FALL, FESTIVALS AND FARMS!!! Enjoy!!
TODAY…
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Get all the latest news!
**THURSDAY NIGHT RAMBLE, 7 p.m. at Avondale Brewing Company, with Winston Ramble and Zach Austin featuring special guests.
**WATCH A MOVIE – TENET at the Sidewalk Fest is still available – last day is TODAY.
FRIDAY…
**COMEDIAN DESI BANKS at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**SOUNDS OF EUROPE AFTER WORK, 6-9 p.m. at Innovation Depot Rooftop, 1500 1st Avenue North, with Dr. Eagle, Ides of March, Catfish Jenkins, Damon Strickland 4 DJs, drinks and a scenic view. FREE. Bring your mask, BYOB and RSVP.
**MOVIE NIGHT: Check out some old, new but good flicks/movies and show on a sheet in the backyard for the young and young at heart. Fun in the outdoors while the weather is still good.!
SATURDAY…
**GRAND RIVERFEST, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Outlets of Grand River with pop-ups, arts and crafts and more.
**SATURDAYS IN THE GARDENS at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
**WINE DOWN HAPPY HOUR, 4-9 p.m. at Saferoom Lounge Bar
**COMEDIAN DESI BANKS at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**FUN, GAMES, YARD AND HOUSE WORK including Uno, Monopoly, Solitaire. Raking Leaves. Times are changing soon.
SUNDAY…
**FAMILY TIME, GOOD FOOD AND MOVIES.
**COMEDIAN DESI BANKS at the StarDome Comedy Club.
MONDAY…
**Head to the Fall Pumpkin Patch or farms …enjoy the weather and the fun.
**READ A GOOD BOOK…There are a few on the bookshelves, just lying around …or you can get an e-book.
TUESDAY…
**READ A REAL GOOD BOOK…You might like BOOK: A PROMISED LAND by former President Barack Obama …coming soon.
WEDNESDAY…
**INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICES – Join Greater Birmingham Ministries (GBM) and the Alabama Episcopal Church every Wednesday at Noon for Noonday Prayer at Linn Park in Downtown Birmingham.
**FALL WEATHER, LEAVE WATCHING …THE WEEK AND WEEKEND. Looking for the weekend and thinking of what to do that depends on good weather outdoors. Getting out of the house even if going nowhere…. Take a walk if the weather is good.
NEXT THURSDAY…
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!
**COMEDIAN DALE JONES and DON DIPETTA at the StarDome Comedy Club.
NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY…
**EAT A PEACH: AN ALLMAN BROTHERS TRIBUTE, Avondale Brewing Company, 7 p.m. (Friday) to 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
NEXT FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY…
**MOVIE NIGHT: Rent and Watch movies at Sidewalkfest.com. Don’t miss… ON THE ROCKS.
**COMEDIAN DALE JONES and DON DIPETTA at the StarDome Comedy Club.
IT’S FALL! GET OUTSIDE…ENJOY THE WEATHER!!
Happy Autumn! Days are shorter, temperatures are cooler, and some of you are taking road trips …or more. NOW…What about watching fall foliage, going to the farms, pumpkin patches or enjoying a fall festival? SO, Fall lovers, rejoice! Enjoy the crisp temperatures, changing leaves, pumpkin patches, haunted houses, and all of the season. Enjoy the beautiful October weather!
PUMPKIN PATCHES AND FARMS
**HELENA HOLLOW – 6027 Highway 17, Helena, AL 35080 • (205) 541-8150
Hours: Open every weekend through October (beginning October 3); Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Kids under 2 are free. Guests can enjoy a hayride, tire mountain, rope obstacles, a 100-foot landslide, bounce houses, swings, a petting zoo, a huge corn barn and hay run, live music, wheel races, the snack shack and more. This farm is a short drive from Birmingham.
