Beyond The Pitch: World Cup watch party and movie night brings generations together at Friendship Village

Soccer has a unique way of bridging gaps, and this past weekend, it brought multiple generations together right in the South Hills. Residents, families, and team members at Friendship Village of South Hills (FVSH) in Upper St. Clair gathered for a special Friday night World Cup watch party on a large outdoor screen, celebrating the United States Men’s National Team’s dominant 4-1 victory over Paraguay.

To kick off the evening’s festivities before the match, the community enjoyed a nostalgic twilight screening of the 1982 cinematic classic, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

Sharing Perspectives Across Generations

For the staff and families at Friendship Village, the event was about far more than just a game on a screen. FVSH Supervisor of Lifestyles & Programming Colin Campbell took advantage of the beautiful evening, taking breaks to kick a soccer ball around in the grass next to the screen with his soon-to-be seven-year-old daughter, Zenith.

“I love this community and love sharing it with Zenith and teaching her about older adults,” Campbell said. “It gives her a great perspective on what aging can be.”

The feeling is entirely mutual for Zenith, who has formed close bonds with the people living there.

“I love coming here and having fun with all my friends [residents],” Zenith said. “I like that they’re kind, and they always give me stuff. We went to Kennywood once, and they told me what it was like there when they were kids.”

One of Zenith’s closest friends in the community is 87-year-old Marianne Deramo. Deramo moved to Friendship Village two and a half years ago from her longtime home on Neville Island.

“I just love Zenith, and we have hung out together at other events,” Deramo shared, noting that she hadn’t actually seen E.T. since its original theatrical release in 1982. “Events like this are terrific, and I don’t pass up any opportunity and try to go to every event I can. We go to the symphony, the city theater, and we even went on a tiki boat cruise on Pittsburgh’s rivers just yesterday.”

Deramo added that the community perfectly lives up to its name. “Everyone is friendly here, and we have everything here in our community anyone could want.”

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Photo 1: Zenith and Colin Campbell enjoy some soccer and the big screen; Photo 2: Marianne Deramo and Zenith Campbell and have become good friends through shared experiences at Friendship Village; Photo 3:
Kiby Klaber, and daughter and granddaughter Sunny and Zia van der Star enjoy a moment during the World Cup game. Photo 4: Graydon Altherr and Joey Michel have worked as servers for the past four years in the dining area while going to college, and they enjoyed the evening “drive-in” style; Photo 5: Friendship Village viewers celebrate a Team USA goal.

A Multigenerational Resort Atmosphere

The outdoor watch party also served as a warm welcome for some of the community’s newest faces. Kit Klaber, 82, a former Upper St. Clair resident, had moved into the village just three weeks prior. She took in the match and movie alongside her daughter, Sunny van der Star, and her 11-year-old granddaughter, Zia, who were visiting from Boulder, Colorado.

“I’ve told people Friendship Village is like the front porch of heaven,” Klaber said. “I’ve met a lot of kind, wonderful, loving people. While I’m barely moved in, every time I leave my apartment I meet a new friend. I have 11 grandchildren who have all visited me here, and several have asked me how old they need to be to be able to move in here.”

For her daughter Sunny, the evening was a beautiful trip down memory lane that offered immense peace of mind.

“It’s so much fun to see a movie I watched as a kid and to share it with my mom and daughter,” Sunny said. “It looks like a beautiful college campus or a resort. I love my mom’s apartment, and it puts my mind at ease to see that she’s in good hands and has great, new friends.”

Granddaughter Zia agreed, adding, “I liked the movie and soccer game, and it was fun. They also have a movie theater inside here and the dinner is really good.”

A Packed Summer Calendar

According to Campbell, the World Cup watch party is just a single snapshot of a highly active, year-round lifestyle calendar designed to keep residents thriving and connected to major sporting and cultural events.

“We have great ‘lived-experiences’ events the residents really enjoy year-round,” Campbell mentioned. “In just a few days’ span, we had the tiki boat experience, tonight’s game watch and movie, and we’ll be hosting an escape room in a couple of days inside the atrium area in our main building. There’s never a shortage of things to do around here, that’s for sure.”

Special Thanks to Jeff Krakoff and Courtney Akelson from Krakoff Communications for sharing these stories and photos with Pittsburgh Soccer Now 

Is Your Business Hosting a Match? Get Listed!

Our Pittsburgh World Cup Watch Party Guide is dynamic and growing throughout the tournament! If you own or manage a local bar, restaurant, brewery, or community venue hosting watch parties for upcoming matches and want to be included in our Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer directory, we want to hear from you.

📥 Drop us a line or tag us on social media with your event details, drink specials, and matchday hours so we can add you to the map and keep the 412 soccer community connected! If you have a place of business, community center or location that is hosting World Cup festivities, please let us know and we’ll add to this list and re-publish it as a stand-alone post on Friday morning.  You can email us here or message us on PSN social media platforms.

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