Look alive, it's Thursday.

• On this day in 1788, Allegheny County was established from parts of Washington and Westmoreland counties. It was much bigger back then, stretching north to Lake Erie and west to Ohio.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, high near 66.

🎧 Sounds like: "Pump Up The Jam," by Technotronic.

📸 Congrats to Jeff A. for submitting our favorite caption of Aaron Rodgers getting sacked: "The face you make when you step on a Lego in pitch darkness."

Today's newsletter is 997 words, a 4-minute read.

Picture this: A concert venue filled with glow sticks, dance beats, and tiny hands in the air.

Why it matters: Australian DJ Lenny Pearce's "Toddler Rave" is coming to Pittsburgh on Nov. 19 at Stage AE.

• Pearce has built a following by turning songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" into EDM tracks featured in an interactive show that caters both to little ones and their raver parents.

Catch up quick: His first viral hit was a "Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" techno remix in 2023. Last year, he toured internationally and sold out U.S. dates.

• "I must have just been in a silly head space, maybe a toddler head space" when remixing his first nursery rhyme songs, Pearce tells Axios.
• But the kids' music genre is familiar to the producer: He's the twin brother of a Wiggle and the father of two young kids.

By the numbers: Family-friendly raves are taking off.

• The event category grew 93% from 2024 to 2025 nationally, per Eventbrite data shared with Axios.

Yes, but: Entertaining the world's most brutally honest audience isn't easy.

• "Kids can stare at you and I'm like, 'Oh my God, is he bored of me?'" Pearce says. He's learned that toddlers do better with action and cues than music alone.

What to expect: "I try not to make it all about 'put your hands up and jump,' so I have props that come out, I introduce characters," including Kuma the monkey, Bubbles the DJ duck and Mr. Glow the glowstick maker.

• Costumes are welcome, even for adults. "They don't just sit on the sidelines, they participate with the kids, and they come dressed up," Pearce says. "I thought it was all for the kids, (but) parents enjoy it."

If you go: Doors to the hourlong Toddler Rave open at 5pm on Thursday, Nov. 19, at Stage AE.

• Tickets range from $53 to $100+ for VIP packages.

Share with an ambitious toddler parent

Pittsburgh's beloved "Star Wars" vending machine was spotted over 2,400 miles away.

The intrigue: Los Angeles-based content creator Braeden Days brought Mt. Washington's 1999 "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" Pepsi machine to Los Angeles for the grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Days posted Tuesday on Instagram.

Context: In August, Days swapped out the original vending machine for an artistic rendition, told everyone he was repairing the original, and then made several fictitious videos about how he was "stealing" it.

State of play: That angered a lot of Pittsburghers, who said Days' stunt ruined the spirit of the machine: a symbol of the region's embrace of stasis.

What's next: The machine will return to Mt. Washington in October, per Days.

The bottom line

🏃 Pittsburgh's Great Race events will take place this weekend, bringing more than 10,000 runners to city streets. Saturday morning's kids race will have minimal impact Downtown. Sunday road closures are:

• Oakland: Fifth Avenue from Bigelow Boulevard to Robinson Street ramp closed 6:30am-10:45am
• Uptown/Downtown: Fifth from Robinson Street ramp to Liberty Avenue, and Liberty to Commonwealth Place closed 6:30am-noon
• Squirrel Hill: Beechwood Boulevard to Forbes Avenue and then Forbes to Morewood Avenue closed 8:30am-10am
• Oakland: Morewood between Fifth and Forbes, and Fifth to Bigelow closed 8:30am-10:30am

🏢 Uptown Flats, a 34-unit affordable housing development, was completed on Tuesday. The development is part of Allegheny County Exec Sara Innamorato's 500 in 500 initiative, and prioritizes households exiting homelessness. (Press release)

🍐 Tandem Foods, a nutritional snack food manufacturer, is spending $42 million on an expansion project in O'Hara Township. (WPXI)

Friday

Wish the Cathedral of Learning a happy 100th birthday with a cinematic light show Friday-Sunday.

• 📍 Cathedral Lawn near Heinz Memorial Chapel, Oakland
• ⏰ 9pm
• 💰 Free!

Stay up late for a horror movie marathon at Riverside Drive-In's Super Monster-Rama, featuring four classic horror films on Friday and Saturday. Overnight camping is also available.

• 📍 1114 Lees Lake Lane, Vandergrift
• ⏰ Movies begin just after dark
• 💰 $15 per person per night; $20 per person for camping

Saturday

Root for thousands of runners during Great Race weekend, with kids races Saturday and the 5K and 10K Sunday.

• 📍 Oakland, Squirrel Hill and Downtown
• 💰 Registration fees and race times vary

Celebrate the start of fall at Allegheny County Parks' Hay Day, with hayrides, inflatables, puppet shows, face painting, a petting zoo and more.

• 📍 South Park Fairgrounds, 1888 Brownsville Road, South Park Township
• ⏰ 11am-3pm
• 💰 Free!

Sunday

Catch Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader at a free outdoor screening of Tim Burton's 1989 classic "Batman."

• 📍 The Great Lawn at Arts Landing, Downtown
• ⏰ 7:30pm
• 💰 Free!

Sarris Candies is opening an ice cream shop today inside one of Pittsburgh's newest grocery stores.

The intrigue: The popular local candy company is expanding its scoops beyond its Canonsburg headquarters for the first time.

Zoom in: The new shop is located inside the Market District on Penn Avenue in East Liberty, which opened late last year in the Meridian development.

• Expect cones, sundaes, milkshakes and other grab-and-go treats, per a press release.

Flashback: Sarris recently expanded with a new factory store and tours in Canonsburg. The 66-year-old company is one of the most popular local candy makers in the region.

If you go: 6310 Penn Ave., East Liberty

• 8am-8pm daily

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🙂‍↕️ Chrissy is hopefully encountering pikas right now.

🛡️ Ryan is hoping armadillos expand beyond Ohio and into Pittsburgh.

Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing this newsletter.