With the Savannah Bananas, Pitt-Duquesne football and Ribfest, a busy weekend begins on Pittsburgh's North Shore
It's going to be a very busy weekend on Pittsburgh's North Shore with the Savannah Bananas playing at PNC Park, Pitt and Duquesne facing off at Acrisure Stadium, and Ribfest taking place.
Several traffic restrictions are going to be in place with the events spanning the entirety of the North Shore and tens of thousands of people expected to attend the games and Ribfest.
The Savannah Bananas will be in Pittsburgh for two shows this weekend
The wildly popular Savannah Bananas are bringing back-to-back sold-out shows to Pittsburgh's PNC Park this weekend.
The Banana Ball World Tour is currently crisscrossing the United States, with every show from February to September sold out, including both games at PNC Park on Friday and Saturday nights.
Crowds of more than 39,000 are expected to be at the two PNC Park shows with activities getting underway both days as early as 2 p.m.
Federal Street on the North Shore will will be closed to traffic from General Robinson Street to the Clemente Bridge starting at 6 p.m. on Friday night and won't reopen until early Monday morning. The Clemente Bridge will also close starting Thursday night and will reopen early Sunday.
With Federal Street being shut down, a plaza is being setup complete with a stage and vendors that fans with tickets to the two games can enter.
Pregame festivities along Federal Street and on the Clemente Bridge will begin at 2 p.m. both days.
Gates to PNC Park will open both days at 4:30 p.m. and the shows will begin at 7 p.m.
Ribfest kicks off Thursday and runs through Labor Day
The annual Kickoff and Rib Festival returns to the North Shore this weekend, starting Thursday evening.
The late summer Pittsburgh staple runs through Labor Day and will feature rib competitions, free music, a cornhole tournament, and a number of different activities each day.
The FedEx Great Hall at Acrisure Stadium will be open and will feature Steelers memorabilia and the team's Lombardi trophies from their six Super Bowl victories.
Admission to the festival, which started in Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium in 1990, is free with food and drink being available for purchase.
Pitt and Duquesne facing off at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday
For the first time in 86 years, the City Game is back on the gridiron in Pittsburgh as Pitt and Duquesne are kicking off their football seasons against one another at Acrisure Stadium.
Pitt enters the 2025 season hoping to have the same kind of start they did last year, when the team won its first seven games for the first time since 1982.
Sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein returns for his second year at Pitt, having tied the Panthers record for most touchdown passes as a freshman, joined by senior running back Desmond Reid and junior linebacker Kyle Louis, who each earned All-American honors last season.
"It'll be a battle in Pittsburgh Saturday at Noon," said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, who referred to Duquesne as a "talented" team.
Duquesne heads into the 2025 season as back-to-back Northeast Conference champions and finished last season with an 8-3 record.
The Dukes are one of just eight FCS programs to win back-to-back conference titles heading into the 2025 season.
Duquesne defensive back Antonio Epps, who attended South Allegheny High School in the Mon Valley, said the team knows Pitt is going to enter the game with a fast pace and high tempo to try and catch the Dukes off guard.
"That's something we're looking forward to and we expect," Epps said.
Duquesne head coach Jerry Schmitt, in his 21st year with the program, said the return of the City Game has been on the minds of Dukes fans for a long time.
"I had to answer questions all the years from all the alums: 'When are we playing Pitt?" Schmitt said. "It's great to play in our hometown. I'm a Pittsburgh guy, born and raised, and this is a unique and special opportunity."
People going to weekend events urged to ride the 'T' to the North Shore
With tens of thousands of people expected to descend upon Pittsburgh's North Shore, those attending the weekend's events are being urged to use Pittsburgh Regional Transit's rail service instead of trying to park in the city.
Riding the 'T' to the North Shore is free for anyone coming from the Gateway, Wood Street, Steel Plaza, or First Avenue stations in Downtown Pittsburgh, as well as those coming from Allegheny station on the North Side.
People attending Saturday's Savannah Bananas game are recommended to get off at the Gateway stop and walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge while the Pitt-Duquesne game is going on near the Allegheny and North Side stations.
For those wishing to drive and park on the North Shore are recommended to use the ParkPGH app that offers real-time parking availability and to use Waze to navigate their way through the city amid event day traffic patterns and real-time road closures.