SPOTLIGHT: Fri., June 14 — Festival
With marriage equality being debated by the U.S. Supreme Court, state after state adopting same-sex marriage, and Pennsylvania considering (again) a non-discrimination bill, it's a banner time for LGBT rights. Celebrate it with Pittsburgh Pride, whose motto this year, naturally, is "I Wanna Marry You." The annual celebration lasts through June 16, and includes a slew of advocacy and social events. Performances include Dreams of Hope's youth stage show, Department of Hope (7 p.m. Thu., June 13; Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, East Liberty; free). Want to check out local watering holes? Sign up for the city-wide Pub Crawl ($27-32), which starts at 8 p.m. Fri., June 14, and includes a chauffeured tour of bars, restaurants and clubs. But the main party takes place on the weekend, when Grammy nominee and former American Idol star Adam Lambert headlines at Pride in the Street ($35-45), a series of performances running from 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sat., June 15. On Sunday, let your rainbow flag fly during the Pride March from noon to 1 p.m.; it starts at the corner of Grant Street and Boulevard of the Allies. Then check out PrideFest, a free street fair from 1-6 p.m. on Liberty Avenue between Sixth and 10th streets, with entertainment, vendors and performers, plus a children's activity area. Lauren Daley Pittsburgh Pride continues through Sun., June 16. Full schedule and info at www.pittsburghpride.org.
Fri., June 14 — Comics
A few years back, The ToonSeum recruited local cartoonists to create a visitors' guide to the North Side. Now that charming publication has a sequel celebrating the neighborhood that's home to landmarks from The Original Hot Dog Shop to Phipps Conservatory (not to mention vanished wonders like Luna Park). Tonight, Phantom of the Attic Comics hosts a release party for Oakland, edited by Harold Behar and featuring talents like DC veteran Christopher Moeller and newer names like Nate McDonough and Jessica Heberle. BO 7 p.m. 405 S. Craig St., Oakland. Free. 412-682-6290
Sat., June 15 — Art
Over the decades, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has been a performance artist, industrial-music pioneer (Throbbing Gristle, et al.) and essayist. While the artist's first solo museum exhibition includes more than 100 diverse works dating to the 1970s, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge: S/HE IS HERE focuses on the Pandrogyne Project — P-Orridge's attempt with his wife, Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, to merge their identities through plastic surgery, hormone therapy and cross-dressing. (The project continued after Jaye's death, in 2007). The exhibit opens today at The Andy Warhol Museum, as do two shows by Pittsburgh-based artists: photography exhibit Caldwell Linker: All Through the Night (see preview on page ???) and Nick Bubash: The Patron Saint of White Guys That Went Tribal and Other Works. BO 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 117 Sandusky St., North Side. $10-20. 412-237-8300 or www.warhol.org
Sat., June 15 — Exhibit
Today is the opening of BIKES: Science on Two Wheels, a new exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center. Bikers and science geeks can explore helmet aerodynamics, Newton's laws of angular momentum and torque, and other scientific concepts behind two-wheeled travel. The Science Center built the exhibit with borrowed bikes from The Bicycle Museum of America and the North Side's own Bicycle Heaven. Starting at noon, along the riverfront trail, the I Made It Market will sell bicycle-themed art and accessories. On select Saturdays through September, the Center offers bike-related outdoor activities. Olivia Lammel. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 1 Allegheny Ave., North Side. $11.95-17.95. 412-237-3400 or www.carnegiesciencecenter.org
Sat., June 15 — Outdoors
Venture Outdoors' Summer Backpacking Intro is a one-day class geared toward beginning backpackers with plans to hit the trails this summer. Participants will learn basics of safety, packing, water purification and cooking. Students can take their new know-how into the sort-of wilderness on a beginner's-level hike through South Park. This program is strongly recommended if you're joining one of nonprofit VO's backpacking trips this summer. OL 11 a.m. (register by 5 p.m. Fri., June 14). Meet at Bright Star Pavilion, South Park. $20. 412-255-0564 or www.ventureoutdoors.org
Sat., June 15 — Festival
