Filed under: AL, Alabama Dance Council, art, B'ham social events, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham art galleries, Birmingham, AL, Bottletree Cafe, Chicago, Cities, Civic Engagement, current events, Ensley, music, music venues, MySpace, News Media (as source & subject), people, Pepper Place, Pine Magazine, plays, Reg's Coffee House, The Birmingham Sound, Wikipedia
There are several things to do in the coming weeks for those that have a love for Birmingham, Alabama and the Jones Valley region. We’re going to take a quick look at a couple of them coming up this weekend.
“See Block City” opening tonight!
Charles Buchanan’s newest show “See Block City” will have its opening reception this weekend at Naked Art Gallery (located at 3815 Clairmont Avenue). The show, running until February 3, consists of more than 150 pieces that showcase his artistic expression of his love of old signs, architecture and design. There will be two events this weekend as always; tonight’s reception is from 5-9 p.m.; Saturday’s is a tea time affair with freshly baked goods from 1-6 p.m. Click here to read a recent article on the artist courtesy of Pine Magazine.
The 2007 Alabama Dance Festival is this weekend!
The 10th annual event is sponsored by the Alabama Dance Council allowing several area dance companies, and one from Chicago (River North Chicago Dance Company) to invade area theaters over the weekend. Please click here to learn more about the event from the host organization’s website.
“The Birmingham Sound” returns to Bottletree tomorrow night!
Those that attended the CD release party for “The Birmingham Sound” were not disappointed in September. Click here to see some images from the event. Well, it’s back for another round. Roscoe Robinson, Birmingham’s “Soul Queen” Roszetta Johnson (recently featured on the Magic City Music Sampler we wrote about here) and Leon McMillan will be filling the Bottletree and the east side of Birmingham, Alabama with the sounds of soul starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Don’t forget to pick up tix for Reg’s Coffee House’s 10th Anniversary concert
Yes, the tickets go on sale Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. It will be a celebration of Scott Register’s weekly show being on the air, and now syndicated, for 10 years. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit his favorite local charity, the Greater Birmingham Human Society. Visit his MySpace page and click on the Tickets on Sale blog post for additional information.
Boston Marriage starts up tonight as well!
A word of warning, you may find it difficult to get a parking spot near Rojo this evening. This would be due to an extremely large celebration of birthdays taking place there (all of whom are Capricorns). We’ve already highlighted one of the celebrators, Mr. Buchanan. Another one, Jill Marlar, is one of the actors in the most recent presentation from the Terrific New Theatre. Click here to learn more about “Boston Marriage”, by David Mamet and it’s current engagement here in the Magic City. Click here to learn more about the term.
Two more things:
First, I’d love to hear some of your answers to the question posed in yesterday’s post. Just wonder what some people are willing to do this year.
Second, I’d also like to throw out a last minute ask for a couple of volunteers for tomorrow morning. I’ll be taking down the bows put up for the Christmas holiday in Ensley and would love to have two or three more people to come out and help. If you’re interested, send me a note at acnatta@gmail.com. I promise that it will take less than two hours to complete this task if you’re interested.
That’s all for now. We’ll cover the festivities for Dr. King’s birthday this weekend.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, art, B'ham social events, Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham art galleries, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL, Civic Engagement, Commentary, MySpace, Year of Alabama Art
Things are looking exciting and busy for the largest municipal art museum in the Southeastern United States in 2007. The Birmingham Museum of Art has several programs ready as the New Year begins.
Center for Alabama Folk Art set for February
A new temporary exhibit space showcasing folk artists from throughout the state of Alabama will open in 1731 1st Avenue North next month. Construction workers and museum officials are aiming for a February 4 opening date. Click here to view the press release available from the museum’s website. The Center for Alabama Folk Art was originally slated to open in Sloss Docks in January. This location became unavailable shortly after fire destroyed the Shoe Corp. building on Birmingham’s Southside last June. The center will consist of two gallery spaces located in the rear of the Center for Regional Planning and Design, another property owned and managed by Sloss Real Estate. Plans call for the center to operate from February thru December 2007 as part of the Year of Alabama Arts (Java required to view popup window with calendar). Its location near MAX’s Central Station and along one of the busier streets in the city should provide a great deal of traffic.
Junior Patrons hit MySpace
The Birmingham Museum of Art Junior Patrons recently joined the list of local organizations with a presence on MySpace and the Magic City’s MySpace Page. The site currently has images from the holiday party held at WorkPlay. The social/support group has received a significant boost in numbers thanks in large part to a highly visible role in the museum’s Art on the Rocks mixer series. The group has inspired other organizations to create, revisit, or expand the role of young professionals support for cultural institutions, including the creation of the Sixteenth & Sixth series at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (NOTE: The next Sixteenth & Sixth is scheduled for January 11) and the Friends of Red Mountain Park (who’ve also used a MySpace page to their advantage). The development of similar support groups in the coming year will be interesting to keep track of.
And don’t forget about Pompeii
We really shouldn’t; the museum is one of only three U.S. stops for this incredible exhibit. People here in Birmingham should not miss the opportunity to check it out. It has already been presented at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois and The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. The reason I mention the other cities is to point out the potential of downtown as the regional cultural destination to those outside the region. It will be interesting when people visiting the city find out about everything else that it has to offer.
So don’t just sit here, figure out when you’re going over there this year, or at least how many times.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
Filed under: AL, Birmingham Alabama, Birmingham, AL, Blogging, Charleston, Chattanooga, Commentary, Cooper River Bridge Run, Dre's 101 in 1001, Jane Jacobs, MySpace, Papajohns.com Bowl, people, The Year in Review, transit, Transportation, urban issues
The MySpace effect (still not completely understood)
As tax day approached we took a first look at the phenomenon of MySpace and other social networking websites and their effect on communication among people in Birmingham, Alabama. Recent major projects have developed large groups of “friends” for the cause through these programs, including Red Mountain Park and Catalyst. We’ve even started keeping track of Birmingham-based MySpace pages here at the blog with a ever-growing list of businesses and organizations that continue to impress people with the ability to get the word out quickly and effectively.
Leadership and movement
Transportation made it’s first attempt to once again dominate discussions among people in the metro area as prices were fast approaching (and passing) $3/gallon. We paid tribute to Jane Jacobs, one of the leaders, in this crazy movement known by many names; I just call it rediscovering urban living. We made a point to try to remain focused on the growing need for a movement to begin among young professionals. We also tried to make sure that people were aware that this movement was not limited to those that are younger in age, but those young in spirit and hope as well. It was also interesting that the region continued to have people come in and talk about what it should be doing, including Edsel Ford, Colin Coyne and most recently Governor Riley. They all shared a message of making a difference whenever possible, one we echoed with this post.
On the road
The month began with the Ramblings on the road, visiting Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA and taking in everything that had happened over in the Coastal Empire since moving to Birmingham. The result of a post recounting Betsy’s first game at Grayson Stadium even encouraged a visit to the site by Frank Dinan, the frosty beverageman of the stadium himself. We also made a point of completing one of the first of the 101 in 1001, a quick day trip to Chattanooga, TN.
Two more for you
Two things we did get a chance to talk about as well in April was the Birmingham Bowl, with this recent post showing the result of the efforts put forth by organizers, and our chance to look at a window to our past.
As we get close to the end of the year, I hope you get a chance to look through that window as well, remembering some of those good moments.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
See also:
The Year in Review: January and a little December ‘05 too
The Year in Review: February 2006
The Year in Review: March 2006
