Tag Archives: Birmingham

Pro mountain bikers come for South’s finest

Posted on May 29, 2009 | Leave a comment

picture-1Believe it or not Birmingham is a bicycle-racing town.  If you need proof consider this weekend’s Bump N’ Grind mountain bike race.  Presented by Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (B.U.M.P.), this year’s event marks the fifteenth year that the single track at Oak Mountain State Park has challenged pro and amateur racers from around the country.  This race is arguably the best mountain bike race in the South (as well as the largest), so if you we’re planning a bike ride this weekend Oak Mountain is the place to be. Not only will you get to enjoy the park but you’ll have the treat of catching a glimpse of pro mountain bikers as they rail across the park and through the trails.

Volunteers are needed, details here.

Logo: Courtesy of official website

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Posted in Sports

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What will Birmingham’s aha moment be?

Posted on May 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

ahamomentWe’ll get the answer to that question next week as the Mutual of Omaha aha Moment tour visits Birmingham beginning June 1. The tour is focusing on the aha moment, defined by the tour organizers as “…a moment of clarity… a defining moment where you gain real wisdom – wisdom you can use to change your life.” They have been traveling the country recording recollections of those inspirational moments, sharing them online for all the world to see. The tour will be set up downtown in front of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on June 2 beginning at 12 p.m.

After you’ve checked out what some of the other aha moments have been and the official blog, you may be interested in signing up to record your own aha moment while they’re visiting the Magic City. You can always meet the crew too.

Logo: courtesy of official website.

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Posted in Take a moment

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Party at Shift WorkSpace tonight!

Posted on May 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

shift_work_space_logo1The paint’s dry, the furniture’s assembled and the front door is ready to be open to visitors at Shift WorkSpace this evening. One of Alabama’s first coworking space (and our new offline home) will host a grand opening event tonight (May 28) beginning at 5 p.m. The space and its founder, Drew Jones, has garnered a great deal of press recently, including a follow up brief about tonight’s opening in the BBJ and a story in today’s edition of The Birmingham News (it’s in the business section). There’s still time to RSVP, though at this point, you may just want to come on over and see what the excitement’s about.

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Posted in Business

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Irene Blalock named new BPL director

Posted on May 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

We just received word that the current associate director of the Birmingham Public Library, Irene Blalock, has been named its new director. She was one of several candidates for the position, which received a lot of attention from The Birmingham News earlier this month. Barbara Sirmans, the former director, announced her retirement in August; Pamela Lyons has been serving as the organization’s interim director. According to the News’ account, Blalock has spent her entire career with the BPL.

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Posted in The City

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A new way to Empower Alabama

Posted on May 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

empower-alabama-logoYesterday statewide nonprofit organization Empower Alabama announced that it would be closing its doors at the end of the month via email. Local progressive blog FreeThinkBham shared the news with folks in metro Birmingham via the posting of the email sent by the organization‘s executive director, Bradley Davidson. According to the note, many of its supporters have already created a political action committee, Front Door Democracy PAC, to focus on the 2010 general election.

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Posted in politics

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The Classic’s tomorrow!

Posted on May 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

Just in case you don’t already know, America’s oldest ballpark, Rickwood Field, will be hosting the 14th annual Rickwood Classic tomorrow (Wednesday, May 27) afternoon beginning at 12:35 p.m. Our Birmingham Barons will take on the Mississippi Braves and taking a look back to 1982. Former Braves broadcaster Pete Van Vieren is scheduled to throw out the first pitch.

Check out Josh Self’s memories of attending the landmark facility on Birmingham’s West side over on My Birmingham. You may also want to check out this year’s poster for the Classic and find out more about the ballpark and its place in history over at its official website.

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Climbing comes to Birmingham’s Southside

Posted on May 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

Inside First Avenue Rocks - Bob Farley/f8Photo

An emergency room nurse, a fifth grade teacher, 15,000 screws, 5,000 t-nuts, 145 sheets of plywood, 2,100 square feet of eight inch padding, and thousands of pounds of steel is turning a 6,800 square foot warehouse on Birmingham, AL’s Southside built in 1911 into modern rock climbing gym with 3,900 square feet of climbing surface.

Joe Ortega (the ER nurse) and Adam Henry (the teacher) have been creating the 16-foot-tall bouldering walls out of steel beams and plywood since January. The new rock climbing gym, called First Avenue Rocks, is due to open in the second week of June at 2417 First Ave. South.

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Posted in Business, The City

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