Time | Location |
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Typically Saturday nights starting at 10:30pm, weather permitting. | Grandview Overlook, opposite Saint Mary of the Mount Church (403 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15211). |
[2021-07-24] Dance tonight! For everyone's safety, please come only if you are fully vaccinated or recovered. Remember that there are no facilities, and the overlook has a super-nonskid surface.
Westies and Lindy Hoppers are welcome! The Blues music played will include many songs friendly to those styles.
Why do we do this? We love to dance! Many of us head up to the overlook on Mt. Washington for free DJed music following Swing City in Squirrel Hill because three hours of dancing is not enough. Want to be sure never to miss a dance? See below — Facebook is not a reliable way to hear about these late nights.
Being outdoors in public at a popular viewpoint (part of Pittsburgh's Emerald View Park), we see all kinds of interesting people come by: hula-hoopers, fire-spinners, bachelorette parties, formal wedding photography shoots, and more. Some even join in the dancing!
Note that the Thomas J. Gallagher Overlook (its official name, after a former mayor) is just a concrete platform — it has no facilities of any kind, nor are there any nearby. Please prepare accordingly.
Since this is an outdoor dance, the decision whether to actually hold it is based on the weather forecast for Mount Washington as of the morning before the dance (generally: at least 60°F and less than 25% chance of precipitation). We'll then update the status of a planned dance from "tentative" to either "confirmed" or "cancelled". The decision will be announced no later than 6pm, and usually by noon.
Getting Notifications:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/starlightbluespgh%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics
From Swing City: Take Murray Avenue down the hill. Get on I-376 West and follow signs to the Liberty Bridge. Cross the bridge, and turn right at the signal on the far side (don't enter the tunnel). At the top of Mount Washington, PJ McArdle Roadway makes a sharp left to an intersection. Turn left at the intersection and go 1.5 blocks. If you reach the stop sign, you overshot by 50 feet.
From northern suburbs: Take I-279S or PA-28S to I-579S (Veteran's Bridge) to the Liberty Bridge. Continue as above.
From eastern/western suburbs: Take I-376 to the Grant Street exit. Use the right-hand lane to get on Grant Street. At the third signal (a complex six-way intersection), turn right onto the inclined ramp, and then turn right onto the Liberty Bridge and continue as above.From Downtown: Take Boulevard of the Allies east-bound (away from The Point) across Grant Street. Go up the inclined ramp and turn right onto the Liberty Bridge. Continue as above.
From Downtown (alt): Cross the Smithfield Street Bridge toward Station Square. Turn left onto Carson Street at the traffic light, then turn right at the following light and turn right again just after the underpass. Take East Sycamore Street up the side of Mount Washington and turn right at the intersection (you'll be facing a Do Not Enter sign). Follow the street around the 90-degree left bend to the brightly lit church.
From southern suburbs: Take Sawmill Run Blvd (PA 51) or West Liberty Avenue (US 19 Truck) to where they intersect at the entrance to the Liberty Tunnels. Do not go through the tunnel; instead, take PA 51 northbound (towards West End) to the second signal, immediately after the wide underpass. Turn right on Woodruff Street, then take the first left. Turn right at the signal at the top of the hill and go 1.5 blocks.From Elsewhere: Click on the map to access Google's directions.
Blues styles include "Jookin'" (Juke Joint Blues), "Ballroomin'" ([Harlem] Ballroom Blues), "Struttin'", "Slow Drag", "Drag Blues", and more.
For more Blues dancing, come to Hot Metal Blues on Tuesday nights 8pm-midnight at Lot 17 (4617 Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield, Pittsburgh 15224).
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