Filed under: AL, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, cajun dance, Catalyst, city stages, Civic Engagement, Commentary, L'Angelus, music, music venues, My Birmingham, urban issues
With commercials on television and conversations going on in bars and at parties around town, you’d think that the buzz surrounding the City Stages campaign was starting to die down. I think you’d be wrong, and that the reality is that the campaign may be just starting to heat up. Click here to get an idea of the conversations going on and here to get a taste of the comments from the town hall meeting held in November. Talk alone will not help Birmingham, Alabama’s long running music festival, so read on to see what else is planned next weekend as people try to do what they can.
City Stages Idol Karaoke Contest
Polish off your best impersonation of your favorite singer, or at least be prepared to blow away the competition. Catalyst sponsors this contest where participants have a chance to win one of TWO spots on the Home Grown Stage at City Stages this year. And yes, these will be singing spots on the stage! The event will take place at WorkPlay next weekend, with auditions taking place throughout the day on January 27, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
There are two separate ways to make it to the Homegrown Stage. First of all, the best 15 singers from Saturday auditions advance to Sunday finals. The finals will take place on Sunday, January 28 from 2 – 5 p.m. The winner selected on Sunday as the best sings at City Stages!
Just how will the other winner be decided? With your wallets: $1 = 1 vote. The five singers with most votes (or friends to come out and support them) on Saturday advance to Sunday finals. Again, the most votes wins on Sunday and sings at City Stages!
There is a $20 entry fee for those interested in participating. Those that want to come and check it out will pay $5 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday. For more information, visit www.sustaincitystages.org, call 251-1272 or e-mail bhamidol@gmail.com.
Cajun Dance Concert (featuring L’Angelus)
After you’ve suffered the agony of defeat (or the thrill of victory) on Saturday, you may want to head over to Saturday, January 27, 2007, 8:00 – 11:00 pm at the Elks Lodge Cloud Room, located at 6815 2nd Avenue South, on the 27th starting at 8 p.m. to listen to L’Angelus. It’s sponsored by theAssociation of Cajun Music Enthusiasts (ACME). Tickets for this fundraiser is $20. And it’s worth it just to see the Cloud Room property.
All proceeds from these events will benefit the annual music festival. Check out the Sustain City Stages site to learn some more about the events going on around town in the coming months and how you can do one yourself. Or just chime in with your thoughts, positive, negative, indifferent or otherwise.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, B'ham Wiki, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, AL, Cities, Civic Engagement, Civil Rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, history, Jr., Kelly Ingram Park, Martin Luther King, memories, My Birmingham, News Media (as source & subject), people, Photographs, Race and Prejudice, Random shots, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, urban issues, urban parks
Today many in the nation will take a moment to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during unity breakfasts, prayer meetings and television montages that will no doubt have people in Birmingham believing that the only thing people think of when they hear the name of their city is fire hoses and dogs. Commissioner Langford, a likely candidate for mayor in this fall’s election will speak at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church here in the city this afternoon. There will be wreath-laying ceremonies at the base of the above statue of the fallen civil rights leader later this morning with other political and social leaders taking part. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will be open to the public for free, leading to an influx of cars from across the country coming to see the exhibits and the history of this facility.
An early morning walk through the downtown area showed many treating it as they would any other Monday morning. There are considerably less cars downtown today as many have the day off. This afternoon several hundred people will culminate a weekend of service to the community throughout the greater metropolitan area. There are those that will push the issue of whether or not a city celebrates the holiday. The Birmingham News provides this list in today’s paper. The issue of taking the day off just to have the day off or spending the day working is one that will be raised for some time to come. How do you honor a man who led one of the most important fights in the history of civil rights in this country?
I say one of them because there is still progress to be made in race relations in this country on all levels. Homelessness and poverty still rear its ugly head at levels much greater than we need or want. Gay and lesbian rights are still a long way from being dealt with openly and candidly. So what do we do?
As mentioned last year, I’m still not sure why we choose to focus on these issues and challenges at only one time of year on such a national level. I’m hoping that some people choose to voice their thoughts today as that would be as great a tribute to Dr. King as it would be to roll up your sleeves and do something about it without feeling the need to resort to violent tactics.
The irony of the focus of many of the local activities here in Birmingham, Alabama is the significance of the person that Kelly Ingram Park is named for:
It’s named for the first American sailor killed in “the war to end all wars.” For both Ingram and those that sacrificed for my ability to write these words today, we must really ask ourselves what must we be willing to do to finally achieve victory over these issues.
Let’s hear ‘em.
Cheers.
Filed under: "red mountain park", Architecture, Birmingham Alabama, Catalyst, Cities, Civic Engagement, Millennium Park, My Birmingham, other cities, Ruffner Mountain, urban issues, urban parks
We here at the Ramblings site received a mass e-mail last night that we realize you’ve probably already heard about courtesy of Catalyst. Just in case you haven’t heard, here it is:
Railroad Reservation Park Groundbreaking
You are cordially invited by the City of Birmingham and the Jefferson County Commission to attend the groundbreaking for the Railroad Reservation Park and District at the Railroad Reservation Park site, at the intersection of [18th Street South and 1st Avenue, South], Friday, October 6, 2006 at 10 a.m.
This event adds to the buzz already existing with the other parkland expansion projects in the city: Ruffner Mountain and Red Mountain Park (follow this link to an earlier post about the park). Those that are able to attend tomorrow’s event should be excited about the prospect of moving dirt and seeing our version of Central and Millennium (previous post link) Parks begin to take shape.
