6 budget-friendly things to do in Pittsburgh this June

Embrace the summer season with Pride festivals, an August Wilson play and live musical and visual art performances.

For more things to do in June, check out Pitt’s events calendar.

See the stars at the Riverview Jazz Series

Saturdays in June

Grab a blanket or lawn chair and head out for an evening of jazz and free cinema under the stars. Riverview Park is hosting jazz series concerts followed by family-friendly movie showings.

Where: Riverview Park, Observatory Hill, 159 Riverview Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15214

More details: This is an unticketed event. 

Full steam ahead with August Wilson

June 1-19, various times

Set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, “Two Trains Running” follows community members who choose to bet on luck, love and justice amid an urban renewal project that swept the nation in 1969. The play spotlights Memphis, a business owner struggling to save his restaurant, which was once regarded as the district’s Black mecca.

Written by hometown favorite and playwright, August Wilson, it was described in 2019 by The Guardian’s Michael Billington as “a study of a crisis-ridden city…[with] a richness and density of texture in which social reportage is combined with individual desperation.” It premiered on Broadway in 1992 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Where: O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15213

More details: Purchase tickets, $16.50.

Three Rivers Arts Festivals

June 3-12, noon-8 p.m.

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is an outdoor art and music festival held in downtown Pittsburgh that features live performances and vendors. This year’s line-up includes concerts by Grammy-award winning acts, like artist, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist Cory Henry and Eric Krasno & The Assembly, and city staples like the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Returning for the first time in a decade is the STREB Extreme Action company, founded by MacArthur Award-winning choreographer Elizabeth Streb. The set is revered for combining jaw-dropping extreme action productions with large scale “action machines.”

Where: Various locations in downtown Pittsburgh

More details: Free events.

People’s Pride PGH March and Festival

June 5, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

SisTers PGH, a nonprofit founded and operated by Black trans women and femmes, is hosting the first-ever Pride event held in Swissvale to focus on legislation and inclusivity following devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized communities. Singer-songwriter and transgender rights activist Shea Diamond will headline, and five other local artists will perform following the march. 

Where: March route begins at Edgewood Town Center (1763 S Braddock Ave., Swissvale, PA, 15218) and will end at Dickson Elementary School (7301 Schoyer Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15218), where the festival will be held

More details: This is an unticketed event.

Beatrice Rana plays Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto

Friday, June 10, through Sunday, June 12, various times

Beatrice Rana, cited by Gramophone Magazine as possessing “a soul that belies her years, and more than a touch of genius,” will play history’s most popular concerto. Rana will share the stage with conductor, Manfred Honeck, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and others.

Where: Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh PA, 15222

More details: Purchase tickets, $20.

Pride Out Loud Handmade Market

Saturday, June 11, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.

A Pride celebration with an artistic flair, Arts Out Loud is hosting 25 of Pittsburgh's LGBTQ makers and creators of handmade goods, organizations and popular food trucks for an outdoor market that brings awareness to the LGBTQ community. Participating sellers and organizations will donate to the Arts Out Loud’s Dream Out Loud Scholarship. The rain date is June 25.

Where: Ice House Studios, 100 43rd St., Pittsburgh, PA, 15201

More details: This is an unticketed event.

World Refugee Day 2022

Monday, June 20, 4-8 p.m.

Pittsburgh’s World Refugee Day and Immigrant Heritage Month Celebration is an extension of the United Nations global celebration that applauds the contribution of forcibly displaced people throughout the world. In Pittsburgh, it’s a special recognition of the thousands of refugees and immigrants that call the city home, and an opportunity to showcase the vibrancy and value they bring to the region. With live performances, speakers and activities, attendees can support local refugee and immigrant-owned restaurants and artisans while learning more about city refugee organizations and services

Where: Schenley Plaza, 4100 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15260

More details: Information for the free event will be provided soon.

— Kara Henderson