magnets
Joyce Oates and Elisabeth Ploran
Jewelry, purses, knit hats, knit arm warmers, hand screen-printed onesies and kid tees.
Lisa Parker/On the Rocks Designs
silver, copper and bead jewelry
Nicole Paulovich/Bella Sol Bebe
handmade children’s hats, bibs and blankets
Reyghan Pierce
photos,clay,paint,pencil,felt
Rebecca Susman/Unseamly Creations
fabric purses and other items
Garick Tai-Lee and Augustin Pionati
ceramics
Lauren Toohey
acrylic paintings and face painting
Deaja L. Vire/Pinkapple Accessories
jewelry (wooden, string and beaded)
For more information, please contact festival coordinator
Leslie Clague at phcapgh@gmail.com or call 412.681.1950.
AWYG Would like to thank ...
Allegheny County Sheriffs Office
Breadworks
Terry Doloughty
Guyasuta Printing
Mastro Ice
Jake Peterson
This festival was supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
