Arbor Aid and Pawpaw Fest: 5 reasons to attend

Arbor Aid and Paw­paw Fest is this Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 23! Check out the top rea­sons to attend our annu­al fundrais­er emceed by Pitts­burgh’s own come­di­an Gab Bones­so below. Read the top 5 get your tick­ets today.

1. Enjoy one of the last warm days of the year
   The weath­er for Sat­ur­day looks beau­ti­ful – 80 degrees and sun­ny! Take advan­tage of the late sum­mer weath­er by tak­ing a tour of the his­toric Car­rie Fur­naces site and the Iron Gar­den. Wor­ried about the heat? Don’t be. We’ll have paw­pawsi­cles (paw­paw pop­si­cles) for the kids and tast­ings of Leona’s paw­paw ice cream to help you cool down. There’s lots of shade in and around the event so you can always take a break!
2. Have you tried a pawpaw?
   Chances are, you haven’t even heard of it until this event! The paw­paw is the largest native edi­ble fruit (read about it here) and is quick­ly gain­ing pop­u­lar­i­ty across the coun­try. It has a very lim­it­ed sea­son, and we have planned Paw­paw Fest for peak paw­paw! Learn more about the paw­paw from our speak­ers, and be sure to try paw­paw at our paw­paw tast­ing tent. We’ll also have paw­paw kom­bucha from B52 and paw­paw beer from Alleghe­ny City Brew­ing.Speak­er listing:
   1:00–1:45 p.m. — Phil Grusz­ka, Pitts­burgh Parks Conservancy
   2:00–2:45 p.m. — Matt Davies, Ohio State Uni­ver­si­ty Paw­paw Research
   3:00–3:45 p.m. — Phillip Bauer­le, Penn State Extension
   4:00–4:45 p.m. — Doug Oster, Tri­bune Review
3. Arbor Aid is full of live music
   Arbor Aid has not one, not two, but 10 bands this year! We’re excit­ed to wel­come Kids from south­ern Flori­da as our head­lin­er on the Spir­it Air­lines stage. Local favorites Lyn­d­sey Smith & Soul Dis­tri­b­u­tion, Byron Nash & Plan B, and Melin­da will hit the stage. Make sure you don’t miss The Maple­waves, Same, Colonel Eagleburger’s High­step­ping Good­time Band, City Dwelling Nature Seek­ers, The Tur­pen­tin­ers, or Tim­beleza!
4. Bring the kids
   This fes­ti­val is fam­i­ly-friend­ly! We have plen­ty of kids activ­i­ties to engage your young ones! We’ll have fam­i­ly sto­ry time and the chance to meet Oak­lee the Squir­rel, Tree Pittsburgh’s mas­cot. Kids can also make paw­paw pet rocks, leaf art, and try their hand at a paw­paw toss.
5. Your entrance fee helps sup­port Tree Pittsburgh’s mis­sion and work
   Arbor Aid and Paw­paw Fest isn’t just a great event, it’s also Tree Pittsburgh’s biggest fundrais­er of the year. Your tick­ets and all food and bev­er­age sales go toward our mis­sion to restore and pro­tect the urban for­est. Read about one of our ini­tia­tives in the Post-Gazette.

Get your tick­ets to Arbor Aid and Paw­paw Fest today! Use code PAWPAW for $5 off.