Pittsburgh Preparing For Eventful Summer

English: The source of the Ohio River at “The Point” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join to form the Ohio here. The West End Bridge crosses the Ohio in the foreground. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Olympic hopefuls, furry friends and an internationally acclaimed salsa band are just a few of the attractions projected to draw tourists to Pittsburgh this summer.

VisitPittsburgh, a tourism industry nonprofit, gathered business professionals Thursday at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel to coordinate this summer’s events.

Craig Davis, VisitPittsburgh’s president and CEO, said the idea of the third annual luncheon is to get those in the hospitality industry on the same page.

“When we bring it and put it all on one script, you get into a situation where — perennial favorites coupled with big conventions and Buccos baseball — these are reasons for people to come into town,” Mr. Davis said.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/05/09/City-preparing-for-eventful-summer/stories/201405090081#ixzz31F2vQAZ4

The Giant Rubber Duck Will Fly Sunday From Its Pittsburgh Nest

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After hatching on Sept. 27, the duck is ready to leave the nest.

The 40-foot rubber duck, the brainbird of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman that has been floating in the Allegheny River just off of Point State Park the past few weeks, will fly out of town at 11 p.m. Sunday, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust said this morning.

Despite petitions to keep the duck here, the trust is sticking with its initial plan to remove the bird, coinciding with the Steelers vs. Ravens game Sunday at Heinz Field. At that point, the duck will be taken to an undisclosed location, cleaned, dried and put in storage at a warehouse in the South Side.

“It came in like a lion, let’s let it go like a lamb,” said Paul Organisak, vice president of programming for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/the-giant-rubber-duck-will-fly-sunday-from-its-pittsburgh-nest-708115/#ixzz2i5tIbfDQ