Festival, poker run
The Westmoreland Heritage Trail is hosting its annual festival and poker run fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 6 at the B-Y park in Trafford.
The event, which raises money for trail maintenance and improvements, will be held rain or shine.
Each participant will stop at five checkpoints along the trail and choose a playing card from the deck. At the end of the event, each participant will have a complete poker hand. The best hands will receive a grand prize for first, second and third place.
This is not a race. Participants can choose a 10-mile bicycle ride or a 4-mile (round trip) run/walk/jog to the card stations. Everyone can adjust the distance they go according to their own needs.
Early registration before May 15 is $25 and includes a 2026 event T-shirt. Registration on the day of the event is $30, with shirts available while supplies last.
Registration will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a Blessing of the Bikes at 9:30. Bicyclists will start at 9:45 a.m., and walkers will start at 10. All players must return their poker hand by 11:30 a.m. to the registration table. Awards and raffles will be distributed at noon.
There will be music, activities for kids, basket raffles, food vendors, beer and new Westmoreland Heritage Trail membership discounts.
For details, visit westmorelandheritagetrail.com and follow Westmoreland Heritage Trail on social media.
To become a sponsor or to donate a basket for the raffle, contact whtpr2017@gmail.com.
Export council meeting rescheduled
This month’s Export council meeting has been rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 12 at the borough building, 5821 Washington Ave.
An agenda is available at ExportBoro.com.
Memorial Day car show
St. John Baptist de la Salle Church will host its ninth annual Memorial Day Car Show. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church, 497 Athena Drive in Delmont.
There is no cost to attend. Registration is $10 per car for participants. Proceeds will benefit the Veterans PA Hero Fund, the Westmoreland County Food Bank’s veteran/military program, Heinz VA Medical Center and Clelian Heights.
The afternoon will include a DJ, food, door prizes, a 50/50 drawing and auction baskets.
For more information, call 724-325-4235.
Export coal history presentation
The Murrysville American Association of University Women will host guest speakers Melanie Litz and Michael Mance from the Export Historical Society. They will present the borough’s and region’s coal-mining history and the railroad expansion that led to the borough’s creation.
The event will be held at 10 a.m. May 14 at the Murrysville Community Library, 4130 Sardis Road.
The presentation will touch on Export’s history as the local center of commerce before the development of Murrysville and the Route 22 corridor, the forces that drove local development, and the daily lives of Export coal miners.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, email MurrysvilleAAUW@gmail.com.
Rummage sale
First United Methodist Church will host a rummage sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 16 at the church, 3916 Old William Penn Highway in Murrysville.
The sale will include toys, books, clothing, home decor and vintage items. All proceeds will benefit the church’s ministries.
Battle of Lake Erie presentation
Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society will host speaker Ed Bolla on May 20 for a presentation on the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie.
Bolla, a reenactor who has extensively studied Erie history, is a docent with the Erie Maritime Museum, the home port of the U.S. Brig Niagara.
The presentation will take place at 6 p.m. at Bushy Run Battlefield, 1253 Bushy Run Road in Penn Township.
For more information, call 724-527-5584 or visit BushyRunBattlefield.com.
Session on forgiveness
The Boomers and Beyond ministry will host a Lunch and Learn session titled “Forgiveness: What is it? What isn’t it?” on May 12. The event features Rev. Monsignor James T. Gaston and will be held at the Mother of Sorrows Social Hall, 4202 Old William Penn Highway in Murrysville.
The presentation aims to deconstruct misconceptions that make forgiveness feel like an impossible task and create unnecessary guilt. Gaston will also explore the meaning behind the phrase, “God loves the sinner, but not the sin.”
Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation will run from noon to 1 p.m. The session is free to all interested adults, and reservations are not required. Attendees are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch and a friend; beverages will be provided.
Gaston, who retired as pastor of Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church in 2021, currently serves the Diocese of Greensburg as director of clergy formation, director of the International Priest Program and director of the Neumann House. Often assisting in local parishes, he frequently introduces himself as “Father Fill-In.”
Lunch and Learn sessions are held on the second Tuesday of each month.
