Worth a Second
August 2026
Greetings!
Usually, we try not to flood your inbox with too many messages in one month, but we had so much to share about our summer that we thought it best to save the announcements for another day. Brittany & I have a lot of exciting things planned for this next season, & we sincerely hope you will consider attending at least one of our events, especially if you have not been to The COVE Art Center in a while.
Attention!
Wherever you see the text indented like this, the content of that paragraph is directed toward new readers. If you are new to NoCo, this is for you! Those who have been around for a while can skip the program explanations.
Afterschool
We typically start these newsletters with an update on Afterschool activity, & then we move on to adult programming. The rest of this article is full of ways for you to get involved, so don’t skip over a single section!
Wisdom Lit. 101
The COVE Afterschool will return the Tuesday after Labor Day! This school year, we will focus our attention on the Book of Proverbs, a collection of sayings attributed to one of Israel’s greatest rulers, King Solomon. The overarching theme of Proverbs is this: Trusting in God is wisdom & yields a fulfilled life, while distrusting God is foolish & leads to death.
Please pray that our students will gain a deeper understanding of what it means to trust in the Lord & to apply the wisdom they learn from Proverbs to their own lives. Look out for future newsletters & keep checking social media to see what artwork comes out of these lessons throughout the year!
🔔 Afterschool runs from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Monday - Thursday, starting Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Help us bring the Word of God to life for our students when you contribute $10 for a Proverbs Journal!
Brittany messaged Alabaster & got a huge discount on these particular books (originally $29.99!). She chose them for their margins & because the NLT is easier for our students to understand.
Tap the link to donate & type “Proverbs” in the space provided once you’ve chosen your amount.
Care Packages
From the beginning of September through the end of May, our students produce quite a collection of artwork. As you can imagine, we go through endless amounts of paper, paints, & other materials! Please check out our Amazon wishlist & consider sending snacks or supplies to get us through the school year!
A Leader Worth Following
“When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed & helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”
Brittany & I continue to pray each year that God will send the right folks to help with Afterschool. Our students need good leaders & role models. Volunteering for Afterschool is about consistently showing up once a week & being present. Sometimes leading might mean walking a student through basic art instruction, but more often than not, it looks like engaging in conversation, taking a genuine interest in our kids’ lives, & loving them like Jesus.
We are looking for volunteers who know they are called to lead in youth programming & are ready to commit four hours of their time each week to Afterschool. If you live in Pittsburgh, love the arts, & have a heart for kids, we’d be delighted to talk with you about volunteering. Please message us with interest, & we’ll schedule a meeting!
Just For You
The Gold Thread
“The Gold Thread” is what we call our monthly art gallery at The COVE. Every first Friday of the month, we hold an opening reception for the featured artist with live music & a selection of light refreshments for our guests. The purpose of this gallery is twofold: We support emerging artists by giving them a platform to share their work with the public, & they commit to teaching an hour of art instruction during Afterschool or Open Studios. This creates a “thread” of connection between the artists within the NoCo community & invites others to be a part.
If you live in the Pittsburgh area, we would love to see you at The COVE for one of our upcoming art galleries. We have an incredible lineup planned for the rest of 2026, beginning with mixed media artist Sophia Cardillo (Bide With), whose work will be on display during the month of September. The opening reception will take place on Friday, September 4, & will include live music by Heather Daniel! Come to support the artists, meet our team, & maybe even take home a new piece of art with you at the end of the night!
🔔 The Gold Thread runs from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm every first Friday of the month.
Open Studios
Making time to create is a challenge. With so many important responsibilities to manage, bills to pay, & endless to-do lists we struggle to complete, it often feels like a luxury we can’t afford. That’s why we keep inviting you to Open Studios. You’re not required to plan your visit, stay for a certain length of time, or bring anything with you. We provide the space, the supplies, the instruction, & the caffeine to bring your creative ideas to life, alongside a supportive community of artists just like you.
