GWEN DERU
CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH!!!
TODAY…
**COMEDIAN STEVE MCGREW at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**THIRSTY THURSDAY at Hookah 114 17th Street No.
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Get all the latest news.
**WATCH LOTS OF MOVIES …after dinner and with the family and friends at Sidewalk Fest. Check out the Sidewalk Film Fest for lots more.
FRIDAY…
**GUITARIST CASHMERE WILLIAMS, 6-9 p.m. at Billy’s, 4520 Overton Road.
**TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY TAYLOR featuring DENNIS MITCHELL at Perfect Note.
**MOVIE NIGHT: Rent and Watch movies at Sidewalkfest.com.
**COMEDIAN STEVE MCGREW at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**LIT FRIDAYS WITH RIPCORD, 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. at 4501 Gary Avenue in Fairfield.
**ENJOY THE DAY …the food, reading books, watching movies, taking a nap or just talking with loved ones and friends on the phone. Get outside! Get some sun if you can!
SATURDAY…
**TROMBONIST JEFF BRADSHAW at Perfect Note.
**SATURDAYS IN THE GARDENS at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
**WINE DOWN HAPPY HOUR, 4-9 p.m. at Saferoom Lounge Bar.
**COMEDIAN STEVE MCGREW at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**FUN, GAMES, YARD AND HOUSE WORK including Uno, Monopoly, Solitaire, Shopping, Eating. Times are changing soon.
SUNDAY…
**FAMILY TIME, GOOD FOOD AND MOVIES.
**COMEDIAN STEVE MCGREW at the StarDome Comedy Club.
MONDAY…
**READ A GOOD BOOK…There are a few on the bookshelves, just lying around are some to read, A TASTE OF POWER: A BLACK WOMAN’S STORY by ELAINE BROWN…or you can get an e-book.
**EVERY MONDAY is MONSLAYYY – THE CARIBBEAN WAY, 8 p.m. at the Vault with TRINI and BRENT TRINI-FRESH PIERRE. FREE.
**LIVE FROM THE STARDOME RICKEY SMILEY KARAOKE.
TUESDAY…
**READ A REAL GOOD BOOK…You might like cookbooks, to-do books, game books, picture books, history books. You might like: SISTERS IN THE STRUGGLE: AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS – BLACK POWER MOVEMENT edited by BETTYE COLLIER-THOMAS and V.P. FRANKLIN. Check it out!
WEDNESDAY…
**INTERFAITH NOONDAY PRAYER SERVICES every Wednesday, Noon at Linn Park in Downtown Birmingham.
**COMEDIAN LAV LOVE at the StarDome Comedy Club.
NEXT THURSDAY…
**READ THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES. Catch up on the news!
**COMEDIAN LAV LOVE at the StarDome Comedy Club.
NEXT FRIDAY…
**MOVIE NIGHT: Rent and Watch movies at Sidewalkfest.com. Check out THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY.
**COMEDIAN CARLOS MENCIA at the StarDome Comedy Club.
**TRIBUTE TO DRU HILL and JODECI featuring JAY MARCUS & NEKO at Perfect Note.
**LIT FRIDAYS WITH RIPCORD, 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. at 4501 Gary Avenue in Fairfield.
FOR MUSIC LOVERS…
**MARCH MADNESS – Lit on 8th presents March Madness Friday – MELISSA, Saturday – LOGAN, March 19 – MS. FEE FEE, March 20 – WII, March 26 – JEREMY FLYY and March 27 – YUNG VOKALZ at 618 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr., Blvd.
**GUITARIST CASHMERE WILLIAMS, Voted Best Male Jazz Artist, performing March 29, (Friday) 6-9 p.m. at Billy’s, 4520 Overton Road.
FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS…
**SATURDAY DAYHIKE – Meet 9:45 a.m. at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve
DETAILS: This is a moderate, approximately four to five-mile, moderately strenuous big loop hike on the lovely, well-maintained trails in the 1000+-acre Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, one of the largest in-city nature preserves in the country. See remnants of old iron ore mining operations which took place on the mountain. Stop and visit three old iron ore crushers, stop by the entrances to three, different types of iron ore mines, walk around the new wetlands area, see a real artesian well which still emits copious amounts of water, and view foundations for ore car hoists and various water tanks. This trip is likely to involve some elevation gain hiking between the lower sections of the park to the top of Ruffner Mountain. Bring your picnic lunch and drinking water with you. Meet 9:45 a.m. at the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center Pavilion or in the parking lot next to the pavilion if the pavilion is cordoned off on the day of the hike. We plan to start hiking at 10 a.m. Info: David Shepherd, davidshep2@yahoo.com or 205/240-4681.
