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Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Innovation of Baron Flenory, Kevan Gaines and Howard Bullard
by bonita lee penn, The Soul Pitt

As the cold, brisk wind whipped down Sixth Avenue Sunday evening, family, friends and business associates of Baron Flenory, gathered inside the Olive or Twist Restaurant to welcome the holiday season with laughter and celebration. This event was not only organized as a meet and greet of old and new friends, but to raise food for the community food banks.
Sunday’s Hunger Food Drive Event was the brainchild of Baron Flenory who was an outstanding athletic at Valley High School in New Kensington, PA and then went on to play as the star defensive back at D-AII Division New Hampshire. Baron, owner of Next Level Athletics, and in collaboration with two of his friends and business partners, Kevan Gaines and Howard Bullard decided to give something back to the community where they grew up and where their families still reside. Click here to continue the story >>>

Then Click here to see all the photos!

The Mt. Ararat Baptist Church "Entrepreneurs for Christ" Holiday Party took place on Dec 7, 2007 at the Exclusive Montage Interior Design Studio. Montage's setting has different room layouts and themes all throughout two huge rooms on the top floor of a secluded warehouse. Asian, Moroccan, and African themes are all throughout the place. Entertainment included a saxophone solo, vocalist, dance group and fashion show. Networking took place all night and various entrepreneurs had a chance to get on the mic and pitch their businesses. A peaceful and relaxing setting, beautiful Christian people and positive networking made this event one of Soul Pitt's favorites this year. Props to the people at Mt Ararat for a great event and to Vernard from The Minority Networking Exchange, Inc. for inviting Soul Pitt to come on out. Now check out the pics!

The Soul Pitt Crew hung out at Darcy's Cafe, AAMI's 25th Birthday bash and stopped in to check out the poetry event put on byBonita Lee Penn and The Minority Networking Exchange. The food was good at Darcy's - she has a nice spot over there in Duquense and the most important thing is that the food will make you keep coming back! AAMI's birthday bash was packed - kids, food, music, more music and good soulful fun. 25 years is a big accomplishment - way to go AAMI! Bonita and the MNE threw a nice event at Amani International Coffeehouse and Café, owned by Terra Jones. All the readers were inspiring and we even got some networking in. Sheila Beasley blessed us with an a cappella gospel song that was divine. Don't take my word for all of this - check out the pics!

Free Family Spotlight:
Hosanna House!!! Hosanna House!!!
By Kim Herd, The Soul Pitt
SoulPitt Readers, Hosanna House is a gold mine of support from weight reduction, diabetes workshops, free weight lifting, walking and water aerobics classes and MORE!!!
I was invited to a free water aerobics class (thanks Diane) (Yes, I said FREE!!) The Woman in the class looked like me (all shapes and size). And we sang, (to gospel) yelled, moved and grooved nonstop for 30 minutes. The instructors, Sharon & Sam, kept the energy going! Hosanna House Center for Healthy Hearts and Souls (www.hosannahouse.org) is part of our community and they need our support. So, come on out and join in on the healthy activities! I cannot wait to take the kick boxing class (it's free too!). Click here to check out the pics. If you offer FREE services for family and kids, please submit your info to Kim atfamily@thesoulpitt.comto be considered for the Free Family Spotlight!

Soul Pitt
Visitor Photo
of the Week.

Wilkinsburg Police Chief Ophelia Coleman, Mayor John Thompson, Kent Bey Royal Tribe Music, Wes Johnson Borough Manager, Eugenia Moore Council Vice President and Chairwoman, Finance Committee. Send your photo with (50) words of less to describe your photo to photooftheweek@thesoulptt.com. The Soul Pitt may select your photo and memorable experience with thousands and thousands of viewers in our new Photo of the week segment.

