We are excited to invite the community to be part of our grand re-opening celebration October 4 & 5, 2024. Join us for two FREE days of heat-defying acts of art in our newly expanded facility as we celebrate our grand reopening during RAD Days.
Get fired up and…
- Feel the heat of 2,100 degree glass art performances
- Explore our new exhibition, smash the ceiling, floor, and walls; take the broken shards and blow it back, curated by Alyssa Velazquez
- Discover unexpected art and entertainment
- Win exciting prizes like merch and free classes
- Warm up by the fire and make a s’more
- …and much more!
Magical Glass Harp Performances by Brien Engel
Fri. Oct. 4 at 12:00pm, 2:00pm, and 4:00pm
Sat. Oct. 5 at 12:00pm and 2:00pm
The glass harp is an instrument made of 50 stemmed glasses which are played via finger friction. This enchanting 18th century art form has very few modern practitioners. Join us as we welcome Brien Engel, a full-time explorer of the magical glass harp. He will perform classical music, popular jazz standards, movie music, and his own compositions and incorporate beguiling sound physics demonstrations, and additional improvised instruments including musical saw, bottles, and water-tuned bowls. He will also show off Ben Franklin’s favorite invention, the glass armonica, with a small replica.
A Hot Day at the Playground with Gayle Forman
Fri. Oct. 4 at 6:15pm and 8:15pm
Don’t miss A Hot Day at the Playground, orchestrated by Gayle Forman, former PGC high school student and the 2024 recipient of the Ron Desmett Award for Imagination with Glass. The hot shop will be transformed into a playground space with teams of glassblowers exploring their new equipment through gravity, tension, and velocity. Anticipate a lot of swinging, sliding, and spinning.
RAD Days are an annual event with free admission, musical and dance performances and family activities offered by arts and culture organizations, parks and recreation, and sports and regional attractions that are funded by the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).
Our expansion was made possible through the generosity of many individuals and organizations. Thanks to an accessibility and inclusion grant from RAD our expanded facility is accessible to all visitors including people with physical disabilities and limited mobility. This includes 100% of our free, ongoing programming such as exhibitions, open-house glassblowing demonstrations, and self-guided tours.
