The first concerts in Bayne Park were held in the summer of 2002. Jim Scisiciani, who was then the Chairman of Bellevue Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee, contacted the Pittsburgh Musician’s Union about starting concerts in the park. He found out about the Musician’s Performance Trust Fund, which is a national program that was created in 1948 to support musical performances by supplementing the cost to local municipalities and nonprofit organizations. The purpose of the Trust Funds is to promote live music and to provide music where music is the prime purpose for public attendance.
The first series in 2002 featured Carnegie Brass, Val Clark and Escapade, and Danny Kurzawski and the Continental Dukes. Crowds were small at the beginning but word quickly spread about the concerts being held on the library’s front porch. Soon people were arriving an hour early to watch the band set up and get a prime spot underneath the cooling branches of the oaks and maples. Attendees were bringing dinner from local restaurants and sharing snacks on the lawn.
Comcast Cable graciously helped with the cost in the summer of 2005. The borough budget was cut in 2007 as the cost for the concerts increased. West Penn Allegheny Health System saved the day, stepping in to sponsor the concerts (and the great banner that hangs across Lincoln Avenue) for 2007 and 2008. The amount of concerts has grown to seven concerts this summer, with two local performers offering to perform free as part of the series. The status of a possible seventh concert is pending and will be announced later this summer.
The Friends of Bayne Library began offering free popcorn and lemonade at select concerts last summer. This has been a great crowd pleaser and will continue this year. We have been approached by several groups about selling food and other items during the concerts. Unfortunately, the agreement with the Musicians Performance Trust prohibits fund-raising activities on-site during the performance. However, we always encourage people to grab their dinner and snack on Lincoln Avenue and bring it to the park. So come out and enjoy your Bellevue at Bayne Park!
I think most of us have marveled at the opening of Bellevue Beer down on Route 65, but it appears many people have already become fast fans of this new distributor. The place is clean and well-lit, with a great selection of domestics and imports. In fact, if they’re not already the largest beer distributor in the north Boroughs, they will be soon. They carry over 400 varieties of beer, and have two computers on-site for customers to browse BeerAdvocate.com if they can’t decide what’s right for them. I found them particularly helpful, as I’m not much of a beer drinker, but wanted something refreshing for the afternoon. For those of you who aren’t beer drinkers at all, they have other things too—candy, ice cream, cigarettes, lottery, and a great selection of UTZ chips. They also have an ATM on location.
Before it was Bellevue Beer, the building housed Suburban textiles, which offered repairs on washers and dryers. Christian Stein bought the building and opened the doors April 15th of this year. Bellevue’s dry town law only regulates the serving of alcohol, so there was no legal impediment for them. Mr. Stein also owns the Shell gas station on Route 65. Future plans for this business include a comprehensive website, a drive-thru which should be open this summer, and delivery services by the fall. They run sales on certain beers each month, and June’s specials include:
~ Heineken/Heineken Light 24pack cans, $18.99 with a rebate
~ Coors Light 24pack cans for $9.99
~ Bud Light 30pack cans, $15.99
~ Yuengling Lager 24pack bottles, $15.99
~ Yuengling Lager 24pack cans, $13.99
So if you haven’t stopped in yet, go down and check out Bellevue’s newest business venture!
FREE PARKING IN ALL MUNICIPAL LOTS AND STREETS FOR THE DURATION OF THE FESTIVAL!
Thursday, June 19th:
~ Meet the new Police Chief
~ Treasure Hunt and Raffle
~ BABA Baseball @ Bellevue Memorial Park
~ Restaurant Pairings around town, 4pm-6pm
~ Music Festival Challenge @ Bayne Park, 6:30pm-8pm
Friday, June 20th:
~ Meet the new Police Chief
~ Treasure Hunt and Raffle
~ In-store and sidewalk specials around town
~ YMCA Baseball @ Bellevue Memorial Park
~ Restaurant pack-a-picnic-basket specials
~ Friends of the Library Book Sale @ Bayne Library
~ Caricatures and live music
~ Outdoor movie @ Bayne Park—Ratatouille
Saturday, June 21st:
~ Meet the new Police Chief
~ Treasure Hunt and Raffle
~ Bellevue business sidewalk sales, 10am-4pm
~ Craft Market in Hawley Ave parking lot, 10am-4pm
~ High Society Combo (20’s-40’s standards)
~ Car Cruise on Bayne Avenue
~ Columbia Hose Hook and Ladder Open House
~ Face painting and caricatures @ Bayne Park
~ Bike/scooter decorating contest (ages 3-12)
~ Sidewalk chalk artist, live music
~ Tarot card readings
~ live music at Club Perqe
~ BABA Baseball @ Bellevue Memorial Park
~ duck pin bowling @ Knights of Columbus on Lincoln Ave
~ special hours @ John A. Hermann Jr. Memorial Art Museum
~ free swim @ Bellevue pool!
~ Ballroom Dancing 8pm-11pm
~ live music at 521 Lincoln Ave
Sunday, June 20th:
~ Meet the new Police Chief
~ Treasure Hunt and Raffle
~ Worship Services
~ Restaurant Brunch specials
~ Pampered Pooch Promenade on Lincoln Ave
~ duck pin bowling @ Knights of Columbus on Lincoln Ave
~ special hours @ John A. Hermann Jr. Memorial Art Museum
~ YMCA Baseball @ Bellevue Memorial Park
~ free swim @ Bellevue pool!
The Galvez family is hosting their 2nd annual Alex’s Lemonade Stand on Saturday, June 7th from 10am-4pm. This fundraiser is part of the National Lemonade Days, in which thousands of volunteers host Alex’s Lemonade Stands across the country, raising over $1 million for childhood cancer research in one weekend. This year is the 5th Annual Lemonade Days, and over 2,000 Alex’s Lemonade Stands will be set up around the nation.
To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $19 million for the search for a cure for childhood cancer. Please come out and contribute to this important foundation!
Date: Saturday June 7th, 10am-4pm
Location: 684 Forest Avenue, Bellevue, 15202
Welcome to Bellevue’s informational website! This will be your source for up-to-date information on events around town as well as a comprehensive business and service directory.
We will post feature stories on the Home page, and provide information about each event on the Events page. Explore the Directory tab for listings of businesses, churches, and other borough information. Come back regularly to stay informed!
It all starts on the 3rd floor of the GC Murphy Building (517 Lincoln Avenue). Enter through the back door from Meade Avenue, and pay your $5 donation at the door. This donation gets you a map and punch card to guide you around town.
- Murphy Building: on the 3rd floor will be artists selling and displaying their art as well as live music from 5pm-9pm. At 9pm Pittsburgh’s Neil Diamond (Chris Denim) will perform for a $10 cover on the 2nd floor [www.creativetreehousepgh.com]
- Wine Crawl: there are 12 businesses participating in the wine tasting, including; Lincoln Barber Shop, Studio S, Nibbles and Licks, Qui Interiors, Matthews Arts, Mane Attractions, Chaos Ink, Club Perqe, Celtic Collection, Produce Plus, 521/Jesters Court, and Terri’s Accents. You MUST have your map punched at each location to be entered into a contest drawing.
- Affogato: many of the acts from the 3rd floor of the Murphy Building will perform after-shows here, and Good Night, States will headline the live music with a 10pm show. The coffeebar is BYOB and open til 1am.
- Other stops: Many of the boutiques and restaurants will be staying open later than usual to participate in the town crawl, so don’t forget to stop by your favorite places and support local business!