**THE GREAT PUMPKIN PATCH – 288 County Hwy. 45, Hayden, AL, 35079 • (205) 616-6431 Hours: NOW through November 15; Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Enjoy hayrides, pumpkins, pony rides, train rides and a petting zoo. Guests can enjoy a covered wagon ride or, with a group of 20 or more, a night ride that includes hot dogs, chips, drinks and as many marshmallows as you can eat! Not only that, it includes a 30-minute wagon ride to the campfire. Extreme bungee jumping is available and the inflatable park, which features a jumping pumpkin, giant slide and bungee run. It is near Birmingham, so call for more.
**OLD BAKER FARM – 1041 Farmingdale Road, Harpersville, AL 35078 • (205) 672-7209
Hours: NOW through October 31; Weekdays, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Weekends, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission includes pumpkin and all events (except food, arts and crafts, and horseback rides), kids under 2 are free. Take the family for a day of fall fun on the farm! Enjoy a petting zoo, corn maze or jumping on the hayride to pick out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. Enjoy a Western Cowboy Day (dress up in your western attire) this weekend Sunday and Monday, the Halloween Barn Party October 17. There is a festival the weekend of October 24 and 25.
**GRIFFIN FARMS – 826 Griffin Rd., West Blocton, AL 35184 • (205) 535-0552
Hours: Open every weekend; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Admission. Kids under 2 are free. Spend your Saturday or Sunday! Enjoy one pumpkin per person, the animal farm, bouncy houses, a corn maze, a hayride, slides, a hay mountain, a small rock wall, a parent-powered zipline, a human hamster wheel and a firetruck for the children to explore. Pony rides, face painting and food vendors are also available. Call for more.
**PENTON FARMS PUMPKIN PATCH – 3595 County Road 59, Verbena, AL 36091 • (205) 351-1480. Hours: NOW through October 31; Monday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Closed Sunday. Admission. Ages 2 and down FREE), The admission price includes one pumpkin and all activities except corn cannon, cow train and concessions.The farm fall activities includes wagon rides, corn maze, animal park, large corn pit, cotton picker play area, super slides, human hamster wheel and pumpkin bowling. Take the family out for a full day of fun! Enjoy!
FALL FESTIVALS
**OCTOBER 24: Grace House Drive-Thru Pumpkin Festival
Mountain Brook Community Church, 3001 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35243 • (205) 786-4663
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission: $ 25 per vehicle. Enjoy the season of pumpkins while supporting a great cause and staying safe. Load up the family and head over to Mountain Brook Community Church for the drive-thru edition of the Grace House Pumpkin Festival. Each car receives two pumpkins, a pumpkin decorating kit and a fun yard sign. Additionally, participants are welcomed to join in on fun drive-thru activities to win special prizes. Proceeds benefit Grace House, an organization that supports girls in Alabama foster homes. For more information, visit grace-house.org.
**OCTOBER 29: Hoover Hayride & Family Night
Veterans Park, 4800 Valleydale Rd., Meadowbrook, AL 35242 • (205) 444-7777. Hours: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free. Head to Veterans Park between 5-8 p.m. for a night of festive fun. Enjoy hayrides around the park, candy and giveaways, food vendors, balloon artists, face painting and tons of other family-friendly activities. For more information, visit hooveral.org.
**OCTOBER 31: Halloween Fairyland at Tannehill, 12632 Confederate Pkwy., McCalla, AL 35111 • (205) 477-5711, Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission. Ages 5 and under free. Take the kids to Tannehill State Park for the 29th annual Halloween Fairyland. This family-friendly festival brings thousands of annual visitors and features fun events like trick or treat stops, face painting, balloon animals, a bungee jump and train rides for an additional charge. For more information, visit tannehill.org.
FOR TRAVELERS OF ALL KINDS…
**VIRTUAL TRIPS – Travel online – A virtual trip can be a great way to explore destinations you might consider for a future vacation, or it may be a chance to see remarkable sights around the world that you wouldn’t get to experience otherwise.
THINGS TO DO…
…VIRTUAL THINGS TO DO…VACATIONS WITH BOOKS…When you need to get away from ‘whatever’, the best way is with a good book. Well, maybe the next thing to being there in person, even if virtual. Many families are eager to get out of the house and hit the road for a seasonal trip. Make your Fall Season a good one, regardless!
