Rivers of Steel

10/10/2026

IMPORTANT UPDATES:

Please join BHF at the Pump House on Sunday, October 11, 2026, 2-4 pm, as we celebrate and honor the powerful artwork of Bill Yund. Through Bill's art we'll explore the ever-evolving history of Pittsburgh's steelworkers. Doors will be open at 1 pm. Light refreshments will be available.

PLEASE NOTE that the emergency bridge repairs previously underway on the railroad trestle beside the Pump House have been completed and so there shouldn't be an issue with accessing the event from the Waterfront - in the unlikely case that this situation changes, access should still be possible by taking the flyover bridge near the Rankin Bridge on E. 8th Ave onto E. Waterfront Drive.

We hope to see you there!

10/03/2026

Today's the day!

For ten years, Festival of Combustion has invited people to experience Carrie Blast Furnaces in a different way: not as a monument to the region’s industrial past, but as a place where history, creativity, and community are still alive.

The fire and molten metal you’ll see today are part of a much longer story. The technologies, trades, materials, and ingenuity on display here helped shape Western Pennsylvania, and the people who worked with them built communities that continue to shape our region today.

As the steward of Carrie Blast Furnaces and a National Heritage Area spanning eight counties, Rivers of Steel is proud to preserve these places and the stories connected to them. Preservation isn’t about looking backward: It’s about creating opportunities to explore, ask questions, make things, share stories, and discover new connections to the history around us.

So wander.
Talk to an artist or craftsperson.
Find a tour guide and ask a question.
Follow the sounds, sparks, and people throughout the site.

There's a lot to see here, and even more to wonder about.

Welcome to the Festival of Combustion.
Welcome to Carrie.

Tickets are $30 at the gate | Guests under 18 are free.

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Festival of Combustion is made possible with the support of our presenting sponsor, , and sponsors and Chiz Brothers

Special thanks to our beverage partners, Vecenie Distributing Company, Oskar Blues Brewery and Wild Basin Hard Seltzer.

We couldn't have done this without the production support of Zero Fossil.

And thanks to NEXT Pittsburgh, our media partner on this decade celebration of fire.

We're grateful to the organizations that help us bring this one-of-a-kind celebration of Pittsburgh's industrial and creative spirit to Carrie Furnaces year after year.

10/03/2026

TOMORROW, WE LIGHT THE PLACE UP.

Iron.
Aluminum.
Tin.
Blacksmithing.
Welding.
Glass.
Copper.
Forging.
Graffiti.
Music.
Food.

Fireworks.

Ten years of Festival of Combustion.

See you there. Get your tickets tonight to save. Just $25 until midnight. $30 at the gate. Guests under 18 free.

10/02/2026

OK. HERE’S THE PLAN. 🔥

Festival of Combustion is tomorrow, so we figured it was time to give you the lay of the land.

Check out the schedule + site map to see what’s happening, when the big moments happen, and where to find all the hot metal, artists, makers, music, food, tours, and more.

A few things worth planning around:

🔥 3-7:30pm: Iron Pour, Aluminum Tiles (while supplies last) and Aluminum Pour, Demos, Hands-on Activities, Graffiti & Live Painting, Tin Pour, Iron smelting, Blacksmithing, Forging, Coppersmithing, Glassblowing, Arts & Craft Market, Self-Guided Tours & Ask a tour guide.
🔥 3:00pm-6:30pm: DJ Brian Sieworek
🔥 6:30pm-7:15pm: Col. Eagleburger's Highsteppin' Goodtime Band
🔥 7:15pm-8:15pm: Fire dance with Lovely Lydia Artistry
🔥 7:30-8:30pm: Lady Beast Headliner
🔥 8:30pm: Fireworks Finale

All workshops and demonstrations are included with your ticket and are offered on a first come, first served basis. Be sure to arrive early if you want to make sure you can secure a spot!

And remember: tickets are $25 through midnight tonight, then $30 at the door. Guests 18 and under are free.

Tomorrow | 3–9 p.m. | Carrie Blast Furnaces

Save this post. Check the map. Make a plan.

10/02/2026

LAST CHANCE.