The hype from the Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards is still buzzing in the air! It was so successful in fact, that the promoter of the PHHA's (360 Entertainment) is throwing a FREE Music conference. 360 decided to Give a Free Music Conference, to Help Artists get the info that's needed to go to the Next Level. They will have Panels on Various Topics, MC Battle, Beat Showcase - where Producers can play beats for the everyone in attendance and a Performance Showcase. Go to www.pittsburghhiphopawards.com and register for the conference. But before you go, check out never seen before photos of the first ever PHHA's that was on Jan 14th taken by Sandidge Photography Group!

Running The Soul Pitt and Soul Pitt Media is a busy job. Sometimes I can't make it to everything or I just plain need a break! However, when Northview Heights Elementary School called me to come in for Career Day early in the morning on Friday, I couldn t turn them down. They wanted their kids to meet an African-American Web Designer. Bonita Penn from TSP was also there as they needed an African-American Writer/Poet, and many more folks from a Boy Scout leader to a Paramedic. I had a ball with all the kids from K through 3rd grade. I told each class about how signs they see all over are made by graphic designers and showed them many signs and logos that they all guessed right away from McDonald s to the Big K-Mart Logo. Then I showed them the sign I created with the Supergirl Web Designer mascot. Each class then made up a name for their design company and decorated their signs with foam stickers. The names the children came up with were Spiderman Designs, B&G Designs (Boys and Girls), and Kids at Work Designs. Each sign is displayed in the classroom. Thanks to the staff, teachers and kids for having us at your school. Check out the Pics!

Kudos goes to Dr. Wima Smith Beauford, Program Director, of the Financial Literacy Program as she hosted an Alumni Luncheon for graduate students on December 28, 2006. In addition to a lovely lunch at the Improv Comedy Club in Homestead, the students were presented several words of encouragement from program founder, Dr.Howard B. Slaughter Jr,who has been exceptionally instrumental with the concept and implementation of this program. More details and more pics>>>

We had a ball at the Soul Train Oldies Par-Tay out at Grazie! in Monroeville. Bill O Neal threw a great event and gave away awards to a few brothers he felt deserved it for keeping the Soul alive. Soul Pitt thanks Bill and his crew for inviting us out to participate in this event. Pictured are Kirsten Womack and Soul Sis enjoying themselves. Don Patterson was in the house and the Johnsons got their groove on as well as the many other par-tay people who took us back with an old school Soul Train line. Check out the pics here>

Carl Weber came to Pittsburgh and was greeted by many fans of his urban books. A lot of Soul Pitt fans were in the house as well along with Dana Ramsey and other book club members. Pictured are Carl Weber and Dana Ramsey as she holds up his latest book "The First Lady". Carl may also have a 2nd career as a stand up comic as he kept his fans laughing when telling his story of how he got started and the real people behind some of the characters in his book. Thanks to Bradley Books and Borders in East Liberty! Check out the pics here>

The Soul Pitt, along with WAMO and The City Paper, did a movie screening for Cedric's movie Code Name: The Cleaner at Loew's Theater in January and the turn out was great! We gave away soooo many t-shirts, hats, tattoos, candy, posters, tickets to events and more -- We think everyone walked away with something! Were you there? We know Mr. Edward Sneed was in the house (along with his wife), whom we've named SP's fan club president! This man surprised us all as he came in sporting a SP hat (pictured) from our Soul Pitt store. Thanks for the love Ed! Click here to see the pics>>

Soul Pitt Visitor Photo of the Week. Did you know that Colin Powell was in town? Well, he was...The photo to the left is Dr. Art & Mrs. Charlene Woods of Cranberry twp. who attended the Robert Morris Speakers Series presentation of the Honorable and distinguished Colin Powell. Way to go Art & Charlene! Have you attended a notable event and taken a picture with a memorable and famous person, place or thing? Send your photo with (50) words of less to describe your photo to photooftheweek@thesoulptt.com. The Soul Pitt may select your photo and memorable experience with thousands and thousands of viewers in our new Photo of the week segment.