Craft mini-camps
The Rewind-Reuse Center in Export will host a series of summer craft mini-camps for children who have completed grades 2-6. Sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Registration is first-come, first-served. The deadline to register is June 8.
Sessions include:
• Yes, I Wood: Making wooden bookends and shadow boxes, June 23 and 25
• Nature Rocks: Making walking sticks, bee houses, shells and foliage, July 14 and 16
• Friends and Alloys: Making jewelry, plaques and tin creations, July 23 and 23
• Cool Threads: Reading patterns, making a wall organizer and shop aprons, July 28 and 30
• Let ‘er Rip: Making journals, quilling and sticker making
The cost is $10 per session. Checks can be made payable to the Rewind-Reuse Center, and mailed to the center at 5853 Washington Avenue, Export, PA, 15632. Each session is limited to 16 students.
For more, call 724-900-6638.
Monthly lyme disease support group
The PA Lyme Resource Network will host a monthly Lyme disease support group meeting.
Meetings will take place on the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd.
The next meeting will be held May 12. For more, see PAlyme.org.
Craft, flea market
Sardis Volunteer Fire Company will host a May 16 craft and flea market from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fire company, 5205 Rocky Hill Lane in Murrysville.
Vendor cost is $25 per table in advance or $30 per table at the door; 8-foot tables will be provided. Food trucks and coffee will be on-site.
To reserve a table, email sardisvfc.events@gmail.com.
Delmont fundraiser cancelled
The Delmont Visionary Committee has had to cancel a mystery dinner fundraiser initially scheduled for May 9.
All tickets will be refunded. For more, email delmontvisionarycommittee@gmail.com.
Bushy Run ‘Market Days’
Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township will host its annual Market Days on May 23, June 27, July 25, Aug. 22 and Sept. 26.
The market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vendors can email market@bushyrunbattlefield.com for information about space availability. For more, call 724-527-5584 or see BushyRunBattlefield.com.
Suicide prevention training
Penn State Extension is offering free webinars on evidence-based training aimed at saving lives and reducing suicidal behaviors.
Participants can choose from one of the following two-hour training sessions, each held from 1 to 3 p.m., on May 19, June 16, July 21 and Aug. 25.
Penn State Extension educators will lead the QPR Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention training. “Question, Persuade and Refer,” which was developed by the QPR Institute, teaches participants how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, how to offer hope to someone in need and how to get help.
Designed for all people, regardless of profession, who are concerned about helping others, QPR is an emergency mental health intervention intended to interrupt a crisis and direct someone to proper care. Attendees will discuss potential scenarios and engage in active listening and persuasion techniques.
Penn State Extension offers the seminar free of charge, but participants must register by 11:59 p.m. the day before the event to receive the link to access the webinar. The recording link will not be available after the webinar.
Continuing education credits are available.
For details and to register, visit the Penn State Extension website at extension.psu.edu/qpr-gatekeeper-suicide-prevention-training-webinar or call 1-877-345-0691.
Help with heating bills
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP) provides cash grants to help Pennsylvania families pay their heating bills.
Through May 8, low-income residents who need assistance paying for their heating bill can apply for a one-time grant of $200 to $1,000 that will be applied directly to their utility provider.
Funding is limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The link to apply is pa.gov/services/dhs/apply-for-the-low-income-home-energy-assistance-program-liheap.
To qualify for LIHEAP in Pennsylvania, you must meet income requirements, which are set based on household size. Renters and homeowners are eligible for benefits. You do not need to be on another public assistance program or have unpaid heating bills to qualify.
If you are experiencing an emergency related to your household’s heat, such as broken equipment, or facing utility service termination, you might be eligible to receive additional funds through a crisis grant.
To check your eligibility for LIHEAP and crisis grants, visit peoples-gas.com/help or call 1-800-400-9276.
New members sought
The Association of University People invites potential new members to join them at an event.
The association welcomes singles aged 50 and older, who are four-year college graduates, to join them for activities and to meet new people. Activities include picnics, monthly dinners, a book group and meetups at local concerts and wineries.
For more, call 412-353-9088 or email AUPsingles@gmail.com.