FOR BOOK LOVERS…
Here are a couple of books to read, after washing your hands, before the news reports, during your down time or just to keep boredom away (with so much going on). These books are TIMELY READS…Books that highlight the present. Here are a few books: (Some taken from Book Riot, Amazon, )
**Virtual Southern Festival of Books Started This Week – The 11-day Tennessee festival, Southern Festival of Books is celebrating its 32nd iteration and going virtual. The 11-day festival started and anyone with an internet connection will be able to hear for free from a slate of authors, like bestseller Kiley Reid, author of ‘Such A Fun Age,’ starting at 7:30 p.m. which has 100+ authors and commenced with Ann Patchett chatting with Yaa Gyasi, for free. This year’s headliners include Kiley Reid, Michael Ian Black, Erik Larson, Ann Patchett, Joy Harjo, Julia Alvarez, Bruce Feiler, Yaa Gyasi, Joe Hill and Natasha Trethewey. The festival is free and open to the public — and thanks to the online format, it’ll have a nationwide audience. Virtual attendees will be able to watch live readings and panel discussions, and contribute to the conversation. The format also allows the festival to widen its scope beyond Nashville, and it plans to “feature some of Tennessee’s literary heritage sites, historic libraries, and natural areas across the state. “The 32nd annual Southern Festival of Books takes place October 1 through 11. To learn more, visit www.humtn.org/sfb. The Library of Congress National Book Festival just wrapped up its online-only event, and about a week after the Southern Festival of Books ends, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Stories & Ideas will launch as a community wide virtual gathering. (Taken from Tennessean.com)
**BOOK: SUCH A FUN AGE – Such A Fun Age is written by KILEY REID who is an University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop Grad. The book begins in the midst of a family crisis one late evening, when white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix’s efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged. There are many levels and layers to the book, but a page-turner.
**BOOK: A PROMISED LAND – The book ‘A Promised Land’ is written by President Barack Obama and will be released November 17. (The Obama Memoir has prompt rescheduling of the Booker Prize. The Booker Prize is making way for Barack Obama. The organizers of the prestigious British literary award have changed the day they’re announcing the winner of the prize from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19. The reason? Nov. 17 happens to be the publication date of the little book they expect might make waves: former President Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land.
Check it Out! The book is a riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.
FOR COMEDY LOVERS…
AT THE STARDOME COMEDY CLUB…
**FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY … COMEDIAN DESI BANKS…Desi Banks is a comedian, actor, and writer based in Atlanta. With over 2.8 million followers on Instagram he is best known for his characters Lil Johnny, Keisha, Grandma Reese, and Uncle Earl in his hilariously relatable online sketches that have featured other notable online personalities such as B. SIMONE and PRETTY VEE. His versatile comedy style was showcased on the YOU’RE MY BOYFRIEND TOUR and is now headlining his own shows across the country at various venues & comedy clubs. He can be seen in the romantic comedy LOVE BY CHANCE alongside TERRI J VAUGHN and CLIFTON POWELL as well as Will Packer’s LITTLE alongside ISSA RAE and REGINA HALL.
**NEXT FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY… COMEDIAN DALE JONES and DON DIPETTA
**COMING SOON – COMEDIANS BILL MARTIN, DL HUGHLEY, JAMES GREGORY, THE CHRISTI SHOW, SINBAD, DARREN KNIGHT, CAROLANNE MILJAVAC and more… DON’T MISS THEM!
FOR LOVERS OF ART…
AT STEPHEN SMITH FINE ART…
**JAMISON AND TAMARA HARPER ADMISSIONS Opening Reception is Friday, October 9, 6 – 9 p.m. The exhibition features images by Jamison Harper – Vicinity Trope, Oil on Canvas and Tamara Harper – Spirit of Fire, Embroidery through November 1 at the gallery which is open Tuesdays – Thursdays, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 12 noon – 5 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the Public. Stephen Smith Fine Art, located in Fairfield at 5104 Gary Avenue, is a 10,000 square foot facility with plenty of room for social distancing. Face masks are required when patrons are within a six-foot distance of non-family or friends. Maximum capacity 150. For more, call (205) 305-1451 or go to, https://stephensmith.galleryhttp://www.smallwoods-studios.com/, and http://jamisonharper.com/.