The screenings for Dreamgirls at Loew's on Dec 19th and 21st were well received with rave reviews and each screening had a jam packed FULL house! Many of the Soul Pitt friends and family came out to see the wonderful movie and stop by the SP booth. We had many people from The Soul Pitt win passes for 2 to one of the screenings. Were you there?

The Soulful Singles Social for SIX turned out great! Five singles showed up for the date (one no show) and we met at Rock Bottom where Soul Pitt bought them a round of drinks. We played an ice breaker game which had the singles chatting, laughing and getting to know each other better! We then escorted the singles over to the Improv for some more laughs with Arnez J. The next social will be for the 40 to 50 age group. Check out the pics of our Soulful Singles and stay tuned for our next outing! Click here to sign up in advance for the 40 to 50 social!

The Soul Pitt Crew had a lot of fun at the Black Family Reunion on Aug 5th & 6th 2006 at Mellon Park. Pictured are 2 of our young sistahs that help with the promotions team (Ariyana and Simone). This event was given by the Community Empowerment Association, Inc.

Click here to view the pics

Bonita and Soul Sis took a drive this weekend to Cecil PA to check out Lynette Love talk about her book entitled May December Winds.Organized by her management out of Nashville, (Jazzii Entertainment & Productions 901-679-4601) This forum and book was about adult male predators and their impact on the lives of teenage girls. Well they got lost on some back road somewhere and almost turned around, but a higher power had planned for them to be there as they ended up finding it. It was truly a treat and very emotional as well. (Thanks for the prayer Lynette and Jazzi) It was something that every teenage girl should have had the opportunity to attend. Also, The Uniquely Yours Tea Room was a treasure to find! This is a Black owned tea house located in Cecil PA owned by Harriet McCray (412-257-8780) www.uniquelyyourstearoom.com The entire decor and setup was breathtaking, cute and tasty little sandwiches and delicious teas! Check out the pics here>>>

The first Black History Festival and Exhibit out at the Clarion Hotel Ballroom on 2-25-06 given by Ms. Laurie J. Wade of LJW Productions was a huge success! Not only did the AK valley area come out and show support, but a few Pittsburghers did as well. I got the pleasure of meeting not only Ms. Wade, but also the son of Willie Thrower, the first Black quarterback in the NFL and the last living Buffalo Soldier Mr. Lloyd Hayden. There is a lot of Black history in the AK Valley! Shout out to Ms Rita and Biko who were vendors at this event. Ms. Wade had a raffle going on and a luncheon that was excellent! Good job on your first festival! Check out the pics>>>

Thanks to our sponsors and everyone that came out to make BlackOut 1.0 a success on 2-22-06! Everyone had a great time. The music situation for our next event will be much better next time as something came up with the music at the last minute, but overall it was a funky fresh 80 s affair. Some people even came with the 80 s look. Vince Simms from WPIX had the Dwayne Wayne Different World look, Leslie Askerneese from The Ultimate Beauty Spa had the flash dance look and of course Soul Sis, Soul MC and PghKeeyootie had the Run DMC vibe going on (pictured)! The Soul Pitt Word Scramble Board was a big hit! We gave out a ton of prizes and even got to watch Soul MC do the Thriller dance during the video. Caution Crew wrecked shop with an old school break dance show and Margot B. performed which started the evening off. And mad Thanks to Pittsburgh Explosion for giving EVERYONE in the place tickets to their last game on Feb 28th! Check out the pics>>>

The Black Chippendales Ladies Night Out event was a WILD one! The crowd was just out of control. A whole party bus of women came up from Washington PA! We were able to get a few pics in (when I remembered to pic up the camera) but we definitely can't show them all. Cause remember - what went on in there, will stay in there! Girls, you had to be there to believe it!
Now check the pics!

The 1st Pittsburgh Hip-Hop film festival (11-16-05) was truly a treat for die hard hip hop fans. Here you see me, Soulsis pictured with DJ Phinesse from Pittsburgh Reggae.com at one of the after parties at Cozumel's. The Film Fest flicks were deep documentaries that really showed the impact that hip hop has on the entire world. From the suffering in Africa over the diamonds (bling) we wear to the streets of Cuba where hip hop is growing new roots. They had an after party for each Film Fest night and my friend DJ Phinesse captured a little something from each night. Check out the pics on PittsburghReggae.com!!!

