10 events in Pittsburgh to take your kids to before summer ends
Make the most of the rest of summer at these 10 festivals and events in Pittsburgh.
While the school days will soon be upon us, we still have a handful of weekends left to celebrate summer. And you can make the most of them with your kids! We’ve put together a list of events in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area happening in August and September that families will love.
The lazy days of summer are by no means over yet, so hit up free festivals, enjoy outdoor music, or visit some of the area’s best museums before it’s time to head back to school.
1. Trolley ride to the Washington County Fair
Dates: Saturday, Aug. 9 – Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025
The Washington County Fair, just about 40 minutes from Pittsburgh, takes place between Saturday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 16. And thanks to Washington’s Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, you can take a short ride to the fun on a trolley! The $5 trolley ride cost also includes admission to the trolley museum, so you can balance your time between riding the zipper and ringing a trolley bell while exploring the museum’s interactive exhibits on the history of trolleys. At the fair, you can revel in all sorts of classic fair fun, from munching on funnel cake to admiring the agricultural and craft displays.
2. Pittsburgh VegFest
Date: Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025
Vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike will enjoy the food and entertainment at Pittsburgh’s annual VegFest, held outdoors at Allegheny Commons Park on the North Side. The meat-free festival attracts more than 100 vegan vendors from across the country selling specialty veg products from artisanal vegan cheese to colorful clothing. You can also meet the pigs from the Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue and pet the fluffy Great Pyrenees up for adoption from the Great Pyrenees Club of Western Pennsylvania Rescue. And of course, there’s all the incredible food, whether you want to pick up some cookie cake from Butler bakery The Chosen Crumb or brave the line for chik’n sandwiches from Onion Maiden’s Chick Habit.
3. Art Maze at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art
Dates: Through Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025
This summer, Greensburg’s Westmoreland Museum of American Art is hosting its Art Maze, an interactive installation that includes local artists’ work on the walls of a labyrinth. Each mural is inspired by real art on display at the museum, so you can make your maze visit even more fun by trying to find the original pieces within the museum’s regular exhibits. The experience is designed for all ages!
4. Pittsburgh Water Lantern Festival
Date: Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025
If you’ve always wanted to release your own lantern à la the climactic, romantic scene in “Tangled,” have we got the festival for you. The Water Lantern Festival, which visits dozens of cities around the world, allows guests to release their own lanterns not in the air, but in the water, where they join hundreds of others in a beautiful display of light. Tickets to the family-friendly event include materials to personalize your own lantern. You can also enjoy music and food trucks before the coordinated lantern launch at Allegheny Commons Park West. And yes, all the lanterns are gathered by event staff after the festival—no littering permitted!
5. PedalPGH
Date: Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025
PedalPGH is the state’s biggest bike ride, where you can join thousands of your fellow cyclists to explore the city of Pittsburgh on two wheels. Routes range from a casual 10-mile river loop on the city’s North Side to an epic 62-mile journey that winds throughout Pittsburgh. You can register to bike with your whole family, and youth registration is discounted. All registrations include snacks and drinks at rest stops, a celebratory lunch after your ride, and a t-shirt!
6. Summer Fridays at the Frick
Date: Friday, Aug. 29, 2025
If you’ve yet to attend Summer Fridays at the Frick this year, good news—the final date is the last Friday in August, so make plans now to attend the night of music, art, food trucks, and family fun at The Frick Pittsburgh. The evening festivities will feature Pittsburgh band The Adorabulls playing your favorite 80s music and other upbeat hits with their characteristic variety of instruments from accordions to ukuleles. You can grab food from the site’s Café at the Frick while you enjoy the music, or you can get your dinner from food trucks serving hibachi, chili, cheesesteaks, and more.
7. Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival
Dates: Friday, Aug. 29 – Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025
During the last weekend of August, the Annual Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival returns as one of the area’s favorite downtown events in Pittsburgh. More than 100 small businesses will be selling mouthwatering soul food that celebrates the region’s Black culinary history. Besides the amazing food—including a barbecue contest—the free festival also hosts an arts and crafts fair as well as three days of music to get you and your family dancing.
8. Allegheny County Summer Concert Series
Dates: Through Sunday, August 31
Every summer, Allegheny County hosts the Allegheny County Summer Concert Series with free outdoor concerts in the amphitheaters at the county’s South Park and Hartwood Acres Park. Acts range from local bands and the Pittsburgh Opera to famous national acts. The remaining shows in August feature Smash Mouth (Aug. 17 at Hardwood Acres) and KT Tunstall (Aug. 10 at Hardwood Acres) as well as Robert Jon & The Wreck (Aug. 15 at South Park), Pittsburgh Honky-Tonk (Aug. 22 at South Park), the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (Aug. 24 at Hartwood Acres), the Tamburitzans (Aug. 29 at South Park), and Monty Alexander (Aug. 31 at Hartwood Acres). Plus, local food and adult beverages will be available for purchase during each concert. Don’t forget to BYOC (bring your own chair).
9. WYEP’s Neighborhood Concert Series
Dates: Through Friday, Sept. 19, 2025
This summer, Pittsburgh radio station WYEP is hosting its Neighborhood Concert Series, which brings free live music to a variety of different Pittsburgh communities in the Pittsburgh area. The all-ages shows introduce Pittsburghers to local bands and singers as well as national acts on the rise. The concert series will host three more events this summer, with outdoor shows at the Tall Trees Amphitheater in Monroeville on Saturday, Aug. 23, Settlers Cabin Park on Saturday, Sept. 6, and the Oaks Theater in Oakmont on Friday, Sept. 19. Each show features at least two artists!
10. Phipps’ Summer Flower Show and Butterfly Forest
Dates: Flower show through Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025; Butterfly Forest through Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens hosts a different flower show every season, and this summer’s “Jungle Quest” show features lush jungle greenery alongside topiary animals like birds constructed of colorful leaves, a sleepy sloth made of dried plants, and flamingos built out of bright pink begonias. The safari also includes carefully crafted elephants, crocodiles, orangutans, pythons, a jaguar, and a lively toucan. Plus, you can also visit the Butterfly Forest, where you can visit a room full of (real) butterflies while learning all about these beautiful pollinators. Reserve your timed tickets—which allow entry into Phipps’ shows and exhibits, including Jungle Quest and the Butterfly Forest—online.
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