Frosty festivities spark delight at Frick Winterfest

All photos by Nancy Andrews/Annie O’Neill Photography.

The wonder of winter comes to life for a third year in a row this January at Winterfest, The Frick Pittsburgh’s annual celebration of this uplifting season. Gather the whole family and ring in 2024 with a weekend full of festive offerings for Frick fans of all ages, including live performances and artist demos, hands-on art-making activities, a Clayton open house, cozy treats from The Café at the Frick, and more!

Frick Winterfest 2024 takes place Saturday, Jan. 13 through Sunday, Jan. 14. Plan your visit to this free event from a schedule of daily offerings listed below. In addition to Winterfest-exclusive programming, the Frick offers a number of amenities for those visiting with young children, including the Scott Family Infant Care Room and an art supply library, both located in the Grable Visitor Center.

Frick Winterfest 2024

Clayton Open House
January 13 & 14 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Explore the first floor of Clayton, the last remaining home of its kind in Pittsburgh, standing as a testament to another era and offering unique insights into our city’s past. Deepen your experience with hands-on activities! $5 per person. Members enter free. Tickets can be purchased at the Grable Visitor Center.

The Frick Museums
January 13 & 14 | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
● Frick Art Museum: Experience The Red Dress, From Stage to Page: 400 Years of Shakespeare in Print, the Frick’s permanent collections, and works by artist-in-residence Vanessa German.
● Car and Carriage Museum: Pittsburgh and the Great Migration: Black Mobility and the Automobile explores automobile ownership and its effect on the lives of Black Americans in the mid-20th century.

Live Performance: South Hills Children’s Choir
January 13 | 12–3 p.m. | Grable Visitor Center

Winter’s wonderland beckons us to the windowsill, the doorway and over the threshold to the crisp outdoors. A garden, usually so full of life and warmth and growth, stoically stands barren, frozen with snow. But look closer and listen. Fractals of frost and the shimmery twitter of a bird radiate with life in the beauty of this hoary winter tide. Cantores, elite singers from the South Hills Children’s Choir, share these ballads from a winter’s garden to bring warmth of heart to this year’s Winterfest.

Live Performance: Shakespeare Stroll
January 14 | 1–3 p.m. | Frick grounds

Discover famous Shakespearean characters and live music on a wintry stroll around our beautiful grounds and an informal talk about the First Folio and how actors use it. The afternoon includes an opportunity to see all four of the Shakespeare folios together in From Stage to Page: 400 Years of Shakespeare in Print.

Hot Wheels: Glass Blowing with Pittsburgh Glass Center
January 13 | 12–3 p.m. | Next to the Greenhouse
Furnace-fired fun fueled by Pittsburgh Glass Center. Artists will conduct glass blowing demonstrations from this compact traveling glass studio, answer questions, and talk about the art and science of glassmaking.

Artist Pop-up: Julie Shymansky
January 14 | 12–3 p.m. | Grable Visitor Center

Stop by the Grable Visitor Center to browse work by Pittsburgh-based artist Julie Shymansky. Julie is a mixed media abstract artist who works in oils, inks, acrylics and encaustics. Her paintings are a bold blend of nature, color and drama.

Winter Wish Sculpture
January 13 & 14 | 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. | The Orchard

Make your winter wish and contribute to our interactive ribbon sculpture in the Frick’s Orchard!

Art & History Activities
January 13 & 14 | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Grable Visitor Center
Enjoy a variety of artmaking activities designed for visitors of all ages! Add to a pop-up collaborative mural in the Grable Visitor Center and make a 3D snowman in the Education Center classrooms.

Face Painting
January 13 & 14 | 12–4 p.m. | Community Room
Head to the Community Room for festive face painting!

Holiday Treats: Cookie Decorating
January 13 | 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
Indulge your sweet tooth and decorate your own snowman cookie! Available while supplies last.

Holiday Treats: Hot Chocolate Bar
January 14 | 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
Beat the winter cold and warm up with a cup of hot chocolate! Available while supplies last.