Lights! Glamour! Action!

When Laurie Streiner, Event Director for Bistro To Go, directs one of Pittsburgh’s most prestigious events, she can’t overlook a single detail. 

On March 14, the Pittsburgh Film Office (PFO) held its 26^th annual signature fundraising gala, Lights! Glamour! Action! 

The sold-out, red-carpet event—sponsored by Highmark Blue Cross, Blue Shield—is a night glittering with around 600 attendees, including local politicians, business leaders and Hollywood stars. And, of course, Pittsburghers who cherish the chance to support PFO’s efforts. This year’s gala featured Mayor of Kingstown star Jeremy Renner as well as Pittsburgh’s new mayor, Corey O’Connor.

“It really is a celebration, and a continued education, of the value of the film office to this region,” says Streiner. Proceeds from the night go to PFO’s mission to boost the region’s economy through film, television and commercial productions. Since PFO’s founding in 1990, they have brought 215 films and $2.5 billion worth of economic impact to the region. 

For Streiner, everything from room layouts to linens, timing to entertainment matters in “making a very elevated event.”

When it comes to food, she says, that’s where Bistro To Go shines. It’s not even just the spectacular food itself, planned by Bistro Found and Chef Nikki Heckman and Chef Kenny Cumberland, which includes appetizers, main courses and desserts. It’s the presentation, too. 

At the start of the night, white trays of grab-and-go appetizers such as cones of ahi tuna, mini beef wellington and crab poppers, line shelves on either end of the venue. Later in the night, the team fills the shelves with grab-and-go desserts, including a variety of mousse cups and mini bundt cakes from regional bakery Nothing Bundt Cakes. 

This year also featured one of the simplest of treats: Hershey bars in celebration of the upcoming biographical drama about Milton Hershey—filmed in Pittsburgh, of course.

In between appetizers and desserts, “there were no chafers in the room,” says Streiner, a feat unto itself in an event that large. Rather, chefs at stations served foods like pasta fresh from cast iron woks and scallops pan seared on site.

Streiner says, “What we try to do in that kind of elevated event as Bistro is to make a ‘Wow’ experience for people,” Streiner says. “Bistro’s contribution to that has always been very generous and every year outdoes itself from the previous year.”

One of the highlights of the night is a high-profile silent auction with luxury getaways, VIP concert tickets and chef’s table dinners, among others, up for bid. Another favorite is the chance to film simple actions on a greenscreen to later be edited into a movie. “It’s a riot,” Streiner says. “The guests just go nuts.”