BOLD VENTURES July 2026
Western Pennsylvania Blind Outdoor Leisure Development
July’s BOLD Ventures is sponsored by Karen Seligman, BOLD’s Recording Secretary. Karen, thanks for keeping track of our meetings and your generosity!
Well, we’ve made it, our country, 250 years! It is an amazing number! Of course, there have been bumps along the way, but I am grateful to have a country like ours that has lasted this long! Enjoy the celebration and the rest of July!
JULY CALENDAR
Monday, July 6, from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm, Mall Walking at the Monroeville Mall. Cost is free. Lunch is on your own at the food court. (Yes it is true, mall walking has moved from Tuesdays to Mondays.) Sighted guides and visually impaired walkers sign up by noon the Monday prior to the walk by calling Peggy at 412-683-6070 or text/call her at 412-977-2351. To sign up for walking on July 6, contact Peggy by noon Monday, June 29. Be sure to sign up so that if there is any change or cancellation for mall walking, you will get the information. (Note, for mall walking to occur we need a minimum of four mall walkers.) There will be no second walk in July due to the Parkway East bridge construction project.
Monday, July 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Board Meeting in-person at Western PA School for Blind Children, 250 N. Bellefield Avenue, Oakland. Any non-board Members who want to attend must call Carol at 484-318-9145 by Saturday, July 4.
Saturday, July 11, from 9 to 11 am, Water Fun on North Park Lake. Meet at the North Park boathouse 10301 Pearce Mill Road, Allison Park, 15101. Cost is $10. Choose between paddle boarding, kayaking, or canoeing. There will be two paddle boats, solo kayaks, tandem kayaks, canoes, and stand up paddleboards available. We will have extra help for BOLD Ones who want to use a stand-up paddle board. For all of the Water fun, sign up with Steph by Wednesday July 1 at 8 pm by calling or texting 412-200-8092. Please let Steph know if you would like to use a stand-up paddleboard.
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 14 and 15, from 8 to 9:30 pm, Virtual Card/Board/Dice Games setup and training, sponsored by SE Wisconsin BOLD. Would you like to learn how to play card games and familiar board games with other BOLD Ones or anybody in the world? Since 2009, RS Games has developed online board, card, and dice games that are accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. Over 20 games are currently available including Monopoly, Uno, Blackjack, Yahtzee, Farkle and Scrabble. Rachel and Joel Ramos of SE Wisconsin BOLD are graciously offering to take time to help you get set up and learn the basics of navigating the game system. It’s easy and they can quickly get you set up with a free RS Games account and get you familiar with the game environment. To sign up for training call Rachael or Joel at 904-335-7880.
Thursday, July 16, from 8 to 9:30 pm, SE Wisconsin BOLD Virtual Card/Board/Dice RS Games Night. No cost. If you need training or help setting up your RS game account, see the Calendar item for July 14 and 15. No reservation needed for this game night, but to get information for the online game room for you to join, call Rachael at 904-335-7880.
Sunday, July 19, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, tandem biking on the Gap Trail, meet at West Newton Bicycle Shop, 106 West Main St, West Newton, PA, 15089. The cost is free for the ride and a hoagie from Fox’s Pizza which is across the road from the bike shop. We need some sighted bikers to captain the tandem bikes and provide rides to and from the trailhead. Scotto will be there early to give tips and instructions for being a tandem captain and pair up captains and stokers. We will provide tandem bikes. However, if you know of a tandem, we can use please let us know about it. Everyone make your reservations by 9 pm Sunday July 12 and indicate if you are staying for lunch. To make your reservation, or ask questions, sighted captains contact Scotto at scottog@yahoo.com; visually impaired stokers contact Maggi at 412-613-8592 or mio528@comcast.net.
Wednesday, July 22, from 7 to 9:30 pm, SE Wisconsin BOLD virtual bingo, for all the sign-up information, leave a voicemail or text Tammi at 412-951-6528 or email at tswiantek@comcast.net. Good Luck!
Thursday, July 23 from 4 to 7 pm, BOLD Jeni’s Ice Cream Fundraiser. 173 Bakery Square Blvd, 15206. Gather all of your friends and family and come eat ice cream at Jeni’s between 4 and 7 pm. During that time the more people you can bring, the more funds will be raised for BOLD because from 4 to 7 pm 25% of the Jeni’s at Bakery Square sales will go to BOLD. Jeni’s has an incredible selection of flavors such as Strawberry Buttermilk, Frosted Sugar Cookie, and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. If you would like to see the list of flavors and learn about Jeni’s go to www.jenis.com. Come support BOLD and enjoy yummy ice cream! (By the way for speech output users, Jeni’s is actually pronounced Jenny’s.)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, August 1, from 6 to 8 pm, Roller Skating, Schenley outdoor Skating Rink 10341 Overlook Drive Near, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Cost $10. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced skater or you haven’t been skating for a long time, come join us for some fun! When you make your reservation, be sure to include your shoe size so that the correct size of skates will be waiting for you. Make your reservation with Hana by 8 pm Sunday, July 26, by calling or texting 412-818-1489.
