Nationality Rooms Holiday Open House

Each December the University of Pittsburgh's Nationality and Heritage Room Committees welcome neighbors into the Cathedral of Learning for an afternoon open house. The classrooms are decorated for the season, and guests can try traditional crafts and cultural demonstrations while learning about each room, its committee and the ethnic community and traditions it represents. In the Cathedral of Learning Commons, visitors enjoy traditional treats, world and holiday music, and handcrafted and cultural wares from across the rooms. The Quo Vadis student guides, founded in 1944, lead tours of the rooms for nearly 30,000 visitors each year.

Our take: Come hungry, since the Commons sells traditional treats from the rooms' communities alongside the craft tables.