There are big concerts and Pride events happening this weekend, but if you want to avoid too much congestion and too many people, this will still be a great weekend to get out and about. Get to the theater, enjoy some sports or indulge your love of reading with these happenings.
2025 Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland, the world is all about books.
Joining the event will be local and nationally known authors, a variety of poets, children’s activities and more. Authors including Sharon G. Flake, Linda Castillo, Stentor Danielson, Alex Grecian and Jennifer Haigh represent a wide swath of genres from young adult to mystery to horror to nonfiction.
To learn more about the event and register, visit pittsburghbookfestival.org.
‘Mac Beth’ with Vigilance Theater
Who doesn’t love a Shakespeare update? Check out this wickedly modern version of “Macbeth” from Vigilance Theater Group this weekend.
This fresh take on one of the greatest plays ever written brings the audience into the world of a group of present-day high school students who are — you guessed it — studying “Macbeth.” But will reality become stranger than fiction?
Performances will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday (and it’s running on weekends until June 16) outdoors at Washington’s Landing (the island in the Allegheny River at the 31st Street Bridge). Shows will not be held in the case of bad weather. Remember to bring folding chairs or something comfortable on which to sit.
Get tickets for “Mac Beth” at vigilancetheater.com.
Greenfield Block Party
Head over to Mondays Brewing and Smashed ’N Fried in Greenfield for a good old-fashioned block party this Saturday. It’s a perfect community day to meet your neighbors and get to know some of the local businesses.
Smashed ’N Fried will have a food truck on-site for some tasty eats, and Greenfield Light Lager, a collaboration with East End Brewing, will be available to cool you down at Mondays. There will be a DJ spinning tunes, temporary tattoos and other neighborhood businesses on-site to show you what they’re all about.
The party, between 3 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, is for all ages. Check out the Facebook event here.
‘Spirited Away’ on the really big screen
On Friday, the Carnegie Science Center is lending its Rangos Giant Cinema to the modern animated classic “Spirited Away.” The film was created by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki and released in 2001. It follows a young girl as she gets lost in a different world full of spirits and must find a way to get back to the world she knows.
The film is shown at 7 p.m. Friday at the North Shore venue. To learn more and get tickets, visit carnegiesciencecenter.org.
Professional Ultimate
Did you know that Pittsburgh has a professional Ultimate Frisbee team? This weekend, you can experience the fun and exhilarating sport at the beautiful Highmark Stadium on Pittsburgh’s South Side.
The Pittsburgh Thunderbirds will play the Detroit Mechanix on Sunday. Ultimate is a sport where a Frisbee disc is tossed and passed between players, and each team attempts to score points by tossing the disc to a player who is in the opposing team’s end zone. It’s surprisingly competitive and a great spectator sport.
The game starts at 4 p.m. Sunday at Highmark Stadium. Get tickets for this and other Thunderbirds games at watchufa.com.