Filmmakers hit the Sidewalk, dragons hit the water and UFOs take to the skies in Can’t Miss Alabama
Birmingham's Alabama Theatre and other venues are ready to raise the curtain on the 2016 Sidewalk Film Festival. (Nik Layman/Alabama NewsCenter)
Pass the popcorn and catch the latest in cutting-edge moviemaking at Birmingham’s acclaimed Sidewalk Film Festival.
Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival features more than 200 movies this year. (Nik Layman/Alabama NewsCenter)
The 18th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham’s historic theater district features more than 200 movies over three days, including dramatic features, shorts, documentaries, family films and cartoons. New this year is the addition of the newly restored Lyric Theatre to the venues involved. Besides the films, there are parties, panel discussions, workshops, music and food. Weekend passes are $80 and day passes are $30. Public events in the theater district start at 5 p.m. Friday, with the official opening at 8 p.m. Films start at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with awards presented at 9 p.m. Sunday.
Keep your eyes peeled for extraterrestrials at Fyffe UFO Days.
You’ll see hot air balloons and aliens at Fyffe’s UFO Days, and sometimes balloons that look like aliens. (UFO Days)
The Sand Mountain town of Fyffe in DeKalb County has a legacy of people seeing unexplained things in the sky. The community has fun with its reputation, never more than during the annual Fyffe UFO Days festival, set for Saturday. You’ll probably be able to identify most of the flying objects you see — hot air balloons are a big part of the event — but you may spot a few friendly “aliens” in the crowd, enjoying the food, live music, dancing, arts and crafts, antique tractors, children’s games and balloon rides. The fun goes on from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Grab your Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts and Parrothead gear and head to the island of Madison.
Get into an island groove Saturday at Insanity Entertainment Complex, 100 Skate Park Drive in downtown Madison, for the Madison Rotary’s Parrots of the Caribbean fundraiser. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy tempting Caribbean dishes, a variety of beverages and music by Calypso Vision and Juice. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and the proceeds benefit the Rotary’s year-round charities; admission is for age 21 and older.
Get a spot near the runway for Birmingham Fashion Week.
Since it started in 2011, Birmingham Fashion Week has become a hot spot to check out the work of nationally acclaimed fashion designers as well as up-and-coming local designers, hair and makeup artists. Shows are scheduled at 7 p.m. tonight, Friday and Saturday in Boutwell Auditorium. Tickets range from $20 to $75.
Answer the call of the wild at the Rick and Bubba Outdoor Expo.
Fans of outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing, and of radio’s Rick and Bubba, will be in wild-hog heaven at the Rick and Bubba Outdoor Expo at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Friday through Sunday. Hundreds of outdoor retailers will offer their wares, and those attending will have a chance to meet Rick and Bubba as well as country singers and outdoors celebrities. Tickets are $10 for attendees 13 and older and free for those 12 and younger. The expo starts at 5 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
Choose your favorite dragon and cheer it on at Montgomery’s 7th Annual Dragon Boat Race and Festival.
More than 70 teams in dragon boats will hit the Alabama River at Montgomery’s Riverfront Park on Saturday to pursue the grand championship trophy and benefit two local nonprofits. Dragon Boat Race events begin at 8 a.m., with races going on all day, but there’s plenty to do on dry land as well, with food vendors, exhibitors and artists, and live music on the amphitheatre stage.
Let the Pokémon go for one night and join the hunt for the best beer in Mobile instead.
The Dauphin Street Beer Festival from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday offers more than 30 participating restaurants and taverns, accessible through a free mobile app for Androids and iPhones. Just visit the app store, search Dauphin Street Beer Festival, download the app and check out the map of the venues and the list of beers being offered at each. Click here for registration, which is required to gain entry.
Join Birmingham in its push for a Civil Rights National Park.
To mark the 53rd anniversary of the March on Washington, the City of Birmingham and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are holding the March for Birmingham at 6 p.m. Sunday. The march is designed to urge Congress and President Barack Obama to create a Civil Rights National Park in Birmingham. The march will begin at the historic A.G. Gaston Motel, 1514 Fifth Ave. North, and proceed to 16th Street Baptist Church, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Kelly Ingram Park, where Ledisi will perform for the marchers.