Fans of the Unblurred gallery crawls can see another side of Penn Avenue's arts corridor — the outside — at Penn Avenue Arts in Motion. Today, the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. closes a block of Penn for an afternoon of music, art and food. Performers include Gene Stovall (acoustic R&B), Vox Lumina (tribal folk), the Turpentiners (bluegrass), Mega-Def (hip hop) and nationally known indie electro-pop band The Van Allen Belt. The food's by food trucks and neighborhood restaurants; nearby galleries are open; and a family area includes activities by the Carnegie Museum of Art, Assemble and the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination. BO Noon-6 p.m. Penn between Atlantic and Pacific, Bloomfield/Garfield. Free. 412-389-5521
Sat., June 15 — Screen
The annual Americans for the Arts Convention brings perhaps 1,000 arts administrators to town this weekend to discuss funding, demographic trends, and even, you know, art. While attendees will also be treated to performances by local talent, most of the shows are private. The lone exception is tonight's screening of the first three episodes of gay web series The Outs. The screening, in Downtown's Westin Pittsburgh hotel, is followed by a live, in-person Q&A with director, writer and lead actor Adam Goldman. BO 8 p.m. Westmoreland Room, Westin Pittsburgh, 1000 Penn Ave., Downtown. $10. www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Sun., June 16 — Words
If you always miss Bloomsday because it's usually during the work week, here's your chance. Today is Pittsburgh's 25th annual take on this international holiday marking the date on which James Joyce's Ulysses is set. Starting at 10 a.m., with Bloomfield's Crazy Mocha playing the Martello Tower, through Regent Square's Map Room hosting Molly Bloom's famed closing soliloquy, follow Leopold Bloom on his mythic perambulation around Dublin. Other stops include Homewood Cemetery and the Frick Art & Historical Center; organizers promise "mainly Irish voices" as readers of appropriate sequences. The complete schedule's at www.bloomsdaypittsburgh.org. BO 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Free.
Mon., June 17 — Words
After writing six self-help memoirs, best-selling author Jen Lancaster is still trying to get her act together. This time, she set out to find happiness in dried flower arrangements and potpourri bowls. For a year, she lived her life according to domestic know-it-all Martha Stewart. She documents the "Martha Way" in The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING, or Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog. Tonight, she tells the tale at the Waterfront's Barnes & Noble. OL 7 p.m., 100 W. Bridge St., West Homestead. Free. 412-462-5743 or www.barnesandnoble.com
Mon., June 17 — Words
Every year, Cave Canem, the premier foundation supporting and promoting black poetry, hits Pittsburgh for a series of free readings by both emerging poets and big names. The first, tonight at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, features Thomas Sayers Ellis (performing with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis), Pittsburgh's Terrance Hayes and Angela Jackson. On Thu., June 20, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh holds a tented outdoor reading with widely acclaimed Nigerian-born poet Chris Abani; Pittsburgh's Toi Derricotte; Cornelius Eady (with musicians Concetta Abbate and Charlie Rauh); and Harryette Mullen. BO 7:30 p.m. (Pitt-Greensburg). Also 7:30 p.m. Thu., June 20 (with 6:45 p.m. pre-reading concert; 1410 Monterey St., North Side). 412-323-0278
Wed., June 19 — Words
New York Times best-selling author Taylor Stevens visits Mystery Lovers Bookshop tonight. She will discuss The Doll, her latest thriller and the third installment of the Vanessa Munroe series. Readers seem to be in love with Munroe, a fierce "information specialist" with a damaged past. She has been compared to Stieg Larsson's bad-ass tattooed heroine Lisbeth Salander. In her latest appearance, wrote Publishers Weekly, Munroe "remains as compelling as ever." Stevens' breakthrough thriller The Informationist is slated to hit the big screens, directed by James Cameron. OL 7 p.m. 514 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont. Free. 888-800-6078 or www.mysterylovers.com
Thu., June 20 — Words
Tonight, a slew of slam poets will take the mic in the June Steel City Slam. Twelve poets will compete for a cash prize and recognition as a slam champ. Between rounds, tonight's featured poet, Paulie Lipman, will perform. Lipman is a musician, writer and slam pro from Worchester, Mass. Slams take place on the third Thursday of each month at 720 Music Café. The sign-up sheet goes out at 7 p.m., and the slam starts as soon as enough judges and poets have volunteered. OL 7 p.m. 4405 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $5. [email protected] or www.pghpoetry.org
