Things to Do in Jefferson Hills

The Pittsburgh Tour Company's guides cart guests around on classic red double-decker buses straight out of London. These experienced guides divulge interesting factoids along the tour's 21 stops, which include a fish market, Heinz Field, and the city’s depository of old chewing gum that has been scraped off school desks. The company's fleet of four buses offers up the chance to view the city from the second story of closed or open bus tops.

The Silk Screen Asian-American Film Festival, part of a larger vision for a future Asia Center of Pittsburgh, is an annual event highlighting the considerable cinematic output of filmmakers from India, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Iran, as well as other nations you might one day inhabit according to childhood sessions of "Spin the Globe." This year's event—the sixth annual—features a slate of films to rival past years' entries. This year's flicks include such noteworthy efforts as Aftershock, The Light Thief, and Zero Bridge, among many others. Your pass gives you access to eight of the festival's films, giving you the chance to give a total of 24 thumbs up.

At Pittsburgh Improv, comics lure laughs from bellies in the hopes of following in the footsteps of standup legends such as Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, and Dave Chappelle, all of whom have graced the Improv club stages. The calendar schedules comedians as often as six nights a week, alternating between big-name headliners and up-and-comers who tickle funny bones with fresh material, abundant energy, and feathered reflex hammers. Audience members munch on their choice of a savory appetizer, such as spinach-and-artichoke dip or buffalo wings, while sipping a cocktail to avoid eye contact with the giant rubber chicken sitting at the next table.

Pittsburgh Symphony was founded in 1896, and its ambitions were as big as its sound right from the start—Andrew Carnegie, an early backer, and Victor Herbert, a flashy conductor with a taste for the theatrical, reportedly claimed that theirs was the best orchestra in the country. The century that followed was no less dramatic, studded with conductors who made a lasting impression with their own distinct styles, a Depression-era hiatus, and even a run-in with the law for flouting a statute forbidding secular music-making on Sundays. The resulting controversy renewed public interest in the Symphony, vaulting it once again to its current status as a nationally renowned organization.

Converted from an opulent movie palace into the Pittsburgh Symphony's home in 1971 when Americans swore off movies in favor of high culture forever, the magnificent Heinz Hall delights audiences with stellar acoustics. Two 15-foot crystal chandeliers and an array of Levanto marble columns cast a glow over the Great Hall.

Established in 1832, J.J. Gillespie Gallery furnishes its walls with a wide range of art from American and international artists. In an attached workshop, a master framer meticulously preserves keepsakes inside custom wood or metal frames. The gallery also hosts an onsite art expert, who can appraise oil-based works or clean and restore them to their former luster.

Segway in Paradise's gliding tour guides are expert multitaskers, effortlessly sharing historical tidbits with fleets of tourists while leading them through the streets of Pittsburgh atop smooth-rolling segways. The fun and educational tours, which helped the company earn praise from publications such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, run as frequently as three to five times a day, and escort two-wheelers past such locations as PNC Park and the River Walk fountain. The tour routinely stops for photo opportunities in front of the city's picturesque skyline. When groups cross where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet, they can toss coins into the water and wish that their segways might one day earn a pair of metallic wings.