**SUNDAY DAYHIKE – Meet 12:45 p.m. 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 introducing your friends to Southeastern Outings and 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 without complaining and complete the hike are welcome. Bring a friend. Meet at 12:45 p.m. in the Oak Mountain Park office parking lot. Depart from there at 1 p.m. Bring $5/person ($2 seniors) park admission fee plus your drink. Info. and Trip Leader: Randall Adkins, 205/317-6969.
**WEDNESDAY WEEKDAY HIKE – Meet 9:15 a.m. at the new Shoal Creek Park, Montevallo, Alabama – DETAILS: A pleasant three-mile hike through fields and woods on a well developed loop of trails through Montevallo’s newest park. This is an easy, approximately three-mile hike in the new Shoal Creek Park in Montevallo. This 167-acre park has some new trails (2.1 miles and 1.6 miles) already constructed and some less developed trails which we will also hike. One trail does follow Shoal Creek for some distance. The park is located on both sides of Shoal Creek about two miles upstream from Orr Park where we have begun our past hikes on the Montevallo Parks Trail. The restrooms in the park are now completely constructed and open for your use. The park is located 1.1 miles south of American Village on AL Highway 119 in Montevallo. Bring your picnic lunch, water, and a hiking pole or two with you. Meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot behind the McDonald’s on U.S. Highway 31 at the Riverchase Galleria. Depart from there at 9:15 a.m. Admission to the park is free! Information and Hike Leader: Bill Ennis, 205-405-4636.
FOR LOVERS OF ART AND CULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT…
AT THE BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART…
**ART BREAK: WOMEN ARTISTS OF ALABAMA, Tuesday, March 16, 12 p.m. will be an overview of early 20th century women artists of Alabama, including Clara Weaver Parrish, Carrie Hill, Anne Goldthwaite, Zelda Fitzgerald, Geneva Mercer and Lucille Douglass among others. Livestreamed on the BMA’s website or on Zoom. Both livestream and Zoom link will appear on the BMA’s website 190 minutes prior to the event.
**GATHER, is a virtual film screening, March 25, 6-7:30 p.m. follows the stories of the Native Americans on the frontlines of a growing movement to reconnect with spiritual and cultural identifies that were devastated by genocide. An indigenous chef embarks on an ambitious project to reclaim ancient foodways on the Apache reservation; in South Dakota a gifted Lakota high school student, raised on a buffalo ranch, is proving her tribe’s native wisdom through her passion for science; and a group of young men of the Yurok tribe in Northern California.
**WAYS OF SEEING – BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS through March 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.
**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!
**AN EPIC OF EARTH AND WATER Claire Leighton and the New England Industries Series through May 2, 2021.
AT OPERA BIRMINGHAM…
**OPERA BIRMINGHAM’S PUCCINI – Hershey Felder Presents – Live from Florence, the World Premiere livestream of Hershey Felder, PUCCINI, a new streaming film written by and starring virtuoso pianist/performer Hershey Felder, and also featuring international opera stars, baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Gianna Corbisiero and tenor Charles Castronovo. Hershey Felder, PUCCINI will be live streamed at 8 p.m. Eastern, /7 p.m. Central and /5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, March 14, with On-demand access available through March 21. Hershey Felder, PUCCINI is the story of a young musician in love with the world of opera, and in particular, Giacomo Puccini’s masterworks, La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. When, through a series of unusual circumstances, the young musician meets the musical master himself, secrets are revealed that send the young musician soaring. For more information, visit www.operabirmingham.org/hersheyfelder.
**JUKEBOX 2021 – Opera Birmingham presents Jukebox 2021, a virtual concert of soaring melodies and beloved favorites! Jukebox 2021 will be available for viewing at www.operabirmingham.org/Jukebox2021 on Saturday, March 20 at 6 p.m. CDT. The concert is
free. To participate in the auction, visit www.operabirmingham.org/Jukebox2021.
FOR COMMUNITY LOVERS…
**A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN ARCHIBALD – The Birmingham Public Library presents A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author John Archibald, Wednesday March 17, 6 p.m. Join Jim Baggett, head of BPL’s Archives Department, as he talks with Birmingham News columnist John Archibald about his new book, ‘SHAKING THE GATES OF HELL, A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revelation.’
**SELF-CARE SATURDAYS – LADY WOO presents Self-Care Saturdays – PUTTING THE U BACK IN BRUNCH, Saturday, March 20 at the Vault, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with Brunch Buffet, Bottomless Mimosas ‘til noon, Self-Care Set Ups for the First 25 to RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/e/self-care/saturdays-brunch-tickets-143911887329.
