birminghamal.gov
The City of Birmingham is turning 150 years old this year and will celebrate the milestone on Friday, July 16 during the 150th Summer Celebration from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. at Legion Field. Logan the Entertainer will perform. There will also be food trucks, vendors, music, the Birmingham Public Library, a visit from the Birmingham Zoo, a visit from Vulcan Park and Museum’s mascot and more. Attendees should be sure to bring their lawn chair. Admission is free.
Birmingham Park and Rec will provide 3-on-3 basketball for youth and adults. Also, community partners will present a 3-on-3 soccer tournament during the Summer Celebration at Legion Field. All soccer participants must be 18 years old or older. Visit https://bit.ly/3yA4Bh1 to register for free. This is a 16 team, single elimination for the soccer games.
The Birmingham Police Department will host “Cupcakes with a Cop,” which will feature distributing cupcakes and goody bags to children and also taking photos and talking with residents.
In an effort to encourage people to get out and discover or rediscover what the city has to offer, the city will present the “Experience Birmingham Weekend’’ July 16 -18. The Birmingham Zoo will offer $5 off all general admission July 16-18. Vulcan Park and Museum will offer a “buy one, get one free’’ admission for residents over the weekend.
Several other “Experience Birmingham Weekend’’ events include:
* Arlington House will host Soul Food Saturday on July 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for in-person lunches or grab-and-go orders. People can call Arlington House at 205-780-5656 for orders. Starting July 12, free exercise classes will return to Railroad Park.
* The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will offer free walking tours of the Civil Rights District on July 16 and July 17. Participants can check in at BCRI’s ticket booth for an hour-long, guided tour. Tours will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m,.on July 16 and at 10 a.m. on July 18.
* BCRI will also continue its outdoor classroom series, Who’s on the Wall, on July 17 when a guest speaker will discuss Birmingham native Dr. Angela Davis, who is featured on the mural on the center’s exterior wall. The event will take place at the Firehouse Community Arts Center in Avondale, 412 – 41st St. South. Tickets are $20 and are available at https://whosonthewall.swell.gives.
* The Birmingham Public Library will have Grab and Go Kids available at all locations for children to create their own fun animal craft. Four BPL locations, Avondale, Central, Five Points West and Springville Road, will be open on July 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
* The Birmingham Museum of Art and Sloss Furnaces will also be open this weekend. Admission is free.
* Restaurants with a love for Birmingham have connected their food to the 150th, too. In June, Top that Grille II named a salad after the 150th. In July, Birmingham native LaToya Jolly of Jolly Cakes named her red velvet cupcake the Magic City Velvet in honor of the 150th. She will be selling it the whole month. She will be one of several food truck vendors at the city’s Food Truck Friday on July 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside City Hall. To read more of her story, go here.
Visit www.birminghamal.gov/150 for more info about the city’s 150th anniversary. The state legislature declared Birmingham a city on Dec. 19, 1871. The city will be highlighting the anniversary throughout 2021.