For those that want to learn more about the park’s recent progress report follow this link to the city’s website. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file.)
A word of thanks
I’d also like to thank those of you that have given to the effort that was posted about yesterday. I know that Diane was appreciative and have a feeling that David will be appreciative as well of your gifts. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please click here to view yesterday’s post.
Thanks again and enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham Jaycees, Birmingham, AL, Cities, Civic Engagement, civic/service organizations, My Birmingham, people, Photographs, Social commentary, urban issues
We got two e-mails here at the Ramblings yesterday that reminded me of how much we care as a society, despite some reports stating otherwise. The first linked to a report that spoke of how people are not giving of themselves as much as they used to. While that may be true, the second concerned an effort being undertaken by a local company to help someone in need.It’s probably best to share the second note:
Dear friends,
I am writing to introduce Mr. David Lawson and a special project that The Carroll & Green Group is undertaking on his behalf.
David Lawson was born in 1949 in Birmingham, Alabama. David’s father traveled a lot with his job, so he was predominately raised by his mother. In 1961, David’s mother passed away, he was 12. David immediately moved to Detroit to live with his sister. In 1967 David went to Wayne State University, where he was a linebacker on the football team. He graduated in 1971 and taught Jr. High and High School in Detroit for 15 years. In 1992, his father became ill and David moved back to Birmingham to care for him. During those years, David was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. After his father’s death in 2004, the arthritis became worse and he was left in a wheelchair with no local family, friends or job in Birmingham. David was homeless. Today, he resides on the streets where he spends most of his days downtown on 5th Avenue North (in front of our offices) and nights wherever he can find shelter. When he can, David enjoys listening to a variety of music, from Mozart to Willie Nelson. David is a devout Christian and football fan, whose faith, story and predictions he will share to anyone who will listen. ~
We are blessed with many capabilities, business contacts and friends that will enable us to provide David with permanent and humane living conditions. This is a great opportunity for each of us to apply these resources in a direction that can better a man’s life forever. That is a positive and powerful thing that will in turn better our personal and professional lives.
We have located a home in Tarrant, within (1) block of a bus stop and in a relatively safe area. Proximity to public transportation was David’s only request as he is partially immobile and uses a wheel chair to get around. We are currently assessing and calculating the extent of repairs and improvements. Attached is a preliminary list of items that we foresee as being required in order to deliver a nice finished product with minimal financial burden for David long term. The home is equipped with a sizeable front porch which David will use as his place to entertain guests. Upon completion, we will dedicate the home with a plaque displaying the names of all participants regardless of contribution.
We are scheduled to close on the home on October 6th and immediately start renovations with a move-in date by Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23rd) and prior to the cold winter weather. David will host Thanksgiving Dinner at his new home and offers an advance invitation to you and all other participants to enjoy some friendship, food and football in his new living room. To participate, simply send an email to dburns@cggroupinc.com with a casual pledge of financial, personal or trade resources that will help us all have a memorable Thanksgiving Day. We will have a representative contact you soon to coordinate the delivery of your commitment.
Sincerely,
Diane Burns,
The Carroll & Green Group, Inc.
Diane’s hoping that people can provide at least $5 to allow for David to enjoy his Thanksgiving. Knowing people like Diane from the Jaycees and others from various organizations active throughout our community makes me wonder about the findings in this rather long report forwarded to me yesterday. Then again, we are one of the most giving communities in the country. Let’s make sure that we can demonstrate this to everyone else.
Please contact Diane via e-mail and help make this Thanksgiving an enjoyable one for David and please pass this message on to anyone that you think may be able to assist with this effort.
Enjoy the day!
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, B'ham social events, bhamterminal.com/citystages/, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, Blogging, Charleston, Cities, city stages, Commentary, cultural institutions, current events, music, music venues, My Birmingham, other cities, The Terminal, urban issues
It’s crazy how much can change in a year. Last year I was squeezing in a trip to the Unplugged stage at the Harbert Plaza between lunch and traveling out to the city’s west side to go to meeting (while I was still on crutches mind you) as City Stages 18 was just getting started.
One year later I’m healthy but sleep deprived and figuring out just when I’m going to find time to actually buy my ticket to what was once referred to as Birmingham’s block party. I’m going this year, more out of sentimentality than anything else, but also because of this site:
http://bhamterminal.com/citystages/
It’s my first attempt to do a “special section” in The Terminal, and it’s sort of a test to see if viral marketing can in fact work. There are some other things that are about to happen that aren’t that viral, but this is a test to see if a site can make even a small difference in a conversation. Pass it on if you have a chance. Or at least check it out yourself.
I realize now that when I started blogging I did it so that my voice could be heard. I also realize that most that blog have something to complain about, thus it provides a great platform since you get instant feedback and a chance to argue your own point. My problem is that I always want to try to provide something positive (or sarcastic to cut down on the cynicism). Makes it a little difficult.
I realized months ago when City Stages began asking for help, I was thinking about the old days as an outsider. I was told recently that I probably shouldn’t consider myself one, but knowing the ways of the South, I will be for some time. I still approached it as someone that sees the potential of a festival like it being “fixed” and “saved”. I also realized that I wasn’t taking that positive approach in part because I was thinking about what my future was going to be. Now that I’ve had a chance to have some things slow down, I realized that I was not necessarily around all sides of an issue like I normally try to be. Now, I’ve got some thoughts: (more…)