**SAVE THE DATE MARCH 20 – UNCF GALA VIRTUAL LIVESTREAM, 6:30 p.m. VIP Reception and 7:30 p.m. Program, next Saturday. The Honorable Mayor RANDALL WOODFIN hosts the event with entertainment by ERIC ESSIX TRIO. The 2021 Masked Awards Honorees are DR. JESSE J. LEWIS, SR., JJ Lewis Investment and JONATHAN K. PORTER, Alabama Power Company. LEROY ABRAHAM of Regions Bank is Chair and TRACEY MORANT ADAMS, with Renasant Bank is Vice Chair.
**MAGIC CITY MARKET PLACE at Good People Brewing and Urban Supply, 1- 5 p.m., MARCH 20, APRIL 3 AND APRIL 17. For more: magiccitymarketplace@gmail.com.
**UNCF EMPOWER ME TOUR – Calling all HBCU students to a Career Readiness Conference, March 26, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Corporate Executives will be on hand. Scholarships & Prizes are Available as well as Internships & Career Opportunities. FREE. Register at: empowermetour.org.
AT SIXTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH…
**SIXTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH BLOOD DRIVE on the Fourth Sunday, March 28 at 7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Register at www.rcblood.org/3pugNVR.
AT THE BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL GARDENS…
**NATIVE PLANT CONFERENCE – GROWING RESILIENCE – Discover why native plants are vital to our gardens, March 11-14. The event will include virtual talks, roundtables and trivia, in-person small group field trips for professionals and hobbyists. Register at https://bbgardens.org/npc.php.
**SATURDAYS IN THE GARDENS.
**VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES – Aid with watering and plant care in the Gardens’ greenhouses and outdoor lath houses and discover the lush exotic varieties of tropicals and rare beauties. Go to volunteer@bbgardens.org for details.
**HONEY FROM THE GARDENS – The Library at the Gardens have a curbside service, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. weekdays, to purchase locally sourced honey from the Gardens’ hives or flavored in cinnamon, lemon or jalapeno from Ivy Brook Apiary. Call (205) 588-4593 or (205) 533-6062 to schedule a pickup.
FOR LOVERS OF SPORTS…
**JAMES LEWIS TENNIS CENTER has an early registration for Family Tennis Clinic, Beginner Kid’s Clinic and Beginner Adult Clinic. Deadline is Sunday, March 14. For more info text: 205.746.2438 or email: jameslewisclinic@gmail.com.
**THE WORLD GAMES are coming July 7-17, 2022. Look for more!
**79th ANNUAL McDONALD’S MAGIC CITY CLASSIC – The McDonald’s Magic City Classic 79th Annual event presented by Coca-Cola has a new kick-off time of 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17th. If you are unable to make it to the game, you can still support Alabama A&M and Alabama State by watching the live broadcast on ESPNU. The largest HBCU Classic in the country will take place at Legion Field on Saturday, April 17, when Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University battle it out for bragging rights. There will a limited amount of mobile only, reserved tickets sold to the game and tickets can be purchased online at www.magiccityclassic.com. Reserved game tickets are $35 and no general admission tickets will be sold. Masks must be worn at all times while at Legion Field and social distancing will be enforced. For additional event information and to purchase your tickets online, visit www.magiccityclassic.com.
FOR BOOK LOVERS…
…HERE are a few good books… Check them out
**BOOK: CONDUCTORS is written by author NICOLE GLOVER. This is a vibrant historical fantasy of magic and murder set in the aftermath of the Civil War. Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were Conductors on the Underground Railroad, ferrying dozens of slaves to freedom with daring, cunning, and magic that draws its power from the constellations. With the war over, those skills find new purpose as they solve mysteries and murders that white authorities would otherwise ignore. In the heart of Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, everyone knows that when there’s a strange death or magical curses causing trouble, Hetty and Benjy are the only ones that can solve the case. But when an old friend is murdered, their investigation stirs up a wasp nest of intrigue, lies, and long-buried secrets- and a mystery unlike anything they handled before. With a clever, cold-blooded killer on the prowl testing their magic and placing their lives at risk, Hetty and Benjy will discover how little they really know about their neighbors . . . and themselves.
**BOOK: ANGELA DAVIS: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY by author ANGELA DAVIS. Originally published in 1972, activist and scholar Angela Davis’s autobiography is an inspiring story about her journey to activism and her lifelong commitment to working against oppression. She has written several books on feminism, race, incarceration, and class. Her most recent book Abolition. Feminism. Now. (coauthored with Gina Dent, Erica Meiners, and Beth Richie) will be published in March.