Sunday, August 23, from 8:30 am to 2 pm, Water Skiing on the Allegheny River, 101 Arch Street, Verona, 15147. There is no cost thanks to the generosity of our host Golden Triangle Water Ski Club (GTWSC), who will provide this exciting water skiing experience and picnic lunch for members of BOLD and Three Rivers Adaptive Sports (TRAS). Everyone will meet at the Steel City Rowing Club boathouse and launch at 8:30 am. Skiers and volunteers will be shuttled to the GTWSC Nine Mile Island facility a short pontoon boat ride away on the Allegheny River. Skiers will ride the river from 9:00 am until noon, followed by a picnic lunch during which they can enjoy good food, socialize and recap the day’s fun! If you like, bring water and a snack. If you are visually impaired and also have a physical disability, you could have the opportunity to use special equipment from TRAS, that will enable you to water ski while sitting. To use their equipment, you must complete their registration form which can be found on the TRAS website and submit it by August 12. You also need to call Mark at TRAS at 412-848-8896 or email mark4tras@comcast.net by August 12 or as soon as possible so they can get the correct equipment for you from storage. Reservations with BOLD are due by 9 pm on August 12 with Nancy by calling 412-561-3972.
More Tandem Dates:
Saturday, August 15
Sunday, September 13
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Anyone interested in getting information about the availability of tickets for the Pittsburgh Symphony or chamber music concerts, please call Tony at 412-310-2508 or email tony.diana.rock@gmail.com.
BOLD BITS
My BOLD Take, By Peggy Walsh Ray’s picnic on June 14 at Highland Park was great fun! The weather stayed beautiful, and quite a few BOLD-sters were there. The outdoor games were corn hole, bocci and teaball. There were two tables of folks playing Screw Your Neighbor. The winnings were well distributed; players generally won one to three games. Snacks & drinks were plentiful. The catered picnic dinner was generous, delicious & with a variety of choices. After dessert leftovers were distributed, resulting in everybody heading home with a "care package.” Many thanks to Ray & Cyndee Jablonowski who were great hosts for this early-summer party, and thanks to the several willing, helpful volunteers from the Catholic Alumni Club for a good time. As we left, storm clouds started threatening - then decided to hold off till everybody got home safely. What a miracle end to a magical day!
Congratulations to the team of BOLD members Dan Cornell, Carol Lubecki, and Catherine Samuel, who beginning on June 15 completed a six-day 360.5 mile bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington DC! The weather was good with the exception of an early morning storm that delayed the start of the ride for one day. The group stopped in Connellsville and Rockwood PA, Cumberland and Hancock MD, and Harpers Ferry WV before going on to DC. Carol says that “all in all it was a great time!” The team would like to thank their friends from PA Center for Adaptive Sports in Philadelphia for partnering with them on the trip, and they would also like to thank Scotto Gray for making sure the tandem bikes were in good shape for the ride.
Happy July Birthday to: Bonnie Newland, and anyone else celebrating a July birthday!
Be a BOLD Ventures Sponsor: As you probably know, BOLD prides itself on the fact that our monthly newsletter, BOLD Ventures, is made available to our members in the format of their choice—email, braille, print, and large print. But doing this involves various costs. You could help defray some of the cost by being a BOLD Ventures sponsor for a month. Your willingness to help is much appreciated. We have two levels of sponsorship. For $75 you can have your name, and a short greeting and a color picture of your choice in BOLD Ventures. You can either supply the picture or request one. If you donate $50, you can have your name and a short greeting of your choice in our newsletter. For more information and to set up your sponsorship, contact Debby at 412-742-4288 or dm-hill@comcast.net.
NEWSLETTER RECORDING:
Thanks to the good work of Marty Mathews, anyone can hear a recording of this newsletter by calling 401-252-0029 Access Code: 265365#.
CONTACT US
WPA BOLD
PO Box 10307
Pittsburgh, PA 15234
Donate: Donate
Email: boldwpa@gmail.com
Website: www.wpabold.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wpabold
Editors: Debby Hill & friends