Over 100 people came out to The Soul Pitt s first Soulful happy hour! Our Evening with the Authors was a huge success! We had authors, agents and publishers in the house along with many Soul Pitt visitors and guests. Thanks to Dowe s for their hospitality and Bonita for organizing such a nice event and the Soul Pitt Crew (Jayne, Freddie, Diane, Lisa, Nikki) for helping out and to all that participated. Thanks to New Pgh Courier for the papers & Ms. Portis for The Black Business Directories. Everyone has been asking when are we doing it again. Well, if you re an author, agent or publisher, please email writers@thesoulpitt.com get on our list for next time. In the meantime, check out the pics!>>>

The Ebony Fashion Fair Show on Oct 25th 2005 at the Byham was HOT! Pictured you see the Sepia Red Hat Divas who were in the house - Ms Dean and her crew. Mr. Muhammad of 360 Entertainment, Soul Pitt winner Karen Beatty, Leslie of the Ultimate Beauty Spa, Brenda Waters, Corporate Planners, World of Serenity, The New Pgh Courier, YWCA, Sista GeAnita and many more were in the house as well. Pittsburgh really turned out for this event.
The show was FABULOUS!
Here are the pics if you missed it>>>

Soul Pitt night on Sun Sept 25th 2005 at the City Theatre for the Crown s play had a huge turnout. The ladies looked absolutely beautiful in their crowns! The Soul Pitt staff: Paulette, Bonita, Kim and SoulSis and also Denise Norris of Corporate planners were in the house. Thanks to Adornments Unlimited who did a giveaway for the two hats you see pictured. Ms Sheila and Ms Ann pose with their hats with Dana Long of AdornmentsUnlimited.com in the middle. Click here for the pics>>>

The Woman Hurting, Healing & Helping Conference, held on Saturday September 24th, was "ALL THAT" IN HIM! Sister Alma Gilliam & the Tabitha Ministry are to honored. The Tabitha Ministry deligently worked to deliver a wonderful work for the Lord with this conference. Rev. Wanda Sawyer of Emmanuel Baptist , Pastor Claudette Dennis of The Lord's Church & Counselor Glenda Moser of Cornerstone TV were simply awesome & equally effective in making God's promise for our lives clear. Check back soon for photos and a full detail report of this most edifying conference.

The Marketing & The Media Event on Monday night September 19th was received with raving success! The public attending a two-hour presentation with this markets top media representative. Individuals representing such dynamic ministries, including Macedonia, Ebenezer & Rodman Street Baptist, to non- profits, including Second Change Inc; small start up entrepreneurs, as well as private business (to many to mention) and even Corporations were present. Thanks to The New Pittsburgh Courier for being such a wonderful & supportive collaborator on this event. Click here to read full event review>>>

Soul Pitt Open Mic at the Improv on Aug 3rd, 2005 hosted by Ty Mac was a great event! We laughed so hard and you know thanks to Dee Lee we'll never look at "iant Eagle" the same or watch the news the same after hearing how Ty Mac does it! Over 200 people came out to show the comedians support. Thanks to Chris Ciardi for putting on a great show. Thanks to all the Soul Pitt volunteers for coming along and the Soul Pitt visitors for showing mad support. Here are a few pics from that night! (FYI, the date on the marquee was incorrect.)

The 2nd Annual African Arts in the Park Festival was off the HOOK! Everyone had a wonderful time. The Vendors were very impressive and had a lot of beautiful handmade ethnic items that were one of a kind. The music made you feel like we were in Jamaica! The Soul Pitt booth had a lot of visitors that were already Soul Pitt regulars and we thank you for stopping by to say what's up! The Soul Pitt will be heading out to Stuebenville OH for their African Arts fest in August! Check out the pics here>>>

The Soul Pitt Booth was a Big hit at the PowerNetworking Conference this past week in Cleveland. Everyone from the Pittsburgh Urban League Young Professionals to Kwame' Jackson stopped by to check us out!

