Little Italy Days, Miranda Lambert Top Pittsburgh Weekend Events

PITTSBURGH,, PA - The region's largest heritage festival occurs this weekend and will be a boon for businesses on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield.

Little Italy Days kicks off Thursday with celebrity bocce and The Italian Granati Brothers. On Aug. 16, see the Magic Moments. The weekend also will include Earth Wind & Fire tribute band Let's Groove Tonight, Elvis impersonator Randy Galioto, The Mystics 50th anniversary, Little Miss Italy, Penguins national anthem singer Jeff Jimerson and street vendors.

There will also be the usual parades and street vendors attracting thousands of people to the main drag of Pittsburgh’s Little Italy.

Other weekend highlights:

• Miranda Lambert with Little Big Town, Aug. 17, 7 p.m., KeyBank Pavilion

Lambert is bringing to town her Livin’ Like Hippies Tour, which takes its name from the lyrics of her song “Highway Vagabond” from the platinum-selling double LP “The Weight of These Wings.” The show will also feature Jon Pardi.

• Iron Maiden with The Raven Age, Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m., PPG Paints Arena

One of the most popular metal bands in rock history brings its Legacy of the Beast tour to town with plenty of bells and whistles, including a Spitfire plane, plenty of pyrotechnics, a giant Icarus, muskets, claymores and flamethrowers. Oh, and they’ll play music as well.

• Jam on Walnut, Aug. 17, 5:30 p.m., Walnut Street, Shadyside

It’s another outdoor concert and block party to benefit Humane Animal Rescue. This one is ‘90s themed, with dances and trivia from the 1990s. Music begins at 7 p.m. and the fun lasts until 11 p.m.

• H2Oh! River Weekend, Aug. 18, 10 a.m., Carnegie Science Center

Presented by the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, this event features special water-themed demonstrations and activities inspired by the center’s H2Oh! Why Our Rivers Matter exhibit. Learn the interconnectedness of the "web of life" and check out live local fish, reptiles, and amphibians in the field station. Take a stroll through our brand new Nimick Forbesway Foundation Rain Garden, and learn how to help protect waterways.