PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for 38 years, yet I’ve never visited Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village in Washington County. Or Old Economy Village in Beaver County. Or the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum — or even Downtown’s Arcade Comedy Theater.

If you’ve lived here your entire life, are there attractions or landmarks that you also have never visited?

I hope you’ll be inspired to explore more of Pittsburgh’s amenities with our Best of the ’Burgh staff picks starting on page 36. We focus on places we have discovered for the first time in the last year. Not all are new places — some have been open and operating for years — but because there is so much to do and see in the region, we just hadn’t gotten there until now.

Among our discoveries, one staffer tried out the North Park Ice Rink for the first time, even though she had lived just 10 minutes away from it for 15 years. Another attended her first performance of the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and another discovered the “play space mecca” that awaits at the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library.

Summer is a great time to make your own discoveries in the region.

I’d like to congratulate my colleagues at Pittsburgh Magazine for winning five awards at the recent 60th Golden Quill Awards, sponsored by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. The contest honors local professional and student excellence in writing, graphic design, broadcast, videography and digital journalism.

Collaboration is the new buzzword in media these days. In the face of shrinking newsrooms, outlets are joining together and sharing resources to continue in-depth and quality coverage. The Quills for the first time included an Excellence in Collaboration Award, and I’m proud that Pittsburgh Magazine won that with the nonprofit newsroom PublicSource for our “Power Shift” project in our February 2023 issue. The project looked at a stunning number of leadership changes taking place at the same time in local government, higher ed, nonprofit and economic development organizations and how that is likely to transform the region for years to come.

Among other Quill awards, PM Creative Director Huck Beard won in Division 4 Page Design, correspondent Emily Catalano won two awards — in Division 4 Lifestyle and Sports — and correspondent Cristina Rouvalis won in Division 4 Arts/Entertainment.