Celebrate National Historic Preservation Month with the Young Preservationists Association (YPA) on Friday, May 21, 2010, at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty, starting at 6:00 p.m.
YPA will release its new list of the “Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area.” The list, published annually, highlights historic preservation projects with a good chance of survival and reuse. It’s a great way for communities all over southwestern Pennsylvania to celebrate historic preservation victories in the making.
YPA will also be releasing a new, groundbreaking report, “The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Southwestern Pennsylvania.” The report quantifies how many dollars, jobs, new businesses, and housing units have been created in the last few years through historic preservation.
Finally, YPA will be releasing a new report, “The Top Ten Buildings We Wish We Had Back,” which looks back on what we have lost. They serve as lessons for what to preserve in the future.
A fun, networking reception will follow, which includes a silent auction with great prizes. It’s southwestern Pennsylvania’s premiere historic preservation month celebration. Don’t miss out!
Register today at http://www.youngpreservationists.org
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1. Yvonne Hudson says
YPA’s event takes place in conjunction with a grassroots theater project that features East Liberty. The premiere of “Casino Liberty” – the debut project by new theatre company Pittsburgh PACT (Public Action Communitarian Theatre) – runs at the Kelly Strayhorn Friday to Sunday, May 21-23.
“It’s a perfect fit,” KST’s Janera Solomon says. “YPA is putting into action what the production is encouraging – getting involved in community issues to influence change.”
“Casino Liberty” is a view of life in Pittsburgh’s East End through the lens of randomness and chance, risk and reward, security and surveillance. The show uses those and other aspects of casino culture to highlight a range of topical issues and events and explore how local concerns reflect larger contexts. In developing the piece, company members conducted research and interviewed area residents to gain as broad a perspective as possible. Much of the text has been derived directly or indirectly from those interviews, local news stories, and historical records.
“Pittsburgh PACT hopes to stimulate civic dialogue and activism by creating and performing works with relevance to diverse but interconnected local populations,” says Kyle Bostian, the group’s founder and producer of “Casino Liberty.” “Each project will evolve organically based on the contributions of the participants – company members, people from local communities, and others,” he explains. “Casino Liberty” was developed at and with the support of Point Park University, where Bostian heads the theatre history and dramatic literature unit.
Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m. and the Sunday performance is at 5 p.m. Each roughly 75-minute show will be preceded by a mixer with free food and followed by a talk back with members of the company and community organizations.
Prior to Friday’s opening night performance, the Young Preservationists Association (YPA) will release its new list of the “Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area.” The list, published annually, highlights historic preservation projects with a good chance of survival and reuse.