**BOOK: SISTERS IN THE STRUGGLE: AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS – BLACK POWER MOVEMENT edited by BETTYE COLLIER-THOMAS and V.P. FRANKLIN. For an overview of Black women of the Civil Rights Movement, Sisters in the Struggle is a good option. It includes essays about key female activists as well as first-hand accounts. Women were at the forefront of the civil rights struggle, but their individual stories were rarely heard. Only recently have historians begun to recognize the central role women played in the battle for racial equality. In Sisters in the Struggle, we hear about the unsung heroes of the civil rights movements such as Ella Baker, who helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Fannie Lou Hamer, a sharecropper who took on segregation in the Democratic party (and won), and Septima Clark, who created a network of “Citizenship Schools” to teach poor Black men and women to read and write and help them to register to vote. We learn of Black women’s activism in the Black Panther Party where they fought the police, as well as the entrenched male leadership, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where the behind-the-scenes work of women kept the organization afloat when it was under siege. It also includes first-person testimonials from the women who made headlines with their courageous resistance to segregation—Rosa Parks, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, and Dorothy Height. This collection represents the coming of age of African-American women’s history and presents new stories that point the way to future study. Contributors: Bettye Collier-Thomas, Vicki Crawford, Cynthia Griggs Fleming, V. P. Franklin, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Duchess Harris, Sharon Harley, Dorothy I. Height, Chana Kai Lee, Tracye Matthews, Genna Rae McNeil, Rosa Parks, Barbara Ransby, Jacqueline A. Rouse, Elaine Moore Smith, and Linda Faye Williams.
**BOOK: A TASTE OF POWER: A BLACK WOMAN’S STORY by author ELAINE BROWN. Elaine Brown assumed her role as the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party with these words: “I have all the guns and all the money. I can withstand challenge from without and from within. Am I right, Comrade?” It was August 1974. From a small Oakland-based cell, the Panthers had grown to become a revolutionary national organization, mobilizing Black communities and white supporters across the country—but relentlessly targeted by the police and the FBI, and increasingly riven by violence and strife within. How Brown came to a position of power over this paramilitary, male-dominated organization, and what she did with that power, is a riveting, unsparing account of self-discovery. Brown’s story begins with growing up in an impoverished neighborhood in Philadelphia and attending a predominantly white school, where she first sensed what it meant to be Black, female, and poor in America. She describes her political awakening during the bohemian years of her adolescence, and her time as a foot soldier for the Panthers, who seemed to hold the promise of redemption. And she tells of her ascent into the upper echelons of Panther leadership: her tumultuous relationship with the charismatic Huey Newton, who would become her lover and her nemesis; her experience with the male power rituals that would sow the seeds of the party’s demise; and the scars that she both suffered and inflicted in that era’s paradigm-shifting clashes of sex and power. Stunning, lyrical, and acute, this is the indelible testimony of a Black woman’s battle to define herself.
FOR MOVIE LOVERS…
**AT THE SIDEWALK CENTER…
**MOVIE: BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY is a documentary directed by RJ CUTLER. It is an intimate look at the singer-songwriter’s journey, navigating life on the road, on stage and at home while creating her debut album.
**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 COMEDY LOVERS…
AT THE STARDOME COMEDY CLUB…
**TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY … COMEDIAN STEVE MCGREW… Comedian Steve ‘Mudflap’ McGrew (the hellbent southern gent) has been featured on Comedy Central in his own half hour special. He can be heard on 24/7 Comedy and on Sirius XM radio. Mudflap has released several comedy CDs, his latest, One Sick Puppy, is now available on iTunes. He is a regular at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, The Laugh Factory and Sin City Comedy club in Las Vegas. When McGrew lands on stage you can expect an instantaneously likable, high energy, and rapid fire show. His material is drawn from everyday life situations, and is a hybrid of character work, storytelling and one liner jabs to the funny bone. His “crossover” comedy style appeals to people from all walks of life, age groups, and ethnic backgrounds. Steve ‘Mudflap’ McGrew is also in high demand for comedy clubs and casino shows all around the country.
**MONDAY…LIVE FROM THE STARDOME WITH RICKEY SMILEY KARAOKE.
**NEXT WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY… COMEDIAN LAV LOVE…From his early start hosting high school talent shows, to his honorable stint in the United States Armed Forces, “LAV LUV” has always known that his destiny was on stage, making people laugh. LAV made his way to “open mic night” at Atlanta’s Uptown Comedy Corner, and has been on a whirlwind roll with comedy ever since. He is now one of the four permanent hosts at Uptown Comedy Corner which has showcased for hosts Corey “ZOOMAN” Miller, Earthquake, Chris Tucker, and Don “DC” Curry. Lav is a true student of the art of professional stand-up comedy and is a very diverse comedian with jokes dealing with socioeconomic/ politically correct issues to the ambiance of normal relationships and racially provoking thoughts. He consistently polishes his act and has expanded his talents to improvisation.
*NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY…COMEDIAN CARLOS MENCIA.
**COMING SOON – COMEDIANS TIM STATUM, JESS HILARIOUS and more… DON’T MISS THEM!
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ time. People, Places and Thi
