A steady flow of park-goers lingered in Schenley Park this past Friday enjoying Eleventh Hour Brewing\u2019s custom lager, Lula La Chula\u2019s Mexican cuisine and live music from Pittsburgher Katelyn Fajardo during the kick off of Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy\u2019s third beer-garden series.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aWe wanted to find a way to get Pittsburghers out into the parks but in a very relaxed way while also giving back to our mission and helping to sustain these really cherished public spaces,\u201d said Alana Wenk of the conservancy.<\/p>\n
Wenk said the Parks on Tap beer garden series has grown in popularity, attracting waves of about 50 people at a time in relaxed crowds during each event. In addition to requesting the rotating food vendors, participants last summer asked for musicians to be added to the events, Wenk said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, we are doing it every other week,\u201d said conservancy CEO \u200aCatherine Qureshi, \u201cSo, we’ve really doubled it. It was so successful, so enjoyed. People came. There’s no agenda. There are no speeches. It’s just people coming after perhaps a long week \u2026 They can relax with their friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly how Carnegie Mellon University civil and environmental engineering researcher Noah Asch and his colleague \u200aAlbin Wells described their experience.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI’m a PhD student, or just graduated, but at Carnegie Mellon right next door, and it’s nice to take off a bit early on a Friday and hang out outside when it’s nice out,\u201d said Wells, a native Pittsburgher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s a fantastic opportunity and especially when it’s in this lovely setting right next to Phipps,\u201d Asch added, \u201cI think this is a great thing for the community and for Pittsburgh as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
May 15 was the first of eight events scheduled through September. Between \u200asponsorships and proceeds generated from the beer sales and food vendors, more than $20,000 has been raised to date. Funds support spaces such as the Schenley Park Visitor Center, where all of this year\u2019s events will be held.<\/p>\n