Kennywood Day: 125 Years of Memories

Date & Time
Sunday, Jul. 9, 2023
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location Heinz History Center 1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh PA, 15222
Ticketing Included with museum admission
Category

Join the History Center and special guests to commemorate Kennywood’s 125th anniversary.

Relive your Kennywood memories throughout all six floors of the History Center as we celebrate 125 years of Pittsburgh’s premier amusement park on Sunday, July 9.

Bring your friends (and wear your best matching Kennywood outfits) for a day of special programming, family-friendly games, carnival-themed food, and more!

From a “behind-the-screams” panel discussion with special guests to cultural day cooking demonstrations and archival talks, Kennywood Day will delve into the park’s 125-year history with commentary from amusement park experts, former employees, park fanatics, and friends.

Founded in 1898 as a trolley park, Kennywood is one of only two amusement parks to be designated as a National Historic Landmark. The History Center is proud to partner with Kennywood on this special anniversary program and to preserve the park’s history.

Admission

Access to Kennywood Day: 125 Years of Memories is included with regular History Center admission and is free for History Center members. Join as a member today! Admission also includes access to all History Center exhibitions.

You can purchase admission to Kennywood Day in advance online.

Kennywood Day Schedule

  • 10:30 – 11 a.m. – Exploring the Kennywood “Park-ives” in the Detre Library & Archives (6th floor) 
  • 11:30 a.m. to noon – Ethnic Heritage Days: Italian cooking demonstration featuring Chris Fennimore of QED Cooks (Weisbrod Kitchen Classroom, 3rd floor) 
  • Noon to 1 p.m. – “Kennywood and the Rise of the Amusement Park: An American Phenomenon,” a special presentation and discussion with Lauren Rabinovitz, noted amusement park scholar and author of “Electric Dreamland” (Mueller Center, 5th floor) This presentation will be available to livestream through the History Center’s YouTube page. 
  • 1-1:30 p.m. – Ethnic Heritage Days: Eastern European cooking demonstration featuring Chris Fennimore of QED Cooks (Weisbrod Kitchen Classroom, 3rd floor) 
  • 1:30-2 p.m. – Exploring the Kennywood “Park-ives” in the Detre Library & Archives (6th floor) 
  • 2-3 p.m. – “That Kennywood Summer” screening and Q&A with WQED’s Rick Sebak (Mueller Center, 5th floor)  
  • 3-4 p.m. – Behind the Screams panel featuring award-winning author Brian Butko and local amusement park historians Bryan Bartley, Rachel Cunningham, Rick Davis, Mike Funyak, Jim Futrell, Dave Hahner, and Jen Sopko (Mueller Center, 5th floor)

Kennywood Day Entertainment Schedule

  • 10 a.m to 2 p.m. – Arcade and Fun Zone in the Multipurpose Room (3rd floor)
  • 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Face painting in the Great Hall (1st floor)
  • 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Brian Butko & Amusement Park Author Book Signing
  • Noon to 2 p.m. – Food trucks, StrEat Food & Catering and Millie’s Ice Cream (Outside under Three Rivers Stadium goalposts)

Did You Know?

  • In 2016, Kennywood donated more than 140 boxes of archival materials to the Detre Library & Archives which document over a century of park activities, correspondence, records, contracts, and photographs.
  • Director of Publications Brian Butko has written two books on the park, Kennywood: Behind the Screams and Luna: Pittsburgh’s Original Lost Kennywood, with one more to round out the trilogy on the way.
  • Dozens of artifacts from Kennywood are held in the History Center’s collection, such as the vampires who watched over Le Cachot’s castle and a Kenny the Kangaroo mascot costume.