Fright Night: Zombies invade Market Square for Fright up Night.
ZOMBIES INVADE MARKET SQUARE FOR SECOND ANNUAL FRIGHT UP NIGHT
Pittsburgh nightlife takes on a new meaning Saturday when zombies and creepy crawlers invade the heart of town for the second annual Fright Up Night.
Presented by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and ScareHouse, it features 12 parties in Market Square and its nearby restaurants.
“It was a fun plan to do something big to celebrate Halloween in downtown Pittsburgh,” says Leigh White, vice president of marketing and communications of the PDP. “We noticed that many bars and restaurants in Downtown are doing events for Halloween and we decided why not make this a whole big party?”
Zombie Den is the newest feature to Fright Up Night. The unique pop-up bar will be centered in Market Square and will serve creative cocktails inspired by zombie pop-culture. It will be open from 4 p.m. to midnight. The bar was created in collaboration with ScareHouse and Mike McCoy and Brian Lang of Sienna Mercato.
Zombie Wrestling matches will feature the walking dead come to life in back-toback matches all evening. In this odd spectacle, patrons can cheer on “brain-eating” brawlers into the final rounds, which begin at 10 p.m. Zombie Wrestling is presented in partnership with RYSE Wrestling. Visitors can purchase VIP seating tickets at frightupnight.com.
“We certainly expect the zombie wrestling to be very popular,” says Ms. White. “There will be a big tent with an actual ring. The nice thing is that the Saturday Night Market is pretty big and there is a Steelers game on Sunday, so we expect a lot of visitors.”
As the zombie main event gets underway, the participating restaurants will start their festivities for the night with eerie entertainment, contests and Halloween cuisine.
“We reached out to many restaurants and gave some of them suggestions and ideas but many were creative on their own,” says Ms. White.
Visitors can enjoy rooftop tarantula racing and the “Halloween Burlesque” show at Harris Grille on Fourth Avenue. There will be a Live Music and Goblin Games party at Point Park University on Woods Street, which will feature free food, games and competitions. Täikō on Sixth Street will help its patrons raise a glass to the dead at its Día de Los Muertos party.
“Butcher and the Rye will have an ‘insane’ butcher shop,” says Ms. White. “Harris Grille’s Heaven and Hell party is pretty popular. Upstairs feels like heaven and downstairs is warmer and hotter.”
The Saturday Night Market at Market Square will also have its final night of the season and feature more than 25 vendors showcasing artisan products.
“The Saturday Night Market runs from mid-May to the end of October,” says Ms. White. “This kind of commemorates it.”
While there are some frightful and eccentric events going on, there are many children-friendly places. Parties at Point Park University, Moe’s Southwest Grille and Simple Greek are just a few.
“If kids are comfortable around zombies, it’s fun,” says Ms. White. “If it’s something your child might be frightened by, then it’s not the best. There are many other activities happening in the square.”