Come on out to the Brillobox tonight, May 16th, for Musicians for Peduto. Performances by Emily Rodgers & Erik Cirelli, The Beagle Brothers, and Josh Verbanets & Jody Perigo. David Conrad will be the special guest for the evening! There will also be a DJ for any downtime before and after the acts, as well as drink specials provided by Brillobox. This is a FREE event!

SATURDAY: DJs FOR PEDUTO. Eleven DJs spinning, complimentary eats, door prizes, T-shirts for the first 50 in the door — all at the legendary Shadow Lounge. FREE!

SUNDAY: MUSICIANS FOR PEDUTO PRESENT JOHNNY CLASH NIGHT. Revel and rebel to the tunes of Johnny Cash and The Clash by an incredible lineup of bands! Hosted by Pittsburgh’s own Jimmy Krenn and David Conrad at the Diesel Lounge. $10!

MONDAY: EAST END SWEEP WEEK KICKOFF RALLY. We know you don’t need to get revved up for the last week before the election — you’re already there — but we’re holding a rally anyway! Enjoy great music, food and company all for FREE.

Pittsburgh has a success story to tell. We have turned around a total collapse of our economy and reemerged as a leading city in medicine, education, technology, and the arts. And the media has taken notice. Pittsburgh has been named the “Most Livable City” numerous times, been featured in national newspapers including the New York Times and Washington Post. Recently, I was even interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Company about the community efforts to restore East Liberty. The one thing missing from this success story is a Mayor and a city government that engages with other cities around the world on economic development, policy issues, and arts and culture. It’s great to have positive media promoting our city, but we need to think bigger and begin engaging with cities across the United States and beyond.

We need your help to build a New Pittsburgh and there’s no reason you can’t have a FUN-tasic time while doing it. We have two fun and creative events coming up on Sunday and Monday. Enjoy a fiesta! Mingle with the ‘Burgh’s creative community. Either way, you can help elect Bill Peduto by attending one of these FUN-draisers.

Pittsburgh has formal relationships with 18 cities around the world in locations as diverse as Russia, Paraguay, Israel, Bulgaria, and China. Yet most of these relationships don’t go very far beyond the paper they’re signed on and the resolutions filed away in City Council’s archives. As our economy is diversifying into high tech industries and our universities and medical centers are putting out world-renowned products and research, we have an opportunity to activate these existing relationships and form new ones to create real economic development and cultural exchange opportunities with cities around the world. In fact, just last August I traveled to Gaziantep, Turkey a city on the cusp of a transformation led by eds and meds, to formalize a sister city partnership and meet with leaders in business, government, faith, and the arts. We should capitalize on these relationships and bring new jobs and new investment into Pittsburgh.

Encouraging pedestrians to get out and walk their neighborhoods is one of the best ways to increase public health, keep eyes on our streets, and keep our neighborhood business districts vibrant. However, most of our way-finding and place-making infrastructure is geared toward drivers, is outdated, and was created in a top-down manner without much input from residents and community groups. We should gear our way-finding tools to appeal to and support pedestrians and cyclists as well as drivers. These tools should help find innovative ways to get residents and neighborhoods involved to promote local attractions and businesses and to create a stronger, more vibrant, human-scale city.

Bill Peduto has been a longtime champion of the arts in our city. Recognizing the important role that arts and culture play in the economic development of Pittsburgh, he’s proposed establishing The Pittsburgh Art Corps and creating a Pittsburgh Artist in Residence program. Now, Artists for Peduto want to help Bill become Mayor and see his vision for an expanded investment in public art and direct and strategic involvement from the city by hosting the event: A Night at Pittsburgh Winery.

Providing leadership and guidance for children during the hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. can have a hugely positive impact in their lives. The first few hours after the school day ends can put children at risk if they lack activities and are left on their own while their parents are still at work. Studies have shown that high quality after school programs improve grades, make kids less likely to get involved in drugs and crime, and increase graduation and college attendance rates. It is our responsibility to ensure that our kids have wholesome educational and social activities after school and we have a wealth of resources to draw on from partners in our neighborhoods and in both the private and nonprofit sectors. We can create world-class after school programs for all kids in Pittsburgh.

According to the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, the arts and culture industry in Allegheny County is directly responsible for more than $341 million annually. Investment in the arts by foundations, corporations, and philanthropists has spurred thousands of jobs, led a revitalization of Downtown, and put our city on the map nationally and internationally. The only factor missing is a direct and strategic involvement by the City of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s historic buildings are irreplaceable treasures that make our city unique and give it a character and presence that many newer cities spend millions of dollars to try to replicate. We must start to recognize the incredible value of these architectural gems and use them to our advantage to serve as cornerstones for neighborhood revitalization and economic growth. Too often we discard one-of-a-kind historic buildings in the name of “progress” and replace them with cookie-cutter developments that add nothing to the character of the city. That has to stop.