Festival of Combustion is tomorrow—and tickets are $25 through midnight tonight.

After that, they’re $30 at the door.

So if you’re thinking about coming, commit now and save $5.

Tomorrow: molten metal, blacksmithing, welding, glass, ceramics, artists and makers, live music, food, self-guided tours, and fireworks at Carrie Blast Furnaces.

Saturday, October 3 | 3–9 p.m.
$25 through midnight tonight | $30 at the door
Under 18 free

Get your tickets now. Then we'll see you at Carrie.

10/01/2026

We checked the forecast.

Saturday is shaping up to be a beautiful fall day in Pittsburgh: mostly sunny, around 69°, and, at least for now, looking very dry. A pretty solid autumn-in-Pittsburgh weekend outlook.

Which feels like pretty good news when your Saturday night plans involve standing outside at Carrie Blast Furnaces watching people pour molten metal.

Festival of Combustion is this Saturday, October 3, from 3–9 p.m.

Iron. Aluminum. Tin. Blacksmithing. Live music. Food. Artists and makers. Self-guided tours. Fireworks.

And, apparently, some excellent weather to go with it.

Saturday. Carrie. Come get a little fired up.

$25 in advance | Under 18 free.

09/30/2026

THERE'S A LOT TO TALK ABOUT.

How did they make iron here?
An iron mill? Not a steel mill?
What did the technology actually do?
What was it like to work in a mill?
How did the labor movement change Pittsburgh?
Who was Carrie?
Who came here during the Great Migration?
What happened after the mills closed?
What did all that steel build?
And how the hell did we save a place like Carrie?

Our tour guides will be stationed around the site during Festival of Combustion, ready to talk about the questions you have, and the stories you might not know to ask about.

Come for the fire. Stay for the history. There's a lot of it in the air around here.

4 DAYS TO GO.

Saturday, October 3 | 3–9 p.m.
Carrie Blast Furnaces

🎟️ $25 in advance | Under 18 free

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Festival of Combustion is made possible with the support of our presenting sponsor, , and sponsors and Chiz Brothers

We're grateful to the organizations that help us bring this one-of-a-kind celebration of Pittsburgh's industrial and creative spirit to Carrie Furnaces year after year.

09/30/2026

In the remnants of the past, you’ll find the spirit of our region.

It lives in the people who worked in these places and the communities they built around them. It lives in the families who came here looking for a better life, in the skills passed from one generation to the next, and in the artists, educators, craftspeople, entrepreneurs and neighbors who continue to make their own connections to this history today.

There are places in Pennsylvania where the past is not something you have to imagine. You can see it in massive steel structures.

09/28/2026

Silent film is having a moment in Pittsburgh. 🎥🍿

This week, the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society is filling venues across the region with 11 silent films from the 1920s, each brought to life with live musical accompaniment. From churches and theaters to museums and historic spaces, it’s a weeklong celebration of the movies, and the way they were meant to be experienced. Together.

This Thursday, that celebration comes to the Pump House in Munhall.

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926)
Starring Harry Langdon and a young Joan Crawford
Live accompaniment by Tom Roberts

Thursday, October 1 • 7 p.m.
The Pump House at the Waterfront

Come be part of the Pittsburgh Silent Film Festival, and experience a 100-year-old movie somewhere you definitely wouldn’t expect to find one.

🍿

09/28/2026

HEAVY METAL. LITERALLY. 🤘🔥

We're melting it.
We're forging it.
We're pouring it.

And then we're going to play it.

Lady Beast brings the heavy metal to Festival of Combustion this year, because apparently molten iron and fireworks weren't enough.

Saturday, October 3, the furnaces will be hot, the metal will be moving, and the amps will be turned up.

6 DAYS.

Festival of Combustion
Saturday, October 3 | 3–9 p.m.
Carrie Blast Furnaces

🎟️ $25 in advance | Under 18 free

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Festival of Combustion is made possible with the support of our presenting sponsor, United States Steel Corporation, and sponsors and Chiz Brothers

We're grateful to the organizations that help us bring this one-of-a-kind celebration of Pittsburgh's industrial and creative spirit to Carrie Furnaces year after year.