{"id":298530,"date":"2026-10-02T18:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/298530\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T18:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:48:27","slug":"dig-in-with-graver-its-a-beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood-for-chipped-ham-pizza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/298530\/","title":{"rendered":"Dig in With Graver: It\u2019s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood for Chipped Ham Pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mrrogers7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Take your kids to meet Mister Rogers this weekend.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 3, \u201cIt\u2019s a Beautiful Day to Be You: Inspired by Mister Rogers, Daniel Tiger & Donkey Hodie\u201d debuts at the Children\u2019s Museum of Pittsburgh<\/a> on the North Side. It says goodbye on Jan. 3, 2027 and will visit other cities across the country.<\/p>\n

\"Mrrogers8\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Created in partnership with Fred Rogers Productions, the interactive exhibit \u201chelps children explore what it means to be kind, curious, persistent, creative, collaborative and brave through play and discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, it teaches them how to be like Mister Rogers.<\/p>\n

\"Mrrogers5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Explore familiar locations from \u201cDaniel Tiger\u2019s Neighborhood\u201d<\/a> and \u201cDonkey Hodie,\u201d<\/a> current PBS Kids\u2019 shows that use animation, puppetry and other modern production techniques to inspire a new generation.<\/p>\n

In a single afternoon, children can plant a garden, blast off in a spaceship, spin vinyl records, dance, sing, try on a red cardigan and travel through Trolley\u2019s magical tunnel that connects the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and Someplace Else. (It reminds me of the tunnel inside Super Savers Cinemas at Northway Mall circa 1988.)<\/p>\n

\"Mrrogers4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Grand opening weekend starts with a ribbon-pulling ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday with costume character appearances by Daniel Tiger from 11 a.m. to noon and 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Other activities include real trolley rides and arts and crafts.<\/p>\n

The installation is located on the first floor\u2019s traveling exhibit gallery. It\u2019s open Oct. 10 and 21, Nov. 14 and 18 and Dec. 12 and 16.<\/p>\n

Pittsburghers of a certain age will squeal with nostalgic glee when they spot love-worn puppets Daniel Striped Tiger and Donkey Hodie from \u201cMister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood\u201d on display.<\/p>\n

\"Mrogers1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good for the soul to see old friends, even if they are made of felt.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a lovely collection of LIFE Magazine photographs by Lynn Johnson. The images, taken in Studio A at WQED over a 20-year period, capture what was special about \u201cMister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood\u201d \u2014 and how watching the show made young viewers feel special.<\/p>\n

\"Mrrogers6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Rick Sebak<\/a> gave me a tour of that studio last spring and I was barely able to contain my inner child.<\/p>\n

The Children\u2019s Museum often showcases the Neighborhood. My daughter, who turned 17 a week ago, is seen here meeting X the Owl in 2012.<\/p>\n

\"Mrrogers9\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

I\u2019m proud to know that all of this positivity started in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Since this is also the first weekend of National Pizza Month<\/a>, you can keep the hometown vibes flowing like the three rivers by ordering a yinzer pie.<\/p>\n

The Grandma Isaly\u2019s Pizza, a collaboration between Caliente Pizza & Draft House<\/a> and Isaly\u2019s<\/a>, is a quick-bake dough topped with American cheese, chipped ham marinated in barbecue sauce, Pittsburgh Pickle Co.<\/a> pickles, onions, mozzarella, provolone and cheddar.<\/p>\n

If you stop at the Bloomfield location for lunch, burn off the calories at Allegheny Cemetery by searching for the final resting place of Don Brockett, who regularly appeared on \u201cMister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood\u201d as \u201cChef Brockett.\u201d<\/p>\n

(He also makes a cameo in \u201cThe Silence of the Lambs,\u201d<\/a> which is funny since the song he sang on WQED included the line, \u201cFor it\u2019s silence that I ask for in my kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Same, Chef.<\/p>\n

\"Yinzerpizza\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Several years ago, on 412 Day<\/a>, I made a chipped ham pizza in my kitchen. No word on if such an item will be offered when Isaly\u2019s opens its new storefront<\/a> in the Strip District.<\/p>\n

Practice self-care and make one for yourself on Nov. 13, which is World Kindness Day and WQED\u2019s Cardigan Day<\/a>. It\u2019s also Friday the 13th.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t push your luck, yinz guys; be kind.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER Take your kids to meet Mister Rogers this weekend. On Oct. 3, \u201cIt\u2019s a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-298530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}