CMU School of Drama


Friday, November 15, 2019

Lights. Camera. Fireworks. All of the Deets for Light Up Night 2019

Made In PGH: Tis the season for all things merry and bright! The official start to the Christmas season in downtown begins on November 22nd! There’s so much going on, including the Christmas tree lighting, ice skating, village shopping, music, and fireworks.The night brings all of the holiday spirit and puts everybody in the most wonderful time of the year.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I am so excited for the Christmas season here in Pittsburgh! Being my first year in Pittsburgh I want to see all the fun holiday activities this city has to offer. I already heard about the PPG ice skating rink. As a few weeks ago I purchased my own ice skates and I have been attempting to make it a weekly thing to go out and ice skate as a new hobby. Once this ice skating rink opens up I believe it will be the closet rink to Carnegie Mellon and I can't wait to go skate on it. Also, I have never been to any live tree lighting event. I hope I don't have crew call so I would be able to make it to this one in the PPG Plaza. I am not sure why Pittsburgh loves fireworks so much because so many have gone off every month since I have been here.

-Pablo Anton

Cecilia Shin said...

My friends told me about this event! Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to go because I have run crew...But I guess I’ll see pictures. Also, Adam Lambert will be performing?? I love his performances with Queen! I can already imagine how pretty the lights would be when they all light up - this event really counts toward the holiday spirit but it must take an incredible amount of work to make this happen. The lights are outdoors and need to be set up. They also need to be programmed. The decorations and sets also need to be constructed and loaded in. Fireworks are happening too! There must have been a lot of coordination from different teams to make this happen. On another note, I have never skated in an outdoor ice skating rink before...let alone one with a giant Christmas tree in the middle of it. Maybe I’ll go in the next month!

Emma Pollet said...

This is so lovely!! I definitely will be going if I don't have crew. Now that I finally have a real winter with snow and falling leaves, it will be amazing to add a Christmassy feel to the weather. Seriously, just living here in the winter already makes me feel like I'm living in a Hallmark movie, and now that there's going to be a Christmas tree lighting, ice skating, and village shopping (don't know what that means but I am here for it), it'll definitely feel like the holiday season. Christmas displays in general are always in a league of their own. People go through so much effort to design and set up the displays, but there's also a lot of care and warmth that goes into the process as well. The holiday season itself is a loving time of year, and that's something that the designers of Christmas displays and events always seem to capture.

Anonymous said...

I am so upset that I will not be able to attend next Friday’s holiday festivities in PPG square because I have a props crew call!! I would love to be able to go to the Christmas tree lighting and go ice skating in PPG square. This is such a cute tradition to put everyone in Pittsburgh in the holiday spirit!! Of course it makes me immediately think of the ice skating rink and giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller square back in New York City. It also reminds me of the much smaller tree lighting ceremony they have where I’m from in Beacon, NY. The holidays are such a giving and loving time of the year and I love being able to celebrate that. I also love that Pittsburgh always has such fun things going on such as the lantern festival they had back in September. I only hope that next year I will be able to go to the tree lighting in PPG square!

James Gallo said...

I am so very excited for this night of festivity! The holiday season is my favorite time of the year and I am so glad that Pittsburgh takes it seriously. I will try to participate in as many of these events as I can to try to get myself and my friends into the holiday spirit. With it being my first year in Pittsburgh, it is such a fun and exciting time to learn about the different traditions and events and I particularly love this one. I also think that it is great that a majority of these events are free for everyone to enjoy. This allows everyone to come out for one night and enjoy the holiday season together as a community. I think it is a string way to bring the Pittsburgh community together. I really love that there are multiple firework shows that night as well because fireworks are some of my favorite things ever. This should be a really enjoyable night and I hope we all go out and see each other then!

Nicolaus Carlson said...

I have been living in Pittsburgh for about two and a half years now, and I never knew about all this. How can that be? I always knew that a tree and ice-skating rink went up but I didn’t know this also triggered the market square to decorate and theme as well as having events and other things happening around the area. It looks like something that would be a solid and enjoyable night out. I am also willing to say that I am sure many others are not aware about this event too. Many people are students in Pittsburgh and are likely not from Pittsburgh directly. It would be worth getting the news out as I am sure this is talk all over point park university put what about Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh. Chatham and others too. I am sure that many Pittsburgh natives or long-time lifers know about this but it never hurts to get it out in various ways, especially something like this.

Hsin said...

It's this time of the year already. Since I arrived in Pittsburgh last year, I have been amazed by how much Pittsburghers putting into their local community activities. Reading this article makes me want to spend some time reflecting how the community should cooperate with both local and global companies that are willing to sponsor these cultural events. First of all, the opportunities that these events have brought in the past years are positive from my point of view. Although the main events are still aiming for middle class families and required a certain amount of fee to join, I have noticed that some charity and caring programs are running along with them. And I found this fact very encouraging. I would really like to see how these events that are held in between the department stores focusing more on improving minority people's lives. And it is in our part to do it with artistic events.

Olav Carter said...

I’m ecstatic to see how this entire event comes together, and I’m also very excited to work on it. I currently work for Flyspace and have a shift from 2pm-2am on Friday (make sure to say hi if you’re nearby!) Based on these current event maps though this event is going to be incredible to see and be at. I’ve been at Light Up Night for the past two years now, and they’ve been rather fun overall, although not as Pittsburgh-oriented. However, this year it seems that in coordination with Tom Hanks’ A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the Light Up Night performance is more Pittsburgh-oriented than ever before. This said I think it’s really cool to see a larger celebration of Fred Rogers and his influence on the world. In addition to celebrating Mister Rogers in particular, I think this inclusion of Pittsburgh culture is a wonderful way to promote positivity in Pittsburgh, about Pittsburgh. Though Fred Rogers was a marvelous role model, he also brought out a lot of kindness in our city, and represents a lot of the goodness in our city. That said, I think it’s a beautiful thing, both for the character/film, and for Pittsburgh itself, that Light Up Night is featuring a performance of Mister Rogers music. I’m incredibly excited to work and watch this event.

Emma Patterson said...

This sounds really amazing! How have I lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years and never heard of this?? I knew about the skating rink and decorations down at market square, but I didn’t know about the series of performances and events for us to attend. Pittsburgh’s community activities remind me a lot of home. I live in a smaller town, and every Christmas there is a tree lighting ceremony in which the massive oak trees in the center of town are strung with thousands of lights and we all gather together, sing carols, and wrap up in blankets and have picnics. I think the focus on Mr. Rogers is really sweet in particular. It is a very Pittsburgh oriented event. I am excited to see how this diverse community celebrates its entire population’s traditions. I really hope to be able to attend this event, and see what the Pittsburgh holiday festivities are all about.