Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh Pride ramping up fundraising efforts with less than 60 days to go
With less than 60 days to go until Pittsburgh Pride, the pressure is on to raise crucial funds for the annual event. “It’s a place for everybody to come together, gather, and be with one another without judgment, without worrying about being ‘othered,’” Lyndsey Sickler told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Reporter Jordan Cioppa. Organizers said this year will be no different when the Pittsburgh Pride festival and parade return to the streets of the Steel City June 6-7. However, the celebrations will come at a cost. “Just for stages is over $100,000. That’s not including lighting, electric, insurance, security,” said Sickler, who serves on the board for Pittsburgh Pride. “Pride is happening one way or another, but to do it the way we’ve been doing it, we need to make sure that we can pay the insurance, that we can pay the electric, we can pay for the stages, and the artists, and all that stuff, because we pay our artists.”This year’s fundraising goal is $500,000. So far, organizers said they have raised about $150,000 of that. “There have been increased amounts of attacks on the LGBTQ community, and we’re seeing that reflected in Pittsburgh Pride this year and Prides all across the country, with corporate sponsors backing out, trying to diminish the amount of support that they’re giving to pride,” said board member Sam Wasserman. Board members said big names like Sheetz and U.S. Steel supported this year’s event, but past sponsors like Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Walmart have not stepped up. A Walmart spokesperson responded with the following statement:”Our focus remains on creating an environment where our associates and customers feel they belong. We’re supportive of associates who want to support Pride month by volunteering in their communities.”A Tito’s spokesperson told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the company donates to more than 10,000 nonprofit events yearly. “Unfortunately, we are not always able to continue sponsoring the same events in perpetuity, as we try to spread love to as many organizations as possible,” the spokesperson added. Wasserman said they are currently on track to meet half of the fundraising goal if people continue to show support. “If we were at $250,000 as opposed to [$500,000,] we would have to have discussions about, do we only have one performance stage instead of two?” Wasserman said. “Do we have to shrink our footprint on the park in order to be able to accommodate less costs, less bathrooms, less electricity? Things like that. Less security.” While Wasserman said $150,000 isn’t quite enough, he added that it’s a good start. “On the flip side, we’ve seen a lot of Pittsburghers really embrace Mr. Rogers, being a good neighbor, stepping up,” Wasserman said. “We’ve had hundreds of our local small businesses sign up to be vendors already and pay their vendor fees.”Pittsburgh Pride is recruiting vendors, sponsors, donors, and parade participants. Organizers said they are looking to secure state grant money, too.
With less than 60 days to go until Pittsburgh Pride, the pressure is on to raise crucial funds for the annual event.
“It’s a place for everybody to come together, gather, and be with one another without judgment, without worrying about being ‘othered,’” Lyndsey Sickler told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Reporter Jordan Cioppa.
Organizers said this year will be no different when the Pittsburgh Pride festival and parade return to the streets of the Steel City June 6-7.
However, the celebrations will come at a cost.
“Just for stages is over $100,000. That’s not including lighting, electric, insurance, security,” said Sickler, who serves on the board for Pittsburgh Pride. “Pride is happening one way or another, but to do it the way we’ve been doing it, we need to make sure that we can pay the insurance, that we can pay the electric, we can pay for the stages, and the artists, and all that stuff, because we pay our artists.”
This year’s fundraising goal is $500,000. So far, organizers said they have raised about $150,000 of that.
“There have been increased amounts of attacks on the LGBTQ community, and we’re seeing that reflected in Pittsburgh Pride this year and Prides all across the country, with corporate sponsors backing out, trying to diminish the amount of support that they’re giving to pride,” said board member Sam Wasserman.
Board members said big names like Sheetz and U.S. Steel supported this year’s event, but past sponsors like Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Walmart have not stepped up.
A Walmart spokesperson responded with the following statement:
“Our focus remains on creating an environment where our associates and customers feel they belong. We’re supportive of associates who want to support Pride month by volunteering in their communities.”
A Tito’s spokesperson told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the company donates to more than 10,000 nonprofit events yearly.
