Saturday, April 17, 2021
What's Happening in the Mon Valley

It's official—with the kickoff of the Carrie Carpool Cinema last night, the 2021 season at the Carrie Blast Furnaces is off and running. The first screening of the year was Fences, a film based on the play of the same name by Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson. If you missed it, you can still learn about the man, his works, and how his legacy is being celebrated in our featured story about his American Century Cycle.

In other Carrie news, Industrial Tours of the site are set to resume May 1. Tickets are available now and the schedule of offerings is just about back to normal. Safety first though, so we're still keeping the tour groups small and following CDC precautions!

The same goes for our guided tours of the W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop—tours of this National Historic Landmark also begin in May and are limited to small groups. If you haven't been, you might just want to make this the year to explore this treasured time capsule!

Before you go, check out our latest Heritage Highlights interview with members of the artists' collective Women of Visions, a groundbreaking group that is celebrating 40 years as an organization!
August Wilson at the side of 1727 Bedford Avenue in 1999. His two-room childhood home is up the stairs at the rear right. Courtesy of the August Wilson House / augustwilsonhouse.org.
FEATURED STORY
August Wilson's American Century Cycle
A collection of ten plays, each taking place in a different decade of the 20th century, the American Century Cycle depicts the struggles and triumphs of everyday life while demonstrating the impacts that slavery, Jim Crow, the Great Migration, and institutional racism have on everyday people.
FEATURED PROGRAM
Season opens May 1
Join us in May as we kick off the tour season at Carrie Blast Furnaces! Industrial Tours of this National Historic Landmark highlight the site’s iron-making technology, its workers, and their culture. By June, tours will be offered five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday.
FEATURED PROGRAM
Season opens May 2
Step back in time to the early 1900s and discover the artistry of handcrafted manufacturing! Nestled in the historic district of Rices Landing, Greene County, the Machine Shop is an astonishing industrial treasure.
Artist Janet Watkins, a sculptor and member of the Black women's artist collective known as Women of Visions.
HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Women of Visions
For this month's installment of Heritage Highlights, Jon Engle interviewed four members of the Women of Visions artist collective. Through their conversations with Jon, artists Christine Bethea, LaVerne Kemp, Mary Martin, and Janet Watkins share elements of their craft and reflect on the how their organization has shaped their careers while providing support, camaraderie, and inspiration to themselves and other members.
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