If you still haven’t figured out what you’re doing this evening, there’s still time to get tickets to attend tonight’s gospel concert at the Alys Stephens Center beginning at 7 p.m. Click here to view the Timetable listing for the event.

The event is being held in conjunction with the announcement of the creation of the Alabama Gospel Music Cultural Arts Center. The center is the outgrowth of efforts to renovate and utilize the former McCoy United Methodist facility, located across the street from Birmingham-Southern College by the McCoy Center for Community Service.

Its development was influenced in part by Region 2020‘s Arts & Culture Master Plan, which recommended that the city work to strengthen and develop existing infrastructure and facilities for arts and cultural programming. The center was cited specifically as a neighborhood facility that could potentially be renovated to house such programs as well as attract regional and national visitors.

Representatives hope to “develop a state-of-the-art performance facility in the former McCoy United Methodist building, to offer a comprehensive line of quality arts and cultural educational programs, and to establish a Museum with interactive exhibits and archives of the Alabama gospel music legacy.”

The project appears to be garnering a great deal of corporate support already, receiving sponsorships from the Alabama Power Company, the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and Alabama Public Television for the event. Head on out if you get the chance or stay tuned to The Terminal for information about additional public meetings about the project.