For a decade, Pour at the Park brought people together to enjoy local beer, food, music, community and the outdoors while supporting the nine Allegheny County parks. As we look back on ten years of Pour at the Park, we’re celebrating the people, memorable moments and evolving experiences that made it special!

A New Festival for North Park

On September 9, 2016, the first Pour at the Park debuted along Tennis Court Road next to the North Park Boathouse. The outdoor festival featured beer from several breweries, food from local restaurants and live music under a pavilion. Each ticket included a souvenir stainless-steel tasting cup from the very beginning. Guests brought dogs, their children and friends while enjoying a variety of local flavors.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette introduced the event to readers as a “first-time sister festival” to the popular Steel City Big Pour, helping generate excitement for this new community gathering.

Pour at the Park offered a new way to experience North Park while raising support and awareness for our work across the county park system. It brought together the fun of a community festival with a deep commitment to the long term health and vibrancy of the county parks.

Growing a Community Tradition

The second Pour at the Park took place on September 8, 2017, in North Park. Attendance reached approximately 500 people, doubling the inaugural year’s turnout. That evening, then-Executive Director Caren Glotfelty reminded attendees that their participation made a difference:

“We want you to have fun tonight and we also want you to know that YOU are the change these wonderful 9 County Parks need to sustain them for generations to come.”

The parks were celebrating their 90th anniversary that year, making the message especially meaningful. Pour at the Park wasn’t simply a night out. It was an opportunity for the community to help support a public resource enjoyed by generations of residents.

In 2018, the festival expanded to two events, adding a spring gathering at South Park at the Museum Building on May 1 alongside the September 7 event in North Park. The two-location format continued through 2026, giving the Parks Foundation opportunities to connect with the two largest county park communities. In 2019, the North Park event moved from the Boathouse area to North Park Lodge, providing a new setting for the growing celebration.

Making the Celebration More Sustainable

As Pour at the Park grew, so did our commitment to making the event more sustainable. With guidance and waste management support from the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), we introduced zero-waste practices and worked over several years to reduce waste through recycling, composting and thoughtful event planning.

That commitment eventually paid off. After years of continuous improvement, Pour at the Park’s 2026 North Park event achieved a 95.6% waste diversion rate, exceeding the 90% threshold for Zero Waste recognition. It’s a milestone we’re especially proud of. An event celebrating the parks should reflect the same care for the environment that inspires our work every day. This achievement demonstrated what is possible when event organizers, partners, vendors and attendees work together toward a more sustainable celebration.

Adapting Through Change

Like so many community events, Pour at the Park faced an unexpected interruption in 2020. Planned events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pause was temporary, but it underscored the importance of finding new ways to bring people together in support of the parks.

In 2022, Park ’Til Dark joined the Pour at the Park experience. The concept invited people to spend the day exploring free activities throughout the parks before gathering for Pour at the Park. For three years, Park ’til Dark offered opportunities to introduce visitors to our work and encourage them to experience the parks in new ways.

Over time, tree planting emerged as the most popular activity. In 2025, Park ’til Dark shifted its focus to tree planting, creating a more direct connection between community participation and our conservation work. These hands-on experiences gave visitors a better understanding of our role in improving, conserving and restoring the parks while allowing volunteers to make a tangible contribution to their future.

The experience reinforced an important lesson: some of the most meaningful ways to connect with the community are those that turn interest in the parks into action.

Ten Years of Connection

Pour at the Park’s story is about more than a festival. It’s about the people who attended, the local businesses and partners who participated and the shared belief that Allegheny County’s nine parks deserve to be cared for and sustained for future generations. Over ten years, the event changed locations, expanded to two parks, weathered a pandemic and inspired new ways to engage the community. Through it all, its purpose remained the same: bringing people together in support of their county parks.

As the Parks Foundation looks toward 2027, when we will celebrate our 20th anniversary and the County Parks system marks 100 years, we’re grateful to everyone who has been part of this tradition. Thank you to everyone who raised a glass, shared a meal, enjoyed the music, supported a local partner or joined us outdoors. Your participation helped make Pour at the Park a meaningful part of our story and reinforced the power of community in sustaining the parks we all share. As we plan for 2027, we have made the tough decision not host Pour at the Park again next year. Instead, we plan to build even better events in support of your parks that will allow us to continue to serve you, connect with you while supporting all 12,000 acres of county park land.

What would you like to see next?

As we look toward the next ten years, we’d love to hear how you would like to connect with the Parks Foundation and learn more about our work. Share your ideas with us!