BY GWEN DERU
TODAY…
**SHAHEED AND DJ SUPREME, 7-8 p.m. online with UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, FREE
**COMEDIAN SIR WALT at the Star Dome Comedy Club.
**COMEDY FIND YOUR FUNNY – COMEDY CLASSES WITH COMEDIAN EUNICE ELLIOT at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Get all the latest news.
**WATCH LOTS OF MOVIES …after dinner and with the family and friends.
FRIDAY…
**STEVIE WONDER TRIBUTE FEATURING DANIEL FORD AT PERFECT NOTE.
**COMEDIAN GARY OWEN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**ENJOY THE DAY …the food, reading books, watching movies, taking a nap or just talking with loved ones and friends on the phone. Please… get a little sun if you can.
SATURDAY…
**SATURDAYS IN THE GARDENS at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
**WINE DOWN HAPPY HOUR, 4-9 p.m. at Saferoom Lounge Bar.
**COMEDIAN GARY OWEN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**FUN, GAMES, YARD AND HOUSE WORK including Uno, Monopoly, Solitaire, Shopping, Eating. Times are changing soon.
**OLD SCHOOL BAND TRIBUTE featuring TY SOUL & LIMITLESS, 7 p.m. at Perfect Note.
SUNDAY…
**NOTHING BUT …, 12 – 6 p.m. at Bizarre The Coffee Bar.
**COMEDIAN GARY OWEN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**FAMILY TIME, GOOD FOOD AND MOVIES.
MONDAY…
**Head to the Birmingham Zoo GLOW WILD…enjoy the weather and the fun.
**READ A GOOD BOOK…There are a few on the bookshelves, just lying around are some to read …or you can get an e-book. BOOK: C is for Country,
**LIVE FROM THE STARDOME with RICKEY SMILEY KARAOKE.
TUESDAY…
**READ A REAL GOOD BOOK…You might like cookbooks, to-do books, game books, picture books. Check it out!
WEDNESDAY…
**INTERFAITH NOONDAY PRAYER SERVICES every Wednesday, Noon at Linn Park in Downtown Birmingham.
**IT IS COLD WEATHER …focus on NEW RESOLUTIONS, HEALTHY EATING HABITS and so much more. A NEW YEAR, A NEW DAY!!
NEXT THURSDAY…
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!
**COMEDIAN at the StarDome Comedy Club.
NEXT FRIDAY…
**MOVIE NIGHT: Rent and Watch movies at Sidewalkfest.com. Don’t miss ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…and other movies at Sidewalk Cinema.
**COMEDIAN MIKE EPPS at the StarDome Comedy Club.
FOR THE COMMUNITY…
**100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES – Join the Negro Southern League Museum as it virtually celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues, Sunday, 6 p.m. with special guests and more. Register at bit.ly/NSLM100.
**NATIONALLY TEACH-IN HONORING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (DALLAS) – The 4th Annual King Teach-In will be held virtually on Saturday, January 16, at 11 a.m. CST. The event will be streamed live on Friendship-West’s online platforms including Friendship-West Baptist Church’s website, Facebook page, Instagram and YouTube. National Social Justice Activists Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III, social justice advocate and senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, Dr. George Mason, senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, and Mayor London Breed, the first African American woman to become mayor of San Francisco, are joining together to host this national “Teach-In” in celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The 4th Annual King Teach-In will be a transgenerational conversation to reclaim the identity, ministry, and witness of Dr. King and offer actionable ways for Americans to engage in the social justice movement and creation of public policy. The purpose is to reorient and reclaim the essence of who Dr. King was and what undergirded his public ministry. This year the theme is MLK: Theology, Policy, and Protest. The event will also include a youth and young adult panel.
FOR MOVIES LOVERS…
**MOVIE: ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (2020) directed by REGINA KING is a fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the ’60s. Screening January 15- 28 at Sidewalkfest.com.
**MOVIE: WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020) is directed by PATTY JENKINS. The movie fast forwards to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah. Screening is through January 21 at Sidewalkfest.com.
**SIDEWALK PARTNERS WITH SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2021 – Join movie lovers in downtown Birmingham from January 28 through February 3 at Sidewalk Cinema and at the Starlite Pop-Up Drive-In. MOVIE LINEUP: Censor, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, Cryptozoo, In the Earth, R#J, Passing, Misha and the Wolves, Hive, Jockey, Mother Schmuckers, Coming Home in the Dark, Life in a Day 2020, Philly D.A. and Night of the Kings,
Look for more at sidewalkfest.com.