“Unfortunately, we are not always able to continue sponsoring the same events in perpetuity, as we try to spread love to as many organizations as possible,” the spokesperson added.
Wasserman said they are currently on track to meet half of the fundraising goal if people continue to show support.
“If we were at $250,000 as opposed to [$500,000,] we would have to have discussions about, do we only have one performance stage instead of two?” Wasserman said. “Do we have to shrink our footprint on the park in order to be able to accommodate less costs, less bathrooms, less electricity? Things like that. Less security.”
While Wasserman said $150,000 isn’t quite enough, he added that it’s a good start.
“On the flip side, we’ve seen a lot of Pittsburghers really embrace Mr. Rogers, being a good neighbor, stepping up,” Wasserman said. “We’ve had hundreds of our local small businesses sign up to be vendors already and pay their vendor fees.”
Pittsburgh Pride is recruiting vendors, sponsors, donors, and parade participants. Organizers said they are looking to secure state grant money, too.
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With America celebrating its 250th birthday this summer, a major landmark in Pittsburgh will celebrate its 100th birthday.
Allegheny County announced a 100th Birthday Bash for the Andy Warhol Bridge on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato made the event official on Friday morning and said it will feature art, music, games, and more.
“Allegheny County’s history is filled with innovation and creativity, beautiful architecture, and talented homegrown artists, and the Andy Warhol Bridge encapsulates all of that in one iconic structure,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “I hope everyone will come down for a fun day of art, community, and a shared celebration of our history on June 27.”
Part of the celebration will be art projects hosted and led by the Andy Warhol Museum and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Local artist Strawberry Luna will also create a special, commemorative poster celebrating the bridge’s history.
The Andy Warhol Bridge is the only bridge in the country to be named for a visual artist, according to Allegheny County.
“As our nation commemorates the U.S. Semiquincentennial, it is fitting that we recognize the oldest of the three Sister Bridges, which represent Pittsburgh’s tradition of innovation, ingenuity, and ‘we can do it’ spirit,” said Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center. “These iconic bridges, painted in ‘Aztec Gold’ as an homage to the city’s official colors, are symbols of Pittsburgh’s vibrancy, culture, and most importantly, its people.”
Formerly known as the Seventh Street Bridge, it was renamed the Andy Warhol Bridge in 2005 to honor the famous artist as well as the 10th anniversary of the Andy Warhol Museum, which is two blocks away.
A man was critically injured after being assaulted by a group of people in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood on Thursday evening, authorities said.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said officers were called to South St. Clair and Eva streets around 5 p.m. for reports of a man who was assaulted by a group of people. The assault happened next to a Whole Foods store.
At the scene, which bordered a park with a playground, first responders found a man who was unconscious and not breathing. Officers and medics performed CPR on the man until he was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The exact nature of his injuries was not released.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said “several males of unknown age” were detained and transported to police headquarters for questioning. It was not immediately known if any of them would be charged.
A KDKA-TV crew observed a second police scene nearby on Centre Avenue next to The Fresh Market, which was previously a Whole Foods. At that scene, KDKA-TV observed what appeared to be at least one teenager being taken into a police car. A witness told KDKA-TV they saw police questioning nearly 10 people, ranging from grade schoolers to teenagers.
Pittsburgh Public Safety did not say what led up to the assault.
“Those kids, whoever they were, need to be reprimanded for that, because that was horrible, horrible,” said Asia Wilter, who was nearby on Thursday evening.
Over the weekend, another man was assaulted outside a 7-Eleven store on Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. Police say the assault started inside the 7-Eleven after the victim mentioned to an employee that he believed a group of teenage males was shoplifting.
Pittsburgh police say the victim scraped his elbow and had a small abrasion on his face. He refused to be transported to the hospital, but police say he went on his own to get checked out. Police are searching for the teens.
Earlier this month, six teenage girls were charged after authorities said they chased a woman into a Sephora store in East Liberty and beat her. Sephora’s loss prevention officer estimated the teens caused approximately $30,000 in damage.
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