Last Day for The Arts Festival on Walnut Street; Pittsburgh Ballet Performs Under the Stars at Hartwood Acres (Sun., 8/23/26)

29th ANNUAL, THE ART FESTIVAL ON WALNUT STREET— August 22 – 23, Shadyside.

August is a great month for strolling the tree-lined streets of Shadyside and enjoying the fine arts and crafts during the Art Festival on Walnut Street. (Photo: Rick Handler)

1) “Hip”—as in “Get hip,” rather than “Get a hip replacement”—is one of the oldest American slang terms still in wide use, and Shadyside’s Walnut Street is perhaps the longest-running hip district in Pittsburgh. Incredibly, it gets even hipper during the Art Festival on Walnut Street(opens in new tab) in late August. The Festival is popular, in part, because there’s so much art. The Walnut biz district is closed to motor vehicles and packed with booths where artists and craft people display paintings, prints, ceramics, handmade jewelry, and so forth ad infinitum. In addition: Some Walnut Street merchants bring out selected goods for sidewalk sales. Exotic food vendors descend. Established restaurants, coffee shops, and night spots operate in peak mode. And, music being the food of love and other good things, musicians play on. Official hours for the art and craft booths are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. August 22 and 23, but you can bet that on Saturday the 22nd, merrymaking will continue into the night. Walnut St. between S. Aiken and Ivy Streets with further activities adjacent, Shadyside. (M.V.)

2) Dancers and musicians of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre visit the outdoor stage at Hartwood Acres to perform pieces from the company’s repertoire in a free show called Ballet Under the Stars. As the title indicates, this is an evening performance, but fans are invited to come early for a couple of pre-show events. One is a family fun events with free children’s activities and on-site food vendors, starting at 5:30 p.m. Also at 5:30 p.m., the VIP tent opens for dinner, drinks, and a chance to meet other ballet enthusiasts; this event requires buying tickets (see the web link above). The free performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Ballet said, “The program will include sneak peeks at new works from PBT’s upcoming 2026-27 season and favorites from last season. Three original works choreographed by PBT artists Matthew Griffin and Madison Russo will also be featured, including Russo’s award-winning ballet Spina. This event will provide an exclusive sneak preview of the newly choreographed Adagio by Trey McIntyre, from PBT’s upcoming version of The Nutcracker, which will premiere in December 2027. Since it starts before sunset, not many stars will be visible at first—but they’ll come out soon, and everyone is invited to dance along with the show. Hartwood Acres Park Amphitheater, 4000 Middle Rd., Allison Park. (M.V.)

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