'Coal Queens' on DVD

"The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania," winner of the 2006 Heartland Film Festival Award and Best Documentary at the 2006 Renaissance Film Festival, will be released on DVD Dec. 19.

The documentary, produced by Patricia Heaton ("Everybody Loves Raymond") and her husband, David Hunt, of FourBoys Films, documents the odyssey of actress Sarah Rush, who grew up in a small mining town near Carmichaels, Greene County, that prides itself on its Coal Queens Pageant and Festival. Touching upon the lives of the contestants and their community, the film follows Rush back to her roots as a 16-year old pageant winner and introduces the 14 young ladies vying for the crown in 2003.

The DVD, released by Genius Products/IFC Films, will cost $24.95. For more on the film, read the Post-Gazette's coverage at www.post-gazette.com/pg/06162/696766-254.stm.

Academy earns grant

The Academy of the South Side, which considers itself Pittsburgh's first "alternative oil painting school," has received a $2,500 grant from the Sprout Fund's Seed Award Program.

Based out of the Brew House artist lofts at 2100 Mary St., The Academy offers instruction in traditional and cutting-edge oil painting techniques for all ages and experience levels.

The Sprout Fund grant will enable the school to launch a full class schedule beginning in spring 2007. Among the offerings will be a life drawing class, a portrait oil painting class and a costumed model oil painting class. Each session will be held one day a week for eight weeks, running from March until May.

For more information, visit www. academyofthesouthside.com.

Toys and trains

The Art of Toys: Holiday Toy and Train Exhibition at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art is open for business, running through Jan. 28.

This year's exhibition makes a connection between the museum's fine art and toy collections. Toys, paintings, sculpture and folk art will be arranged in vignettes reflecting different themes, including the circus, children at play, sailing and transportation.

The G-gauge train layout measures 28 feet in diameter, depicting a landscape setting reminiscent of Western Pennsylvania with such past and present landmarks such as the Grandview Ship Hotel, the Greensburg Train Station, the Coffee Pot Cafe and the George Westinghouse Bridge.

Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays (till 9 p.m. on Thursdays). For more information, visit www.wmuseumaa.org or call 724-837-1500.

Shaler show

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra embarks on a tour -- well, a mini-tour -- when it ventures into the North Hills on Dec. 10 to perform a holiday-inspired program at Shaler Area Intermediate School.

Harvey Felder, music director of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, will lead a program that includes selections from "The Nutcracker," a Christmas Sing-Along and the Prelude from "Hansel and Gretel."

Soprano Rebecca Turner, associate professor of Voice at West Virginia University, will join the musicians on stage to perform "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi and the Christmas song "O Holy Night."

Proceeds from the concert, which begins that day at 2:30 p.m., will benefit the Performing Arts Alliance of the Shaler Area. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased by calling 412-486-1433.