Mary Pickels stories, Page 5

If you’ve got some free time and enjoy exploring the Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties region, the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau is releasing a free, 72-page brochure packed full of ideas for everything from winter fun to dining, hiking to history. The bureau’s 2020 Destination Guide serves to promote the...

The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier Township will host a paper pop-up sculpture card workshop for children. The 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 15 event is to teach children ages 8 to 12 to create the cards. Participants will learn how to turn a flat sheet of paper...

Editor’s note: Due to coronavirus concerns this event has been postponed. New dates will be announced. The Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival will return March 20-22 to the DoubleTree by Hilton, Green Tree, 500 Mansfield Ave. The festival features classes, demonstrations, exhibitions, a marketplace, a creative open studio and a maker...

Fine diners who also enjoy getting a good deal can check out Nemacolin Woodlands Resort’s annual “Restaurant Week.” The resort, located at 1001 Lafayette Drive, Farmington, Fayette County, will host its own version of the popular event Jan. 12-17. The resort is offering a package including a 25% room rate...

You might need to pick up the pace a bit for the Pittsburgh Cultural District’s Gallery Crawl. The free, quarterly, multi-venue event showcases the city’s downtown art and entertainment scene. There is a lot to see, do and hear from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Jan. 24, as the city’s Cultural...

With a post-holiday, critical need for donations, the American Red Cross is asking donors to begin the new year by giving blood or platelets. As a sign of appreciation and a special incentive, those who donate blood or platelets through Jan. 19 will be entered in a chance to win...

Master shoemaker Brett Walker will conduct the winter quarters workshop series “Leatherworking 101 Document Case” at Fort Ligonier. The program from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 25 is a hands-on opportunity for students to learn basic leather-working, hand-sewing and simple decorative skills, according to the museum. Walker, a re-enactor and historian,...

Area Peebles stores, including those in Belle Vernon, Mt. Pleasant, Ellwood City, Allegheny Township, New Castle and Somerset, will hold hiring events this week as the locations transform into Gordmans stores. The stores will open under the new name on Feb. 18, the company says. The apparel and home décor...

Remember that diet resolution you swear to uphold in 2020? Press pause for a day or two. Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor, at 2801 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, is offering to help you spend a little less money on a tempting calorie splurge Jan. 2-3. For two days only, the 1920’s-era ice...

Nora Roberts has crafted a chillingly timely piece of fiction with her book “Shelter In Place,” released in 2018. The prolific author has taken on an active shooter scenario, with a plot frighteningly reminiscent of the 2012 theater shooting in Colorado. That’s where all similarities end. Roberts sets her book...

In just two days, we can kiss 2019 goodbye and put a lip lock on 2020. Many of us look forward to ushering out the old year, and raising a toast as the new one arrives. If your plans include enjoying a glass of sparkling wine, you want to be...

Holiday gift cards can offer fun outings, restaurant meals, shopping excursions to one’s favorite places. Or, they can leave the recipient confused or even disappointed. Sheetz is among companies offering a gift card exchange program, giving patrons the chance to trade in unwanted/unused gift cards for Sheetz products including food...

If you find the idea of welcoming in the new year by cuddling cats appealing, Greensburg’s Cattfeinated Cat Cafe has a party for you. With a speakeasy theme, the new cafe, which opened in November at 159 E. Otterman St., will celebrate New Year’s Eve from 10:30 p.m. Dec. 31...

Handmade Arcade will extend the holiday shopping season, hosting its first open-air market in the Peoples Gas Holiday Market site in Pittsburgh’s Market Square. The winter market will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 28-31. The holiday market closed for the season on Dec. 23. According to Handmade...