Jillian Kurta scoops ice cream for customers at Grandpa Joe’s Candy Store. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig

Pittsburgh’s Strip District is home to all kinds of restaurants, retailers, and street vendors. Hence, why it is one of the busiest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, especially on the weekends.

Usually, you wouldn’t catch me in its crowded streets on a Saturday, but this week, a venture to the Strip was in the job description. At first, the prospect of approaching people with camera in hand, asking them about themselves and taking their photo was an intimidating one, but not one person shot me down. What I found in the Strip District, rather, were a bunch of people with interesting stories. I even met a new furry friend named Ollie at one of the neighborhood’s many Yinzers outlets.

It shocked me seeing so many people in the Strip District on Saturday. Its inhabitants gathered, shopped, drank beers, and laughed: a rare sight during the pandemic.

A shopper makes his way down the stairs of one of the Yinzers outlets in the Strip District. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
Security guard Dalonte Winters manages the line outside of Wholey’s Market. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
People gather for drinks outside on Penn Avenue in the Strip District on Saturday. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
Ollie, an Australian Shepherd at one of the Yinzers outlets, peers around the corner of the cashier’s desk. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
Troy Thomas sells flowers outside of Wholey’s Market in the Strip. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
A shopper in the strip district on Saturday looks at jewelry from a street vendor. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
Bayelin Morain works sells merchandise outside her family’s business, Native Inkas. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
People gather outside in the Strip District on Saturday. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
The rare sight of sun shines through the Strip District on Saturday. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
Chris Lageman speaks of his experiences talking to “people from different walks of life” while advertising for the Beef Jerky Outlet in the Strip District. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
The rare sight of sun shines through the Strip District on Saturday. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
People enjoy the warmth of the fire outside of 1700 Penn Avenue. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig
The rare winter sun shines through the Strip District on Saturday. Credit: CP Photo: Kaycee Orwig

This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2021.