On Saturday, September 12, our Gold Thread artist Sophia Cardillo will be teaching a workshop on collaging with quilt squares. If you have an interest in collage, mixed media, or fiber arts, this will be a great opportunity to create with other enthusiasts. If you’ve never had an interest in any of those things, we challenge you to come anyway, keep an open mind, & expect to have tons of fun (because you most certainly will).
🔔 Open Studios runs from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm every second Saturday of the month.
NoCo Fest 2026
The Novelty Collective Music & Arts Festival is officially on the calendar for November 20 & November 21. This is our tenth annual festival, & we have huge expectations considering it keeps getting better & better each year. If you can’t make another NoCo event for the rest of 2026, we strongly urge you to take the time off now & move some things around to attend. We have a wealth of content highlighting previous festivals on the NoCo Fest page. Check it out!
NoCo Fest is our biggest event of the year at The COVE Art Center. Dozens of bands, poets, singer-songwriters, artists, & artisans from all over Pittsburgh & across the US, from coast to coast, travel here to participate. A traditional church space with stained glass windows & high ceilings is transformed into a colorful art market & an atmospheric music venue. NoCo Fest is a place where friends reunite, whole families feel welcome, & people from all over the city come to support the arts. We are especially excited to platform independent makers & emerging artists. Year after year, NoCo Fest has been a springboard to launch several fledgling careers in creative fields.
🔔 NoCo Fest runs from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm on Friday, November 20, & 11:00 am - 9:00 pm on Saturday, November 21, 2026.
Applications are OPEN
If you are interested in participating as a visual artist or a performing artist, you will find both applications on the NoCo Fest page.
Sponsor the Fest
Brittany & I are in awe of the generosity we witnessed during our latest Surf City fundraiser. We are so grateful for this community & all the ways you show up for each other, even the people you’ve never met. In just a few short months, we’ll be hosting an event that takes more time to plan & more resources to pull off than anything else we do year-round. So here’s another chance to help out in a big way & make room for people to experience what The Novelty Collective has to offer.
When you visit our campaign page, please read the story behind the fundraiser & pray about what you can do to help. You will be presented with two opportunities:
Sponsor the Fest: If you are in a position to support the campaign, we are grateful for any amount you feel led to give. However, we also encourage those of you who own a business or work for a generous employer to consider a “business sponsorship.” All donations are tax-deductible, & we are offering various incentives at different tiers!
Become a Fundraiser: This is something new we are trying, & we have high hopes. For those who share our passion for the arts, see the value in our mission, or have personally benefited from NoCo Fest or other NoCo programs, this is for you! Help us spread the word—tell people about NoCo Fest, what it means for emerging artists, & how you’ve been impacted by The Novelty Collective. With someone like you on our team, we are confident we can hit our goal in no time.
The last thing we ask is that you will pray for wisdom, discernment, health, & provision, not only for the NoCo team, but also for every artist who participates in the festival. Our greatest desire is that people will experience the love of Christ & witness the beauty of his kingdom as we offer this little slice of what (we believe) heaven on earth looks like in Pittsburgh, PA, this fall. Let us know if you have any questions about participation, sponsorship, crowdfunding, or anything related to the fest. Prayerfully, we will see you here in November!
Well, that was a great, big heap of information to cover. Thank you kindly for reading to the end. Writing two newsletters in as many weeks takes no small amount of time, but it’s worth it to us to celebrate our joy with you & invite you to be a part of what’s next. We hope it was worth a moment to read, & we sincerely hope you will join us for an Open Studios, The Gold Thread, & especially NoCo Fest. If you would like to visit in between events, schedule some personal art time at The COVE after hours, or inquire about using our space for your own event, please send us a message.
Until next time, may God fill you with a lasting peace in every circumstance & the kind of joy you can’t help but share with others!
Blessings,
Jordan & Brittany
Article written by Jordan A. King
