(run-time 60 minutes)

An Evening of Oakland Storytelling features a unique program of live Oakland-related stories supported by Storyburgh. This year’s event also features a special musical performance by Sierra Sellers.

Serving as OPDC’s signature fundraiser, An Evening of Oakland Storytelling brings together a diverse mix of residents and community partners who share our passion for equitable opportunities and development in Oakland. We are proud to serve one of Pittsburgh’s most vibrant neighborhoods for the 40th year and are grateful to work alongside an amazing community of neighbors, partners, and volunteers.

Sierra Sellers is a singer/songwriter from Pittsburgh, PA. Before quarantine, Sellers released her second EP, Ophelia, where she shared her experiences on the street in South Oakland. Sellers also had a packed performance schedule with her band, having just returned from Chicago before we were all told to stay home. She looks up to neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and D’Angelo, in addition to newer soul artists like Anderson.Paak.

Teireik (Ty) Williams was born and raised in South Oakland on Frazier St. He is a journalist and artist/activist working at the intersections of technology and community engagement with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab. He is a graduate of Penn State University, where he studied Print and Digital Journalism. Ty currently holds the title Community Research Journalist, working closely with data scientists and engineers to bridge quantitative and qualitative data to create expansive narratives. He is the founder of the Trap Panther Party, a community organization that serves the needs of vulnerable populations across the city through youth art programs and artist services. Ty runs a youth program in South Oakland with his colleagues and is an active member of the organizing community to secure affordable housing and preservation of cultural community assets.

Laura Zurowski has lived in three "P" cities: Providence, Poughkeepsie, and Pittsburgh. Her project, Mis.Steps: Our Missed Connections with Pittsburgh's City Steps, attempts to recreate the journey undertaken nearly 20 years ago by Bob Regan in his books The Steps of Pittsburgh: Portrait of a City and Pittsburgh Steps, and features Polaroids and short stories inspired by Pittsburgh's 739 public stairways. Laura began publishing her journey through the city's stairs in July 2017, and as of June 2020, has photographed and written about 450 stairways - solidly surpassing the halfway mark!

Oakland Planning and Development Corporation provides quality rental housing to low-income neighbors and affordable housing to new home buyers, financial and career development for residents, after-school enrichment for high school students, and more.

The Show Must Go On(line) is made possible thanks to generous support from the Benter Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Opportunity Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and an Anonymous Foundation.