PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pick up a bottle of iced-tea lemonade, and you might be looking down at pictures of Allegheny County's parks.
And then — county officials hope — you might get in your car and head to the park.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald stood on the outdoor patio Thursday at OTB Bicycle Cafe at the boathouse in North Park to unveil a new iced-tea lemonade product from Colteryahn Dairy.
The beverage, part of the Carrick company's "Burgh Tea" line, includes photos of the North Park boathouse, the mansion at Hartwood Acres and the wave pool at South Park. The tea label for "The Burgh 50/50 Iced-Tea Lemonade" also includes a $2 coupon off admission at Allegheny County pools, golf courses, ice rinks, ski slopes or snow tubing.
"This is a way in which this company will promote our parks for us, without any cost for the taxpayer," said Fitzgerald.
He was joined at the announcement by Councilman Nicholas Futules, D-Oakmont, who is chair of the Allegheny County Council parks committee, as well as by Becky Gallagher, marketing and industry development coordinator for Colteryahn.
Futules called the promotion a "wonderful opportunity" to promote the county's nine parks, which cover 12,000 acres.
As for Colteryahn Dairy, the company is "thrilled" to partner with the county on the promotion, said Gallagher.
"We hope that our product will help encourage people to utilize this great resource that we have," she said.
The dairy's line of "Burgh Teas" are bottles that feature labels that talk about an organization in Pittsburgh, such as Kennywood or the Pittsurgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, she said.
"Our whole goal was to do something to give back to the city that has given us so much," said Gallagher. The dairy has been located in Carrick since 1917.
Two hundred free bottles of the product will be distributed at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at South Park's Bright Star Shelter, at the corner of Corrigan Drive and McConkey Road.
The tea will be available at CoGo's locations, as well as other retailers, starting Monday, Fitzgerald said. Gallagher said it will likely retail for about $1.29.
She said the tea will likely be available for the next year.
For Fitzgerald, the goal is to encourage people to use the county's parks.
"Obviously, when people use the parks, they're revenues that are generated," he said.
Encouraging use of the parks also aligns with the county's mission to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Some unsuspecting diners at OTB were among the first tasters of the new iced-tea lemonade. Fitzgerald, after his announcement, walked through the outdoor eating area, handing out bottles of the drink to restaurant patrons, including Michael and Carol Barton of McCandless.
"It's good," Barton said a few minutes later. "We just tried it."
And the label?
"I love the label," Barton said. "That label is fantastic."