Guest Barmaid (or shall we say "Soulmaid") happy hour was great! People came in Phase III and were treated to Soulful hospitality from the Soul Pitt ladies. Food, fun and Soul Pitt t-shirt giveaways made it a wonderful time. The customers were very nice and tipped well! Thanks to Sonny for having us out there and Lisa for hooking it up - great job SMC! We had a ball and look forward to servin' up a lil' bit of Soul at a location near you! Until we do it again -Check out the pics>>>

Got a bar/club you want us to be guest at or a non-profit that we should consider donating our tips to? - contact us. 412-983-6533 or soulsis@thesoulpitt.com

The Annual Alpha Picnic was just getting started when Soul Pitt ventured to Highland Park on Sunday, May 29th enticed by the smell of the grill. The Alpha Brothers ended their yearly Alpha Weekend with this Free picnic for all. Pictured is Soul Sis with Alpha Brotha John Ayers. Thanks for letting The Soul Pitt get our grub on! Now check out the pics>>>

On May 28th 2005, Kurtis Blow, Special Ed and Tuffy Tuff rocked the Coliseum old school style. If you didn't know "soulsis" used to flow too back in the day under Lady Fresh and in the Misfits in the Attic. So it was like a family reunion that night! Shout out to Salt and DJ Reese (pictured) for putting on a great event and bringing shows like this to the Burgh and giving away tickets on SP! Shout outs to: all my old school crew - Tuffy Tuff, Shawna Webb, DJ Rok and Howie D. Mac, Chip, and others old schoolers like Brotha Ash, Big O and El. R.I.P. to Mel Plowden (He would have loved it). Thanks to Kurtis Blow, Special Ed, Speedy, the Brotha with the hood candy shirt and the rest of the crew for being so cool and putting on a slammin' show. Big thanks to Soul MC (got all the scoop), Dana's Styling Salon, Tiffany and Denise for representing SP strong! Now check out the pics>>>

The Ultimate Beauty Spa Luncheon and Fashion Show on May 7th, 2005 was a wonderful event! The food was excellent, the spa services were relaxing, and the entertainment and fashion show were a hit! Pictured is the Soul Sis (black hat) and Leslie Askerneese, owner of the spa. When you check out the pics, note our Soul Pitt winner Valerie Harper and her sister as they are chauffeured to the event in a limo by PLS Limo. All photos were taken by AP Photography! Check them out here>>>

George Fraser was the Keynote Speaker at the African American Business Summit on March 30, 2005. There were plenty of Movers and Shakers in the house. Pictured are George Fraser along with Diane Daniels of DID & Associates. Shout outs to the Soul Pitt crew for coming out to show support and work our beautiful booth -- check out the pics to see how the Soul Pitt does their thing. Thanks to Murphy & Corporate Planners for helping with the booth and The Ultimate Beauty Spa, The New Pgh Courier, CJ's in the Strip, The Courtyard Marriott and Onyx Magazine for all the goodies and giveaways at our table. Winners of our drawing will be announced in Monday's newsletter. Met a lot of Black folks that were making things happen. Good luck to all! Check the pics>>>

The Soul Pitt went to the Friday Night Fight in Heinz field this past Friday (1/28/05) to check out Rayco "War" Saunders. Congrats to Rayco on defending his title and coming up with another win! Also a sistah by the name of Shakurah Witherspoon (trained by her husband) won her fight as well -- go head girl! Pittsburgh, I know you love our Steelers, but our brothas and sistahs that are doing the boxing thing need your support too. Besides, its a hype atmosphere and if you're a sistah, well let's just say that you'll find a lot of nice looking brothas at the fights (hint hint)... Shoutouts to The Ultimate Beauty Spa, 360Entertainment, Joshua, Karl, Sage, Marja and all the other folks who came to show the fighters some love. Now check out the pics.

