🐕‍🦺 Buddy, the German Shepherd service dog. Debbie Ritchey, a Gulf War veteran, spent more than 20 years barely leaving her house because of PTSD. Then a German shepherd named Buddy came into her life through Life Changing Service Dogs for Veterans, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that's now paired 55 veterans with dogs. Buddy's trained to sense her anxiety before it spirals and to wake her during nightmares. They’re on a mission to keep connecting veterans in need with dogs that can save their lives. You can read more about it here.

🔔 Pittsburgh rings the opening bell. Rare Ventures, a Pittsburgh-based venture philanthropy platform backed by up to $25 million from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, got to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange last week. The initiative teams up Eddie and Jill Vedder's EB Research Partnership with CMU, Pitt Health Sciences, UPMC and Stanford Medicine to speed up treatments for rare diseases. More on their launch.

🍸 Second Story Spirits grand opening. I’ve posted about them a few times in the past as they’ve done pop-ups ahead of their opening. Well, now they’re officially open! They’ve got unique cocktails crafted with their own house-made liqueurs. If craft cocktails are your thing, you’ve gotta check them out. Frozen espresso martini, anyone? Here’s their menu.

A couple of weeks ago, my TikTok algorithm started showing me teasers of a song called Meant To Be by Monic and GONE ASTRAY. It was going viral, which made total sense because the chorus is an earworm. It’s all of the best things about the music from 2014-2016 in one song.

It turns out, after some digging, that GONE ASTRAY is actually from Pittsburgh. I saw him post a teaser of the song with PPG Place in the background. It felt like such a small-world moment. I had to reach out to him to see how the song came together:

He met Monic a few years back, and they became close friends. He’s been making music for about 7 years now and she’s been making it for about 3 years. Last year they teamed up on a song called Say That You’re Mine that did pretty well. But when he got the voice memo from her for the vocals on this song, he felt like they had something special.

Monic came up with the chords, vocals, arrangement, and drop melody on the piano while he turned it into the sound that you hear now. “Her and I are a great team as she has amazing theory and writing skills while I have years of production and technical experience,” he told me.

The song has been picked up by SiriusXM and is airing on their Hits 1 station alongside the top artists in the world. It’s charted at #17 globally right now, which means the world is listening. It’s out on all the major music platforms for you to stream. You should definitely check it out!

What year was Fallingwater designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?

Last Week’s Answer: 120

Who’s interested in a circa 1885 townhome in the Alpha Terrace Historic District in East Liberty? Complete with a marble fireplace, this one is a looker. The windows let in a ton of natural light, plus 11-foot ceilings so it feels huge. Check it out.

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🆓 Bethel Park Farmers Market - We're getting toward the end of the season, so get your fix while you can. 3 to 7 pm on Corrigan Drive. More info.

🆓 Theron Brown at Arts Landing - Free jazz at Arts Landing, presented with MCG Jazz. 5 to 7 pm. Learn more.

💲Kacey Musgraves: Middle of Nowhere Tour - 7:30 pm at PPG Paints Arena. Buy tickets.

💲Mahjong at Swing Sip - Country Club Tiles is hosting a night of golf and Mahjong! The golf simulators will be open at 5:30 pm with Mahjong starting at 6:30 pm. First round of drinks is on Sip! 5:30 to 9 pm at Sip Taproom/Swing 412. Sign up.

💲Disney’s The Lion King - Broadway is back in Pittsburgh the 9th through the 27th at the Benedum Center. If you haven’t seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it! Opening night’s show is at 7:30 pm. See tickets.

🆓 Salsa Night at Sea Monkey - DJ D'Aço and DJ Loyal spinning salsa, bachata, merengue, and cha cha cha. 8 pm to midnight. See more.

🆓 Pittsburgh Lebanese Food Festival - Enjoy great Lebanese food, live music, and local vendors. The soft opening starts at 4 pm on Thursday until 9 pm. The full menu will be available Friday through Sunday. Learn more.

💲Harry Potter Movie Night - A free screening of the Sorcerer’s Stone with free popcorn and a Butterbeer special. 7:30 pm at the Plaza at North Shore. More info.

