This summary provides information about three organizations in Pittsburgh: 1) The University of Pittsburgh's Student Peace Alliance chapter works to establish a U.S. Department of Peace and brings people of all political parties together around the cause of peace. 2) Grow Pittsburgh facilitates sustainable urban farming in the city and provides educational programs in schools and community gardens to teach residents about local food production. 3) The New Yinzer literary magazine has started a monthly event series called TNY Presents that features local authors, poets, musicians, readings, and beer to showcase local talent in an intimate setting.

1. Vote H.R.808
Not war!
City Harvest
The University of Pitts-
burgh's chapter of the
Student Peace Alliance
(SPA), initiated by Emily
Wilson last January, is an
offshoot of the National
Student Peace Alliance.
The goal? To establish
a U.S. Department of
Peace (as introduced by
Dennis Kucinich in the
bill H.R. 808). Accord-
ing to Savannah Fisher,
the business manager
of Pitt's SPA chapter,
you can be a member of
any political party and
this peace-loving organi-
zation at the same time.
“Peace is something
that's supposed to rally
us together, not keep us
apart,” she says, noting
that SPA was present at
both the Republican
and Democratic National
Conventions in 2008.
Intrigued? Send an email
to SPAPittsburgh@gmail.
com for more info. — lp
Lennon, Updated
With nary a wave of grain nor fruited plain in
sight, it is increasingly difficult for urbanites
to consider the chain of events that transports
(and transforms) their food on its way from
farm to plate. Luckily, there is Grow Pittsburgh,
an organization that facilitates sustainable
farming in our concrete jungle, allowing resi-
dents to learn about food production processes
while shortening these edible supply chains.
Founded in 2005 by the owners of two
urban farms, Grow Pittsburgh supports this
mission through initiatives that educate and
satiate. They include The Edible Schoolyard, a
program that integrates garden activities into
the curricula of local schools; Here We Grow
Pittsburgh, which transforms vacant lots into
community gardens; and the Frick Green-
house Project at the Frick Art and Historical
Center, where Grow Pittsburgh starts seed-
lings for its urban farm sites and cultivates
heirloom vegetables (some of which are
used by The Café at the Frick). Much of the
produce farmed through these programs
can also be found at city farmers’ markets.
In 2006, Mariam Manion, formerly of the
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank,
was appointed as the organization's Executive
Director. “I love to cook and eat fresh, locally
grown produce,” says Manion, who recom-
mends the year-round East Liberty farmers’
market to locavores looking to maintain their
green eating habits after other markets have
shut down for the winter.
In the coming months, Grow Pittsburgh
will begin offering its own classes for garden-
ers, helping to bring the local food movement
right into your own backyard. For details visit
www.growpittsburgh.org. — es
▶ Erika Barrington (left) and Lucy
Churchill (center) pose with armfuls
of greens cultivated from Braddock
Farms. Managed by Jeff Jaeger (right),
this raised-bed farm makes use of a
formerly abandoned lot along a main
business corridor in Braddock.
◀ Local band Aydin performs at TNY
Present's Lester Bangs Tribute Night.
The band includes Shannon Mominee
(left), Karen Brooks (right), and Mark
Russell (not pictured).
◀◀ Guests at Hothouse mingle while
sampling free food and drink from
some of Pittsburgh's top restaurants.
text by lydia pudzianowski, jeff rieger, elana schlenker
The New New Yinzer
new and
improved
They Like
To Party
(Finally)
$130,000 isn't a bad rake when the money's going toward
community initiatives. The city's top fundraiser has also
been touted as one of its top five parties of the year, and
features food and drink, live music and performances,
a silent auction, and a spotlight on a few dozen success-
ful art and community projects around the city. It's called
Hothouse, and it's The Sprout Fund's annual benefit and
showcase for projects, artists, and leaders they've funded
and made possible over the past year. The 2008 Hothouse
event drew almost 2,400 guests to the top two floors of the
Union Trust Building, former PNC Bank executive offices
transformed into a gallery of nearly 50 Sprout-supported
projects. The Original took up temporary residence in a
roomy corner office that soon became an extension of the
magazine itself, with quotes, photos, and pages of the pub-
lication literally popping off the walls. Words can hardly
describe the event, but the Hothouse website and photo
galleries certainly can: www.sproutfund.org/hothouse. — jr
Art Aflame
Photosfromlefttoright:AdeleMeyer,PaulettePoullet,BenFilio,LarryRippel
When one thinks of a
literary organization,
bands and alcohol
don't necessarily come
to mind. Recently,
though, there has been
music and merriment
on a monthly basis
in the name of local
lit publication The
New Yinzer (TNY), and
the focal point of these
shindigs is indeed
literature. Event post-
ers created by Dan
Wyke advertise fiction,
poetry, and nonfiction
readings; local music;
and beer provided by
Penn Brewery. These
erudite fiestas haven’t
been around since
the 2002 inception of
TNY, so why the delay?
According to Managing
Editor Kris Collins,
the group had to cut
back on their partying.
“We began the series
because of our desire
to create a monthly
performance series,
smaller in scale to our
quarterly events, which
are typically held at
Brillobox,” he says. The
smaller ModernForma-
tions “allows for a more
intimate experience,
both for the audience
and performers.” This
is what the new series,
TNY Presents, is all
about. Directed by Col-
lins, Savannah Guz, and
Scott Silsbe, “the pur-
pose of TNY Presents
is to showcase local
authors, poets, and mu-
sicians in a casual, sup-
portive, and comfort-
able environment,” says
Assistant Editor Claire
Donato. Since the first
TNY Presents, held last
April, was such a suc-
cess, Donato tells me
that they've been able
to host such events as
a Lester Bangs tribute
night and a Valentine's
Day Love Bites The
New Yinzer party. So
if you've got the $4
cover charge and every
third Wednesday free,
TNY has the words,
beats, and brews. For
info, visit tnypresents.
blogspot.com. — lp
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The O
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