Pitt Nationality Rooms Committees to Decorate Rooms For the Holidays Nov. 13

PITTSBURGH––Nearly 100 people representing various ethnic backgrounds will decorate the University of Pittsburgh's 26 Nationality Rooms in traditional holiday splendor beginning at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13.

Each year, the rooms, which encircle the Cathedral of Learning's Commons Room, are trimmed to reflect their ethnic customs, including such decorations as Lithuanian geometric straw ornaments, Polish paper cutouts, German gingerbread cookies, a French crèche with les petits santons de provence, and a hand-carved Austrian manger scene.

Tours of the transformed rooms will run from Nov. 14 through Jan 14, with guides adapting their daily presentations to include descriptions of holiday traditions celebrated throughout the world. The "Holiday Open House," an annual event to showcase the decorated rooms, is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 5 in the Commons Room.

From Nov. 14 through Dec. 23 and Jan. 2 through Jan. 14, rooms will be open Monday through Friday at 9 a.m., Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and Sunday at 11 a.m., with the last tour starting each day at 2:30 p.m. An exception is Friday, Nov. 26, with rooms opening at 11 a.m. From Dec. 26 through Dec. 30, the rooms will be open at 11 a.m., with the last tour beginning at 2:30 p.m. The rooms are closed Dec. 24, 25, 31, and Jan. 1.

Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens, and 50 cents for children ages

8 to 18. Children under 8 are admitted free. For more information, call

412-624-6000.

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11/9/04 /blg