💲Upper Deck Golf @ PNC Park - Who wouldn’t want to play a round of golf inside PNC? Tee times available all day Friday and Saturday. They will sell out, so get yours soon! More info.

💲Clemente Bridge Fest - The Clemente Museum is shutting down the Clemente Bridge for its 17th annual fundraiser with live music, food, workshops, and kids' activities. 3 to 7 pm. Buy tickets.

🆓 Oktoberfest Weekend 1 at Hofbräuhaus - Their first full Oktoberfest weekend kicks off with live music, steins of the Haus' own Oktoberfest lager, and a keg tapping by Penguin Legend Ken Wregget. 4 to 10 pm. The party continues Saturday. More info.

💲Pittsburgh Irish Festival - The 35th annual festival kicks off at Carrie Blast Furnaces with live Irish music, dance, and a ton of vendors. It runs through Sunday. 4 to 11 pm on Friday, 11 am to 11 pm on Saturday, and 9 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Get tickets.

💲Whiskers and Wine - Spend the evening with cats from Nose 2 Tail Cat Rescue and a bottle of your favorite wine. Proceeds support their rescue efforts. 7 to 9 pm at Nose 2 Tail Cat Rescue. RSVP.

🆓 Fall Apple Cider Sip & Shop - Treasure Trove Fleatique's fall market with 100+ vendors of vintage, antiques, and collectibles. Free apple cider for everyone, and a free "Bonfire Cider" (cider spiked with Fireball) if you're 21+. 10 am to 7 pm at Treasure Trove Fleatique. See more.

🆓 Pittsburgh County Fair - Local makers, farm animals, pony rides, and a Best Tomato/Apple Pie contest. 11 am to 5 pm at Allegheny Commons Park West. Learn more.

💲Phantom Fall Fest - Halloween at Kennywood is back with 7 haunts and 4 scare zones! 12 pm to 11 pm on Saturdays. Buy tickets.

💲Pittsburgh Taco Festival - 20+ food trucks/taco vendors, live Latin music, salsa classes, and an artisan market at The Stacks at 3 Crossings, 12:30 to 7 pm. Get tickets.

💲Hobbit Fest - Tolkien fans rejoice! Bring out your inner Hobbit for some live music, activities, and themed food and drinks. 3 pm to 7 pm at Bloom Cafe at Quality Gardens. Buy tickets.

💲Steelers vs Falcons - The Steelers kick off the regular season hosting the Atlanta Falcons at 1 pm. Buy tickets.

💲Willow Avalon - 8 pm at Thunderbird Cafe. Get tickets.

Remember to tag us @steelcityledger on Instagram if you check out any of these events!

Lola’s Eatery Apple Cider Donuts - Tis the season! They’ll have them available all September long.

Winston’s Custard Apple Cider Donut Sundae - They’re collabing with Lola’s for the sundae of the fall. Apple Cider Donut Sundae: Warm Apple Cider Donut from Lola’s Eatery | Vanilla Custard | Caramel | Whipped Cream | Cinnamon Sugar Dusting.

Mad Mex Gobblerito - Pair the fruits of our Labor Day with Waffle Fry Poutine & Apple Cider Margs (or something a bit…thicker) now through Thanksgiving Eve.

After that crazy storm last week, I knew that someone had to have gotten some good photos of it. Dave DiCello is one of my favorite photographers in the city, and he was brave enough to head out into the downpour to get some beautiful lightning shots over downtown.

PRT is going to be refreshing the bus lines, and they’re looking for public feedback. They don’t want to make any massive overhauling changes that’ll disrupt the day-to-day service. Instead, they’re taking a targeted approach to keep it online while also improving service and reliability in the busiest parts of the routes. You can give your feedback here.

If you’re like me and have a little bit of a guilty pleasure for Sheetz food, you should check out this episode of First We Feast. They had 2 famous chefs take Sheetz menu items and level them up into something unique. The episode aired on Friday, and you can now get the menu items they cooked up for a limited time.

National Aviary just welcomed two very cute skunk sisters, and they’re looking for help naming them. This is your chance to take part in another naming if you didn’t get a chance to participate in naming the new lion cub a few months back. The first round is free to submit your name suggestions. Those who submit the winning names get a free skunk painting and a meet-and-greet with the sisters!

Meet Pot Roast here.

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