**STOWE STORY LABS 2021 APPLICATION SEASON OPENS – Sidewalk Film Fest is partnering with the Labs for the Third Annual Sidewalk/Stowe Narrative Lab. The Stowe Story Labs was founded to help top emerging screenwriters, filmmakers and creative producers from around the world get work made and seen. The 2021 Programs include: MAY 14-18: Stowe Writers Retreat, JUNE 5-8: Stowe Narrative Lab, AUGUST 25-28: Sidewalk Narrative Lab (Remote) and SEPTEMBER 3-7: Stowe Writers’ Retreat. Apply at Sidewalkfest.com.
FOR LOVERS OF ART AND CULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT…
AT STEPHEN SMITH FINE ART…
**HEALERS IN THE SKY, PENTACLE IN MY HEART is a solo exhibition by LANETTE BLANKENSHIP. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday 12-5 p.m. at the Stephen Smith Fine Art Gallery in Fairfield. This exhibition will coincide with the Grand Opening of GYPSY TREASURE, an antique emporium located within Stephen Smith Fine Art.
AT THE BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART…
**JACOB LAWRENCE: THE AMERICAN STRUGGLE through February 7, 2021.
**AN EPIC OF EARTH AND WATER Claire Leighton and the New England Industries Series through May 2, 2021.
**ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL through March, 2021, primarily from the Museum’s permanent collection that looks at themes of power and agency. This exhibition takes its name from a painting by Amy Sherald, whose portraits depict Black sitters with pride, dignity, and joy, representation historically only afforded to white people. Some artists in the exhibition look towards power in other creative endeavors, like music. Others contemplate the hidden potential of everyday objects by transforming them into works of art. Several artists engage the representation of space and architecture – including museum spaces – to discover the dynamics of power. Considered together, these works illustrate the importance of being seen, choosing how to be depicted, and telling one’s own history.
**WAYS OF SEEING – BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS through March 2021
**WALL TO WALL – MERRITT JOHNSON through Spring 2021. BMA hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays Noon – 5 p.m. with virtual offerings will continue, including live programs, meditation exercises, art-making activities and much more!
FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS…
AT THE BIRMINGHAM ZOO…
**GLOW WILD: An Animal Lantern Celebration! This extraordinary event will be held on select nights 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. during January. Guests will be captivated by visually stunning lantern creations of wildlife from around the world. The Zoo will come alive with hundreds of marvelous animal shapes of all sizes – from pandas, elephants, cheetahs, polar bears, and whales – soaring up to 30 feet high! Spend the winter with your Birmingham Zoo. GLOW WILD into the new year!
FOR DAYHIKES IN THE PARKS…
**SATURDAY DAYHIKE, Meet at 9:45 a.m. – Southeastern Outings Dayhike along the Locust Fork River from Swann Covered Bridge to Powell Falls – DETAILS: A moderate three-mile dayhike and picnic along the lovely Locust Fork River in Blount County near Cleveland, Alabama. View and drive through the genuine and newly-restored wooden covered bridge. Hike along the river from the bridge and have lunch right beside Powell Falls. This waterfall drops about eight feet and carries a substantial amount of water. Also view sheer cliffs rising over 60 feet right above the water. See a rushing river, covered bridge, high rock bluffs and a large waterfall—all along a one and a half mile stretch of river. Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 7 and older welcome. Bring a friend or two. Meet 9:45 a.m. at the Cleveland Chevron. Depart at 10 a.m. Info: Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680.
**SUNDAY DAYHIKE, Meet at 12:45 p.m. – Southeastern Outings Second Sunday Dayhike in Oak Mountain State Park – DETAILS: Enjoy a moderate four-mile walk in the woodlands near Birmingham on a Sunday afternoon. This is an excellent outing for making new friends who enjoy the outdoors. Parts of this hike may be off the color-coded trails. There will be some ups and downs. Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 8 and up able to walk the distance of about four miles and complete the hike are welcome. Optional dinner after the hike. Meet at 12:45 p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. Depart at 1 p.m. Bring $5/person ($2 seniors) park admission fee plus your drink. Info: Randall Adkins, 205-317-6969.
