A splendid time in the Steel City
The dust has settled in Pittsburgh from the confluence of AAN delegates, Harley enthusiasts, radical lawyers and celebrity golfers who descended on the city last weekend.
“We can’t speak for the others, but we alternative newspaper types were pleasantly surprised by the huge gap between the Steel City’s gritty reputation and the reality of its vibrancy and beauty,” says Executive Director Richard Karpel.
For the AAN convention, here are some enlightening numbers to consider:
Full attendance = 446, including speakers and Pittsburgh City Paper staff
Paid attendance = 379
Full and paid attendance last year in Madison = 427 and 346
Exhibitors exhibiting = 38
Number of member papers the AAN Board voted not to kick out = 2
New members admitted = 7
Members speaking on behalf of Maui Time Weekly’s admission = 2 (Tim Redmond of the San Francisco Bay Guardian and Patty Calhoun of New Times’ Westword)
Previous occasions on which New Times and the Bay Guardian concurred = 0 documented
Board members elected or re-elected = 9
Contested Board seats = 0
Smarties tossed by Neal Pollack to New Times’ Tom Francis and Andy Van de Voorde = 22
Words that ACLU’s Timothy Edgar says right-wing anti-Patriot Act coalition members dread = 4 (“Attorney General Hillary Clinton”)
Physical confrontations between Cleveland AAN competitors = 2
Tickets sold to AAN delegates for Pirates-Red Sox game at PNC Park = 128
Number of blocks from PNC Park to after-party at the Warhol = 3
Parties held in Lawrenceville neighborhood in conjunction with indescribable local art “happenings” = 2
Pierogies made by the church ladies (and men) of Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Carnegie, Pa., for Hothouse ’03 = 1,200
Sports celebrities spotted in Pittsburgh Hilton = 4 (Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Emmitt Smith, Stan Mikita)
More information on some of these topics, including board elections, admissions, parties, and the Alternative Newsweekly Awards, is available on aan.org.
Also read more about the convention by downloading PDF copies of the convention’s Daily Planet newsletters: Thursday, June 5, p. 1; Thursday, June 5, p. 2; Friday, June 6; Saturday, June 7.
