🌲 What’s the Christmas pickle tradition?

Report Reveals Disparities at Pgh Public Schools

A+ Schools’ annual Report to the Community shows 34% of students were chronically absent last school year, plus disparities in test scores and funding. Find the complete report here or at your local Carnegie library. [A+ Schools]

• Pittsburghers want more transparency and public input in PPS’ budgeting process. The district is dealing with a deficit and is considering building closures. [PublicSource]
• So why might some spaces close? [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

Millvale Food & Energy Hub Reopens

The community hub that houses 412 Food Rescue, Sprezzatura, and New Sun Rising is reopening its first floor after a fire forced it to close earlier this year. This Saturday, New Sun Rising is celebrating local nonprofits through its 2023 Vibrancy Awards for Opportunity. Buy tickets for $20.

• This year’s recipients are the Outdoor Inclusion Coalition (🎧 hear what it’s all about on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast), All-Abilities Media (which helps people with disabilities create multimedia journalism), and Landforce (an employment and training org). [Pittsburgh City Paper]

Museum of Illusions Comes to Pgh

Trick your mind with over 80 exhibits coming to a new North Shore museum this month, featuring an interactive, visual experience that teases the senses — and has lots of cool photo opportunities. [WPXI-TV]

• Get discounted tickets now through December 20.

Did you know Lawrenceville is one of Pittsburgh’s oldest and largest neighborhoods? It was founded in 1814, and William B. Foster named it after Captain James Lawrence, who served in the War of 1812. Does Foster sound familiar? That’s because his son is Stephen Foster, the “father of American music.” (We did a whole episode about what happened to his racist statue in Oakland.)

During the Civil War, the neighborhood was home to Allegheny Arsenal, an important manufacturing center for the Union Army once rumored to ferry ammunition through underground tunnels — it now offers nine acres of respite as Arsenal Park.

Land acknowledgement: Long before colonists settled in Pittsburgh, it belonged to these Indigenous tribes.

Eat & Drink

Morning: ☕ First, coffee: Find Vietnamese coffee and more drinks (along with some tasty banh mi sandwiches) at Ineffable Cà Phê or get your espresso fix at Espresso a Mano. Try a different kind of caffeine at Mosaic Leaf Matcha Tea Bar.

• Tip: Ineffable just opened a new speakeasy for evening drinks!

🥯 Grab breakfast on the go at Brooklyn Bagel at Arsenal or sit down for a full brunch feast of waffles, pancakes, and eggs Benedict at The Nook.

Mid-Day: 🍕 Grab a slice of woodfired pie at Driftwood Oven or Piccolo Forno.

• 🥐 Tip: Go for the ‘za, but don’t skip on the sourdough baked goods at Driftwood.

Evening: 🥂 For a special occasion or date night, cheers with craft cocktails and Spanish cuisine at Morcilla; indulge in sake, sushi, and ramen at Umami; treat yourself to the wine bar and Italian food at Senti; or graze with small Mediterranean plates at The Forge.

🍻 If you’re thinking of going drinking, Eleventh Hour Brewing Co. has you covered with craft beers and Cinderlands Foederhouse has crisp beers and classic Belgian pub fare. Arsenal Cider House is a good option if you’re not into beer. Palate Partners’ Casual Friday series offer lessons while you imbibe.

🥟 For a divine Pittsburgh experience, drink some brews alongside pierogi while peering through stained-glass windows at Church Brew Works. Note the alcohol storage in the confessionals.

I’m back with another local gift rec! Find the growing catalog, plus this list of holiday markets, on our website.

🎁 Make sure you come back every day for a new recommendation!

For The Traditional Pittsburgher

Because we are the hometown for Heinz and a lot of early German immigrants, it’s no surprise that Pittsburghers have carried on the Christmas pickle tradition from Old World Germany. Here’s how it goes: Someone hides a pickle ornament in the boughs of the tree on Christmas Eve, and the next morning, the first child to find it gets to open the first gift.

I saw these gorgeous stained-glass ornaments at Commonplace Coffee in the Mexican Wars Streets, perfect for the new or old Pittsburgher.

Thursday, Dec. 7

• 🎁 Holiday Pop-Up Market at The Vision on Fifteenth | 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. | free | Strip District
• 🥂 Sip, Shop & Sample Holiday Social | 5-8 p.m. | free | Lawrenceville
• 🍪 Cookie Concoctions Cocktail Class with Wigle Whiskey at Ross Park Mall | 6 p.m. | $58 | Squirrel Hill
• 🎶 “One-Log Bridge” by Yan Pang at New Hazlett Theater | 8 p.m. | $20-30 | Allegheny Center — through Friday

Friday, Dec. 8

• 🍳 Spilling the Soup with Chef Emily Larson | 6-8 p.m. | free | Oakland
• 🎨 Holiday Ho Paint & Sip at Atithi Studios | 7-9 p.m. | $45 | Sharpsburg
• 🎄 Neon Christmas Holiday Rave at The Forge Urban Wine Bar | 8 p.m. | $10 | Homestead

Why Pgh’s Menorah Went to the Supreme Court

It’s hard to miss the enormous Christmas tree, creche, and menorah on display along Grant Street every December, but back in the 1980s, they weren’t always so celebrated. We’re with attorney Jon Pushinsky to talk about why he and others sued over the big menorah and nativity scene, why the huge Christmas tree didn’t quite make the cut, and what it felt like to represent Pittsburgh in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.