Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Eva Sinakas, 7, cranks a water pump at Old Economy Village in Ambridge on the opening day of Sweetwater Art Center's weeklong summer camp at Old Economy. The camp is listed in the United Way's Summer Camp Guide, now online. Click photo for larger image.

A charette organized by the Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Mellon University's School of Architecture will be held in the museum's Hall of Sculpture beginning tomorrow and culminating in a discussion Saturday. The public is invited to follow the teams at work during the week and to participate in the weekend discussion.

In a "brainstorming design studio," teams comprising an architect, two CMU architecture students and three Pittsburgh-area high school students will each design two structures for a specific Oakland site.

Participating architects include Matthew Fineout, AIA, principal of EDGE studio; Kevin Gannon, AIA, LEED AP, principal of Davis Gardner Gannon Pope (dggp) Architecture; Jennifer Lucchino, AIA, principal, inter*ARCHITECTURE; Raymund Ryan, curator of architecture, Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architectural Center; and Spike Wolff, designer and adjunct professor of architecture, CMU.

The high school students are from Moon Area, Taylor Allderdice, Pine-Richland, Avonworth, West Allegheny and Pittsburgh Central Catholic.

Architects Steven Lee and Tim Williams of Los Angeles-based Michael Maltzan Architecture will lead the charette. On Saturday Michael Maltzan will critique the teams. Project presentations will follow at 3:30 p.m. and be discussed by Maltzan; Laura Lee, chair, CMU School of Architecture; Lisa Schroeder, executive director, Riverlife Task Force; and Bob Reppe, zoning administrator, City of Pittsburgh Department of Planning. Refreshments will be served.

The charette is presented in conjunction with "Michael Maltzan: Alternate Ground," an exhibition of the firm's work, in the Heinz Architectural Center.

For information, call 412-622-3131.

(Mary Thomas)

Memorial fiber fest

A "Fiberfest Weekend" organized by The Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh will be held May 27-29 at Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington, to honor the memory of Louetta Kambic. The registration deadline is tomorrow.

Kambic, who was president of the Fiberarts Guild, died in September of a brain aneurism. She taught weaving and shibori at Touchstone and enjoyed sharing the rustic campus with her family.

Activities, appropriate to beginners as well as to skilled fiber artists, will include demonstrations, informal workshops in a variety of techniques, music, campfire activities and hiking. The weekend begins at 1 p.m. May 27 and concludes with lunch May 29, and participants may attend all or part of it.

For information or to register, contact Touchstone at 1-800-721-0177 or www.touchstonecrafts.com.

(Mary Thomas)

New Sprout murals

The 2005 Sprout Public Art Preliminary Design Exhibition will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Artists Image Resource, 518 Foreland St., North Side. Mural designs by 29 local artists competing for eight new community mural sites will be displayed.

Participating communities are Carnegie (301 West Main St.), Central North Side (1300 Federal St.), Downtown (Smithfield Street and Strawberry Way), East Liberty (5880 Centre Ave.), Hazelwood (Second Avenue and Elizabeth Street), Homewood Brushton (7340 Frankstown Ave.), Oakland (3609 Forbes Ave.) and South Side (2341 East Carson St.).

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-325-0646.

(Mary Thomas)

Guide to summer camps

The United Way of Allegheny County's 2005 Summer Camp Guide is now online at www.unitedwaypittsburgh.org.

The free 39-page guide covers more than 80 camps serving toddlers to teens in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. That's fewer than half the number on last year's list, but Anne Fogoros of the United Way said the site is constantly being updated.

"This year fewer camps responded early, but we are adding them as they call us," Fogoros said. "Especially with smaller neighborhood programs, some may not know until closer to summer whether they'll have the dollars to open."

Categories include day programs and overnight, visual and performing arts, language, religion, technology, academic, leadership and sports. Many offer extended hours for children of working parents.

United Way says the camp guide is its most popular tool, with more than 40,000 downloads since 2002. To access the guide, users must create a subscriber account, but there is no cost and all information is kept confidential.

Fogoros said that if parents don't see what they're looking for, they should check back for periodic updates. Or they may send an e-mail to helpconnections@uwac.org.

(Sally Kalson)

Operetta highlights

Fans of operetta may want to check out the Budapest Operetta Theater at the Byham Theater May 16 at 8 p.m. The visiting troupe will combine highlights of Strauss' "Die Fledermaus," Lehar's "Merry Widow" and Kalman's "The Czardas Princess" for an evening show called "Vienna-Budapest-Paris." Call 412-456-6666 for tickets and more info.

(Andrew Druckenbrod)

We need you

Have a good or best friend of another race? The Post-Gazette is interested in talking with sets of friends who are of different races for a future story. If you and a friend are interested, contact PG Staff Writer L.A. Johnson at Ljohnson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3903. Be sure to leave your name and your daytime phone number.

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Town talkers

Friday: Harry Fogarty "Fundamentals (Isms!): The Seven Deadly Sins: True Faith and Theocracy." Pittsburgh Jung Society Lectures, Beckwith Lecture Room, Buhl Hall, Chatham College, Shadyside. 8 p.m. $8-$12. 412-682-8172, ext. 3.

Friday: Charles Thomas Cayce, "God is Still Speaking." St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Highland Park, 8 p.m., Free. 412-661-1245.

Sunday: Todd Johnson, a native American interpreter, will pose as "Ghost in the Head," an 18th-century Huron Indian, and lead a cultural discussion. Woodville Plantation Speaker Series, Route 50, Kirwan Heights, 1:30 p.m., free. 412-221-0348.

Sunday: "Italian Women in the Kitchen," Italians in Monessen Lecture Series, Monessen Heritage Museum, Monessen, 1 p.m. free. 724-684-8460.

If you have an interesting speaker you would like to tell us about, send us a fax at 412-263-1313 or e-mail us magazine@post-gazette.com.

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A glance at events in and around town.

Bobby Bare performs at Club Cafe, 56 S. 12th St., at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $10 advance, $12 at door.; 412-323-1919.