AT ALYS STEPHENS CENTER…
**VIRTUAL FALL ART CLASSES – New virtual arts classes begin in October. From dance, musical theater, acting and improvisation to story time, digital and creative non-fiction storytelling, podcasting and photography, classes are available for children of all ages as well as teens and adults. The semester also features classes in thinking “outside the box,” embroidery, music and mindfulness, sight singing and mixed media art! Register at https://www.alysstephens.org/events/artplay-2020-fall-classes-online/ or call (205) 975-4769.
AT SPACE ONE ELEVEN….
ART CLASSES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH…
**CITY CENTER ART 1 (Grades 2-5), Mondays, 4:30- 6 p.m., through December 7 and CITY CENTER ART 2 (Grades 6-8), Wednesdays, 4:30- 6 p.m., through December 9. Space One Eleven (2409 Second Avenue North) provides an online environment into the world of art. Students learn drawing skills, color theory, conceptual thinking skills, art history, evaluating their own and other’s artwork, and more. Teaching Artist: TYLER CARLISLE.
**ALABAMA CHARCOAL (Grades 9 –12), Tuesdays, 4 – 6 p.m., through December 8. Alabama Charcoal is Space One Eleven’s rigorous studio art program for high school students, designed to build visual communication skills and foster creative thinking. Students learn and strengthen foundation skills, create individually conceived projects, learn about art-related careers, and work with a mentor to advance writing abilities. Juniors and seniors receive guidance for college applications and essays while building visual arts portfolios to increase college opportunities. All skill levels are welcome. Teaching Artist: KAYLA OLIVE. Students who wish to apply to the Alabama School of Fine Arts will develop portfolios for their applications. TUITION ASSISTANCE: Fees are based on a sliding scale. Families may qualify for free or reduced tuition, through the generosity of local foundations and private contributors.
For more: https://spaceoneeleven.org/citycenterart/?utm_source=Vertical%20Response&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CCA%20Fall%202020%20Opening
FOR YOUTH…
**GREATER BIRMINGHAM MINISTRIES – Join the Get Out the Vote Team for Adults and Young people leading to the November 2020 Election. Have meaningful conversations with our community and build relationships that will lead to more people working and understanding their voting options. Register to join team by calling (205) 623-5858.
*Reaching Young People – Young people 14-23 years old can work on reaching out to younger voters.
*Pop-Up Event Free Voting Support – Join GBM on Saturday, 2-4 p.m. for any voting support you may need. Get help with registration to vote, checking your registration status and polling place, apply to vote absentee ballot witnesses or notarized at 2304 12th Avenue North.
*Phone Banking – Sign up and mark your calendar for days and times: October 29, 4:30–7:30 p.m. and November 2, 4-30–7:30 p.m. Contact GBM.
FOR GIRLS…
**IMPORTANCE OF SAVINGS (Part 2), 4 p.m.. GirlSpring is hosting a Next Step Seminar – Set Yourself Up for Success for girls in Grades 8-12. This FREE online workshop will teach students how to manage money, start saving, use credit wisely and avoid identity theft and fraud. Great for students in middle and high school; who are learning how to budget an allowance or getting an income from their first job. Parents are welcome to attend too. Part 3 – November 5, IDENTITY THEFT and Part 4 – December 3, MANAGING YOUR MONEY. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/banking-for-students-presented-by-regions-tickets – 118376668803.
FOR PRAYER SERVICES…
**INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICES – Join Greater Birmingham Ministries (GBM) every Wednesday at Noon for Interfaith Prayer Service. People of faith and goodwill are invited to join GBM and the Alabama Episcopal Church for Noonday Prayer at Linn Park in Downtown Birmingham. Clergy are invited to wear clericals. Masks and social distancing will be observed. For more, go to: www.gbm.org.
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ time. People, Places and Things by Gwen DeRu is a weekly column. Send comments to my emails: gwenderu@yahoo.com and thelewisgroup@birminghamtimes.com.