**NEXT THURSDAY WEEKDAY HIKE, Meet 10 a.m. – Southeastern Outings Weekday Hike at Red Mountain Park, 2011 Frankfurt Drive, Birmingham, AL 35211 – DETAILS: This is a two to three-mile hike on a walkable portion of this noteworthy place. Hike rated moderately easy. There may be some hills to climb. For more information about the park, please visit the park’s website: http://www.redmountainpark.org. The walking pace for this hike will be moderately easy. Stop often to catch our breath and note views, trees, bird songs and the trail and woods around us. Bring your picnic lunch and plenty of water. Wear good walking shoes or boots. Dress appropriately for the weather.Please meet at 10 a.m. in the large Red Mountain Park parking lots on the right side of Lyon Lane immediately after you turn right onto Lyon Lane off of the north end of Frankfurt Drive off Lakeshore Parkway. We plan to depart from there shortly after 10 a.m. Information: Christine Heckemeyer, 205-979-5730
FOR BOOK LOVERS…
…HERE are a few good books… for children that they should enjoy sharing, again and again with their friends. (Some taken from Book Riot)
**BOOK: C IS FOR COUNTRY is written by LIL NAS X for children. Join superstar Lil Nas X—who boasts the longest-running #1 song in history—and Panini the pony on a joyous journey through the alphabet from sunup to sundown. Experience wide-open pastures, farm animals, guitar music, cowboy hats, and all things country in this debut picture book that’s perfect for music lovers learning their ABCs and for anyone who loves Nas’s signature genre-blending style. Featuring bold, bright art from THEODORE TAYLOR III, with plenty of hidden surprises for Nas’s biggest fans, C Is for Country is a celebration of song and the power inside us all.
**BOOK: OUTSIDE, INSIDE by LEUYEN PHAM is a moving picture book celebrating essential workers and the community coming together to face the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Something strange happened on an unremarkable day just before the season changed. Everybody who was outside . . . went inside. Outside, it was quieter, wilder, and different. Inside, we laughed, we cried, and we grew. We remembered to protect the ones we love and love the ones who protect us. While the world changed outside, we became stronger on the inside and believed that someday soon spring would come again.
**BOOK: MOST DAYS is written by MICHAEL LEANNAH. This is a book about mindfulness. About relishing the magic of the here and now. About enjoying the extraordinary unfoldings of an ordinary day. Moving from morning to night, the narrator becomes, by turns, boy or girl, of ever-changing ethnicity and ability, inhabiting city, country, or suburb. They are all children everywhere, opening themselves to the gift of time. “Good things happen in the ordinary minutes of an ordinary day.
**BOOK: MOST PEOPLE is written by MICHAEL LEANNAH with illustrator JENNIFER E. MORRIS. The world can be a scary place. Anxious adults want children to be aware of dangers, but shouldn’t kids be aware of kindness too? Michael Leannah wrote Most People as an antidote to the scary words and images kids hear and see every day. Jennifer Morris’s emotive, diverting characters provide the perfect complement to Leannah’s words, leading us through the crowded streets of an urban day in the company of two pairs of siblings (one of color). We see what they see: the hulking dude with tattoos and chains assisting an elderly lady onto the bus; the Goth teenager with piercings and purple Mohawk returning a lost wallet to its owner; and the myriad interactions of daily existence, most of them well intended. Most People is a courageous, constructive response to the dystopian world of the news media.
**BOOK: THE DAY YOU BEGIN is written by JACQUELINE WOODSON and illustrated by RAFAEL LOPEZ. “There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you.” There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it’s how you look or talk, or where you’re from; maybe it’s what you eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael López’s dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.
FOR COMEDY LOVERS…
AT THE STARDOME COMEDY CLUB…
**COMEDIAN SIR WALT… Birmingham’s Funniest Comedian is coming to his hometown stage. You’ve seen Sir Walt tear up the stage on BET’s Comic View, Starz’s First Amendment and P Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy as well as clubs and colleges all over the Southeast. His high energy style and dynamic stage presence keeps audiences cheering night after night. He is one of the StarDome’s Favorites, so make your plans today.
**TODAY…STAND-UP COMEDY CLASSES WITH EUNICE ELLIOTT…Whether you actually have dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian or you are looking to become a more confident, effective communicator…… this class is for YOU. Classes are taught by Comedian, Writer, Actor, Author Eunice Elliot. With over 10+years onstage and onscreen, Eunice has learned the importance of receiving creative feedback and critiques in becoming a sought-after speaker and performer. In addition to loving to perform stand-up comedy, this former television news anchor stays busy as a writer/actress for “It’s A Southern Thing”, author, and podcast host.
Beginner Class Starts on Thursday, January 14, 2021. In-person Class Every Other Thursday/Virtual Sessions Every Other Thursday (8 weeks total PLUS Graduation Showcase). Intermediate Class Starts on Thursday, January 21, 2021. In-person Class Every Other Thursday/Virtual Sessions Every Other Thursday (8 weeks total INCLUDING Graduation Showcase).
**FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY…COMEDIAN GARY OWEN… Gary Owen has been entertaining American audiences for more than a decade with his side-splitting comedy. Having performed to sold-out audiences in all the major comedy clubs and theaters across the country, Owen is one of America’s most beloved comedians, having been proclaimed by Ebony magazine as Black America’s “Favorite White Comedian”.
**NEXT FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY…COMEDIAN GARY OWEN.
**COMING SOON – COMEDIANS MIKE EPPS, WELLRED and more… DON’T MISS THEM!
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ tim