Check out the pics of Gene Stovall - LIVE at the CLO Late Night Cabaret last night (Wednesday, January 26) Gene performed a real smooth set with backup band Rain. Don't forget to check out this really nice spot and Stovall's next show on Friday, February 25 at 9:30 & 10:30 pm $10 cover charge at the CLO Late Night Cabaret. Shout out to those that came out who saw it on The Soul Pitt & support our local musicians.
Click here for pics

Stunt 101 by DJ r.Yeah!
It was a bling bing affair with a lot of fly ladies. Four local groups opened up for Lloyd Banks at Dowe's on Jan 12th. One Homewood rap group on panama records all came in furs! Lloyd Banks is developing into a good act -- holding his own. The crowd was very pleased. There was plenty of security and VIP was extra special. Would love to see more rap groups at Dowe's.

Shout out to Joe Beast (rap artist from Pittsburgh on Dre's Aftermath label) and Dyce. Every neighborhood was represented. Check out the Pics!

Bounce
Rock, skate
Roll, bounce
Rock, skate
Roll, bounce -- If you're down with the old school, you can feel me on that. They gave me the beat up skates with the mixed matched laces, but that's ok -- I still got my skate on! Everyone there seemed to have a ball and Sly Jock kept the old school (and some new school) flowin' all night till 5am. I know I am not the best photographer, and especially with people flying past me at high speeds & it's dark, but you should get the idea -- we had a ball! They did backwards, couples, line dancing, fast skate, and you name it. (Ask Lisa from The Soul Pitt if her behind is sore when you see her). Shout out to the winner Norris (holding up the SP sign sitting with his daughter on the bench) who won the 2 tickets & to Leslie "Spa Lady" and Lisa "SoulMC" for hanging until 5am! Check out the pics here

Here's Bonita (right), Coordinator of The Soul Pitt's Writers Block, with a Whispers concert goer at the Hilton on Jan 1, 2005. Pittsburgh came out in full force and supported this event put on by Groove Productions with a Sellout show! The people in the house were clean -- sporting their silk, leather, suede and sharp looking couples with matching outfits. Check out the pics that were taken by Bonita and Leslie "SPE" here.

The Soul Pitt crew (and some message board friends like pgh_keeyootie) had a ball at CJ's in the Strip last night (Tuesday, Dec 28th) for their Soulful Karaoke night with DJ R.Yeah! It was a mature crowd (25 and up), drama free and a lot of Soulful Fun! If you LOVE karaoke and want to sing your favorite R&B tunes, then this is the place to be on Tuesday nights starting at 8pm. No Cover, stiff drinks, free parking and a mature 25 and up crowd. Besides,this Karaoke night is hosted by The Soul Pitt's own Soul Sis!
Don't take our word for it -- look at the pics. Join us next & every Tuesday for Karaoke with Soul with DJ R.Yeah! and host Soul Sis from The Soul Pitt.

A NEW Soulful SPOT for the 30 and up crowd! It's called CJ's and it's in the strip across from Art's Tavern. This is the spot for Live Entertainment and Food. They serve a full dinner from 4pm to 10pm and are open from 4pm to 2am Mon - Sat. CJ's offers R&B & Jazz entertainment, FREE lighted parking lot, No Cover, Mature 30 and up crowd (They check ID), Karaoke night every Tuesday, DJ's on Monday & Wednesday. They are also having a New Year's Eve Celebration -- 1 price for a couple includes a full course meal for 2, Live Entertainment, Open bar from 9pm to 11am, Champagne Toast, Party Favors and Fun! Proper ID and dress code is enforced at CJ's. I was there last night as they were putting the finishing touches on the place and preparing for their Grand opening this Saturday, Dec 18th with The Kevin Howard Band performing. And by the way, it's owned by a SISTAH!
Check out the pics here