Things to Do in McKeesport

Wednesday-Night Wine Flights merge science and education, two ideas that have been divided since a series of high-school chemistry teachers was arrested for dancing on laboratory tables in 1987. Sample three wines that have been hand-selected to complement three Cassis appetizers. Small-plate possibilities from the menu of French-influenced American fare include dumplings, baked brie on toasted baguette slices, and black-olive tapenade with sliced radish dippers. The owner and head chef selects wine and food pairings a week prior to each flight, so if you'd like to know what comestibles are coming, check the Cassis Facebook page on Tuesday evening, or simply call ahead.

Before he disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean on a research trip for the unfinished play Waterworld, William Shakespeare is rumored to have said to gatherers on the beach, "The past and future of theater is in time travel." See the Bard's sage wisdom come alive with today's Groupon. For $25, you get a scale-two ticket to the Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of Time of My Life at the O'Reilly Theater. Represented in green on Pittsburgh Public Theater's seating chart, scale-two tickets are available for your choice of show on April 15–18, a $45–$50 value depending on the day of the week. While Pittsburgh Public Theater offers $15 tickets for those age 26 and younger, they can only be purchased an hour before the show for Friday- and Saturday-night shows, or must be ordered in advance.

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.

A nonprofit arts organization, Pittsburgh Musical Theater has energized the tapping of toes for more than two decades. The historic Byham Theater dates back to 1903, when the venue was originally erected as the Gayety Theater, and now fills its flashing marquee with Broadway shows, dance troupes, and films.

Cut & Sew Studio is a fully equipped studio space that offers beginning students and advanced stitchers an inviting environment to sharpen needle skills. All tools are provided on site, eliminating the need to find a suitable wagon to tote a sewing machine to class. Button buffs and daring darners can choose from a variety of interesting classes taught by fashionably educated Cut & Sew owner Catherine Batcho. Thread greenhorns can enlist in the two-session Intro to Sewing class ($50, four hours total), which instructs newcomers in the art of bobbin winding, machine threading, and stitch adjusting while crafting a simple patchwork pillow stuffed with soft, downy phoenix feathers. One hour of open studio time is also included in the intro class. Not-so-beginners can opt for the three-hour Zippers, Zippers, Zippers class ($45), in which participants learn to pull off a variety of zipper styles, including invisible, lapped, centered, fly, and the comical over-the-mouth. Anyone is welcome to sign up for open studio time ($10 per hour). Group classes and weeklong kid camps are also available; see the online calendar for upcoming classes.

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.