Fill Up On Dessert: Shop Local with a Sweet Twist in Lawrenceville this December
Beginning on Friday, December 1 and continuing through Sunday, December 3, Lawrenceville’s business district becomes a mile and a half long cookie table. Celebrate the perfect marriage of locally owned business and their favorite homemade cookies. Bring holiday gift lists and check ‘em twice; there will be plenty of ground to cover across the 53 participating shops, restaurants and cafes in this year’s The Joy of Cookies: Cookie Tour 2017.
The cookie tour is a Lawrenceville institution and holiday tradition. The three-day tour also includes a tree lighting ceremony and visit from Santa at the Cookie Mall on December 2. The Cookie Tour had its beginnings as a holiday open house at Jay Design Soaps & Gifts in 1997, and with community involvement and holiday spirit, grew to include more than a dozen businesses. The final ingredients, cookies, were added in 2000.
Now, the Cookie Tour has become an anticipated event that has helped the Lawrenceville business district grow economically and attract new visitors. Over 6,000 attendees are expected this year that will span from the 5500 block of Butler Street to parts of Penn Avenue and 34th Street. Forty different businesses will offer free sample size cookies and will keep their own hours, but generally stores are open between 10am and 6pm each day of the tour (Sunday from 10am to 5pm). 13 Take-A-Break stops will be open for an opportunity to rest and refuel with lunch, a cocktail or a coffee.
One lucky visitor can win a gift basket with local goodies after visiting all districts throughout the tour. Tag a cookie stop and take-a-break on Penn Avenue and Lower, Central, and Upper Lawrenceville using #cookietour2017 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to enter. The winner will be randomly selected.
Thanks to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh UPMC, on Dec. 2, two wheelchair accessible trolleys (no reindeer needed) will be available transport guests through Butler Street and Penn Avenue. Look for the red trolley stop signs to hitch a ride.
Download a copy of the cookie crawl map at lvpgh.com/cookietour or look out for hard copies available through Visit Pittsburgh, select downtown hotels and universities, and retail locations in surrounding neighborhoods.
For more information on this holiday tradition including Light Up Lawrenceville and The Cookie Mall, visit lvpgh.com/cookietour and like @lvpghcookietour on Facebook. This event was made possible by Children’s Hospital of UPMC, Standard Bank, Arsenal 201, Lifespace Pittsburgh, EcoCraft Homes, R Kyndall Development Group, Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Bay 41, and The Foundry at 41st.
