Weekend events soar in Can’t Miss Alabama with Freshwater Land Trust and RiverFest
Relax and enjoy the summer breeze with the Flashbacks Show Band at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville Sept. 13. (Caroline Kelly Buncick)
Have a fabulous weekend in Alabama.
City Lights & Stars Concert Huntsville
The Flashbacks Show Band will headline the City Lights and Stars concert series Friday at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville. Hear a variety of rock’n’roll, pop, R&B, soul and Motown music. Online tickets are $10 to $15 and can be purchased in advance up to noon on the day of the concert. After that, tickets are $20. Gates to the concert will open at 6:30 p.m. Onsite vendors will be available. Email tomalyn.dombrowski@huntsvilleal.gov or call 256-536-2882. Burritt on the Mountain is at 3101 Burritt Drive.
Riverfest
Get ready for some fiery barbecue and great music at Decatur’s Riverfest Friday and Saturday. The festivities will be filled with live music, competitions and games. Food vendors will offer a variety of traditional festival food. Proceeds from the award-winning barbecue will benefit Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama.
Saint George Middle Eastern Food Festival
For decades, the Saint George Middle Eastern Food Festival has been serving some of the best Middle Eastern food you can eat. Dancing, music, pastries and Turkish coffee are among the great things you will experience along with church tours Thursday through Saturday. Stained glass art, books and items from the Holy Land will be on sale. Arabic dancing will be performed by the youths Friday at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The menu is online.
Les Dames d’Escoffier take over the Market at Pepper Place
Now in its third year, the Market at Pepper Place will spotlight Top Women in Food Saturday through the end of the month. The Market will team up with Les Dames d’Escoffier’s Birmingham Chapter. Chef demonstrations will show how to make a simple, fresh seasonal recipe, share free samples of the dish with the audience and offer information about the chapter’s mission and community outreach. This week’s cooking demo will be hosted by Chef Ashley McMakin of Ashley Mac’s. Visitors will get a sneak peek, and possibly taste some of the dishes served at the Dames’ annual fundraiser, Southern Soiree, which will take place at The Barn at Shady Lane on Sunday, Oct. 13. Information about Les Dames’ Birmingham Chapter is available at ideibirmingham.org and alabamanewscenter.com.
Freshwater Land Trust
Land Aid will make its return to Avondale Brewery with The Brummies and special guest Funk You. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the music starts at 7 p.m. Taco Morro Loco and 2 Men and a Pig food trucks will be on site. Proceeds from the concert will benefit Freshwater Land Trust, which works to conserve land and trails in Alabama. Purchase tickets at eventbrite.com.
The proceeds from the 11th annual Land Aid event will help conserve land and build trails in Alabama. (Freshwater Land Trust)
Sunday Hike: Wildwood Preserve in Alabama from Freshwater Land Trust on Vimeo.
Vulcan Park and Museum
An exhibit by Marvin Clemons, author of “Terminal Station: Birmingham’s Great Temple of Travel,” is on display at Vulcan Park and Museum through the end of the year. The exhibit is based on Clemons’ pictorial history book of the historic train depot and will explore how it affected many town visitors, residents and immigrants. Clemons’ book will be available for purchase onsite. General admission is $10 and member admission is $8.
A.G. Gaston: The Man and His Legacy
Learn more about the legacy of business pioneer A.G. Gaston at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The multimillionaire operated several companies including the Booker T. Washington Insurance Company, Smith and Gaston Funeral Home, Booker T. Washington Business School, Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association and other successful businesses. Renovation plans for the A.G. Gaston Motel were announced on its 65th anniversary July 1. The historic motel was a place of refuge for many prominent civil rights leaders. View the A.G. Gaston exhibit during BCRI operating hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi
Giddens and Turrisi will be in concert Thursday on their There Is No Other Tour at UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Giddens is an American artist of folk and traditional music, played on the fiddle and banjo. Turrisi is an Italian pianist and percussionist well-versed in jazz, early music and Mediterranean music. ASC members will receive $10 off ticket prices. All UAB family, including faculty and staff, will receive $15 off up to two single tickets to select performances by presenting a valid UAB ID at the ASC Box Office upon purchase. UAB students may purchase $10 tickets to select performances. ASC member and UAB family tickets are limited and sell out quickly. General admission tickets are $58, $48 and $38.
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Saint Louis FC
Enjoy a soccer match at BBVA Field on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Birmingham Legion FC will play Saint Louis FC Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online. Gates to the Legion FC Plaza open at 5:30 p.m. for TopGolf’s College Night. Be sure to wear your college T-shirt and enjoy drinks, music and games. Food trucks such as iCantina, Post Office Pies and Swamp Monster BBQ and other vendors will be available. The venue is at 800 11th St. South.
Birmingham Legion FC will play Saint Louis FC Sept. 13 on the BBVA Field on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. (contributed)
Jazz in the Park Huntsville
Jazz in the Park will feature The Ken Watters Group and James “PJ” Spraggins Sunday at Big Spring Park East in Huntsville. Throughout the year, Jazz in the Park is featured in a variety of community parks including Adamsville, Alabaster, Bessemer, Birmingham, Brent, Brighton, Fairfield, Helena, Hoover, Huntsville, Jasper, Lipscomb, Marion, Midfield, Prattville and Tuscaloosa, and will conclude on Sunday, Oct. 13, in Mountain Brook. Visit www.magiccitysmoothjazz.com or call 205-616-1735 for more information.
