Why Pittsburgh Rocks!

As if having the best dang indie craft community anywhere wasn't enough to make Pittsburgh a city to flock to, our Steel City offers a plethora of unique and awesome reasons to visit (and remain). Here are just a few of the reasons that Pittsburgh is in a category of its own among world class destinations, and a logical site to host the upcoming G-20 Global Economic Summit (from VisitPittsburgh.com):

•Pittsburgh is the only city in the United States with the distinction of being named "America's Most Livable City" twice by Places Rated Almanac.

•Pittsburgh has 446 bridges, more than any other city in the world.

•Pittsburgh is a leader in the environmental movement, with 33 green-certified buildings. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the first – and largest – certified green convention center in the world.

•Pittsburgh is ranked among the Top 10 of the World's Cleanest Cities, Forbes magazine (2007).

•Pittsburgh is home to the world-famous Andy Warhol Museum, named after Pittsburgh native and renowned pop artist.

•Pittsburgh is sometimes referred to as the "San Francisco of the East Coast" for its hills and beautiful vistas.

•Pittsburgh is the birthplace of Heinz Ketchup.

•Pittsburgh is named one of the Top Travel Destinations for 2008 Worldwide by Frommer's, a leading publisher of international travel guides.

•Pittsburgh boasts the second-most beautiful nighttime view in the United States, according to USA Today.

•Pittsburgh is consistently named one of the best arts destinations in the United States by AmericanStyle magazine.

•Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Natural History has been named one of the best places in the world to see dinosaurs by the Discovery Channel and Forbes. With more than 103,000 specimens, the museum has the finest Jurassic dinosaur collection in the world and is the world's third-largest repository of dinosaur fossils.

•Pittsburgh is home to many "firsts" – the first U.S. public television station (WQED), the first U.S. radio station (KDKA), the first all-aluminum building (Alcoa), the first polio vaccine (Jonas Salk), and the first robotics institute (Carnegie Mellon University).

•Pittsburgh is safer than 82 out of 100 metro areas in the United States, according to Places Rated Almanac.

•Pittsburgh is located less than 90 minutes from Fallingwater, the world-famous home designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Two other Wright-designed homes are also available to tour nearby.

No wonder Pittsburgh was recently, once again, named the most livable city in the United States in 2009- and 29th worldwide- by The Economist magazine and sixth best city in "Ten Cities For Job Growth In 2009" by Forbes Magazine. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette). And the crafty scene is just as fantastic as the city! But you already knew that...

Support Pittsburgh crafters and EtsyPittsburgh!

CRAFTIVISM: Show Support for Much Needed State Arts Funding!

We've got an update to Tam's (of BarkerBell Herbs and Heirlooms) eloquent plea for advocacy for saving the Arts in PA! Some hopeful news on the NEA, but your support is still hugely important. Please act now, and spread the word- there is so much at stake!

The past few years have seen increasing declines in arts funding and arts-friendly public policies throughout the U.S. (Arts Action Fund). Arts funding impacts arts programs in schools (including K-12), the performing arts, arts organizations and individual artists, and the richness and diversity of our national culture and heritage. Additionally, The Arts generates billions of dollars in economic activity and federal tax dollars from income every year, not to mention millions of jobs (American Arts Alliance), the reduction of which will further tax our teetering economy! On the national front, recent news has been hopeful as the U.S. House of Representatives approved an increase in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by $15M (Americans for the Arts)! However, the Senate must be convinced to match this funding level, making public support and advocacy still hugely important.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Please visit Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center and write to your Senators to urge them to support the NEA funding increase, and join the Arts Action Fund (it's free)! Spread the word about this important issue to everyone you know. Your action is critical!

Each year, 40 percent of the NEA's program dollars go to state arts agencies to help maintain the stability of arts funding, policy, infrastructure, and access. BUT, this is conditional on each state appropriating its own funding for the arts, making the situation in Pennsylvania particularly dire. In May, the State Senate passed a budget bill that would eliminate all arts and culture grants in the state through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) from the PA State budget (Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council) for FY 09-10! While the PA House of Representatives Appropriations Committee voted down that Senate bill in June, we're now awaiting the House's own budget bill (Citizens for the Arts in PA). It is essential that PA voters let the House know loudly and clearly that funding for arts and cluture grants must be budgeted for!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Sign this petition. Join the "Save the Arts in PA" Facebook cause or follow the cause on Twitter. If possible, attend the "Save the Arts in PA Rally" on July 14th (see above). Tell everyone you know about what's happening, and ask for their help to stop it! And please, contact your Senators and representatives in the House to urge them to support state arts funding!