🍝 Meet the Pittsburgh TikToker making fresh pasta all around ‘tahnPlus, “Pittsburgh Builds Bridges” artist inspires an inclusive community. By Francesca Dabecco Welcome to Wednesday, Pittsburgh. There’s lots to cover in today’s newsletter — like the last call on to-go cocktails, Pittsburgh’s persistently poor air quality, a local TikToker making fresh pasta all around ‘tahn, and a crafty art festival that’s making a hot return this summer. Scroll on for today’s headlines. Plus, we have a story from The Incline’s intern, Zoey Angelucci, about a local artist inspiring inclusivity with her painting. 🎨 | What Pittsburgh is talking about | | | | | 3 things to know today🍹 Bars and restaurants are prepping for a summer without the to-go cocktails. Because of the pandemic, establishments were able to sell mixed drinks as to-go orders, but with the emergency rule expiring a few weeks ago, the bill is awaiting its final outcome. Senate Republicans stated that the bill would be put on hold until September, meaning no to-go drinks for the rest of summer. (90.5 WESA) 💨 Just how bad is Pittsburgh’s air quality? PennEnvironment ranked the top toxic ten sources of air polluters in Allegheny county. It’s no secret that Pittsburgh has struggled with its air quality since its industrial days. The frontrunner this year is ATI Flat Rolled Products Holding in Brackenridge, followed by many other recurring culprits. (NEXTPittsburgh) - Updates from a new study: The amount of asthma-related medical visits have nearly doubled since the 2018 U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works fire. During the Christmas Eve fire, a large amount of sulfur dioxide was released into the air causing breathing issues among residents. (90.5 WESA)
⛪ Meet the first woman, Black bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The native Haitian, Rev. Ketlen Solak, was previously the rector of Brandywine Collaborative Ministries in Wilmington, Del., and recently elected as the ninth bishop. In her new position, Solak will oversee 36 parishes across 11 counties in the area. (TribLIVE) | 3 things to make you smile🍝 Pittsburgh TikToker Peters Pasta is making pasta all around ‘tahn. Ryan Peters, originally from Reading, Pa., earned TikTok fame after posting his pasta videos. Last month, Ryan started a series making pasta in unexpected places, starting off on Mt. Washington. Check out this Instagram video of him kneading dough in front of PPG Paints. (NEXTPittsburgh) 🖍️ Did you come out of the pandemic with a new creative hobby? If so, you’ll be happy to hear that the Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival is coming back this summer. The three days dedicated to all things stitching and needlework are welcoming both new and old crafters. The event will include over 50 instructional classes, vendors, and more. (Pittsburgh City Paper) 🍸 These two new Pittsburgh-based libations are just in time for summer. Allegheny Distilling, aka Maggie’s Farm Rum, has created a new hard seltzer, Personal Day Hard Seltzer, that comes in four different flavors. On the other end of the drinking spectrum, Goodlander Cocktail Brewery is now making kegs of cocktails for local pubs — like 5.6 gallon kegs of highball cocktails and a small selection of alcohol-free sparkling beverages. (Pittsburgh Magazine) | 🎨 Meet Ebtehal Badawi, the artist behind “Pittsburgh Builds Bridges”By Zoey Angelucci | | | Ebtehal standing with "Pittsburgh Builds Bridges" (📸: @ebtehal.badawi81) When my friends and I were touring the Three Rivers Arts Festival and Market Square’s World Square, a young girl brushing bright blue paint onto a blank canvas asked if we wanted to help with the painting. Her mother followed to explain. The woman introduced herself as Ebtehal Badawi, an artist from Saudi Arabia. She created this painting entitled “Pittsburgh Builds Bridges” as an inclusive, healing piece. Setting up an interactive painting activity in Market Square for the international festival was the perfect place to promote the greater purpose of the art piece — to show that no matter our differences or beliefs, we all make up one Pittsburgh community. Ebtehal was born in Saudi Arabia, moved to the States about 15 years ago, and has called Pittsburgh home for the past seven years. She is an expressionist artist and culture explorer with the greater purpose of building bridges between different people. Her passion comes from believing that art is healing and brings joy to everyone. Ebtehal’s goal? To use Pittsburgh as her canvas to spread the message of Pittsburgh Builds Bridges. She is looking for a Downtown location for her mural and many different people to help. It seems only right for a mural about the Pittsburgh community to be created by the Pittsburgh community. At World Square, 200 people joined in to paint the smaller version of the painting, and 154 wrote down their information for when it comes time to help create her mural. “Helping people through art, that combination, is what I want to do,” Ebtehal said. After living in Pittsburgh for some time, Ebtehal found the need to create a painting to bring all Pittsburghers together. Years ago, her son, who is now in 10th grade, was playing for a local hockey team when he received some racist comments. Ebtehal assured me that the bullies have since apologized, but as a mother, she never forgot that hurt and pain inflicted on her child. Around the same time, Ebtehal saw a video of a student beating up a Syrain refugee at Carnegie High School. The video went on for a couple minutes. “I felt as a mom, as a woman, that this was awful. How can someone videotape this for so long and not call for help?” Ebtehal said. | | | Ebtehal painting with child in Market Square (📸: @ebtehal.badawi81) She reached out to the child’s mother for support and comfort. The pair thought of an anti-bullying and anti-racism poster to promote inclusivity. As an artist, she felt responsible to design the piece. Her inspiration comes from her life experiences. She wanted something to represent Pittsburgh as a whole. Ebtehal felt that nothing would better represent the city than a bridge. The small idea for the poster quickly grew into the idea of Pittsburgh Builds Bridges. “So why Pittsburgh Builds Bridges? To welcome everyone so they can feel like they belong,” Ebtehal said. “Then I got the idea to find a wall and paint this as a mural with different kids, people, and maybe players from the Steelers, the Penguins, and the Pirates. My intention is to plant seeds of love, acceptance, and building bridges in our kids’ hearts and our hearts, too.” Ebtehal has reached out to different organizations in an attempt to find a Downtown spot for her mural, but she’s still waiting to hear back. If you have a mural space and would like to fill it with Ebtehal’s art, email us at hello@theincline.com. “I hope to find a wall and paint it together, bringing people together to build bridges between different people. So everyone, when they see it, they feel they belong and Pittsburgh is their home,” Ebtehal said. Read the full story on our website, and follow Ebtehal on Instagram @ebtehal.badawi81 or visit ebartphotography.com. | |
