Tag Archives: ribbon cutting

Birmingham’s inaugural Innovation Week underway

IMG_20140922_103827This morning the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), TechBirmingham, the Birmingham Venture Club, and Alabama Launchpad were joined by representatives of the city of Birmingham at Innovation Depot as they held a ribbon cutting to mark the start of the city’s first ever Innovation Week. Special events like a screening of the web series StartupLand! and an open house at the Depot are interspersed among regularly scheduled gatherings (think Birmingham Startup Drinks and a Code for Birmingham hack session on Friday) this week. This morning’s ceremony was followed by a panel discussion on startup capital held at the BBA’s offices downtown.

It will culminate with a one-day . A full schedule is posted on the official website for the effort (with AL.com, the event’s media partner) creating a public Google calendar for you to subscribe to as well). Those attending the week’s events are asked to use the hashtag #innovationweekbirmingham when sharing items via social media networks, though we’ve seen a few trying to use #innovationweekbham as well (including us) to leave a few more characters free for commenting.

VIPs get a sneak peek at Remy’s Dog Park before this Saturday’s official opening

IMG_20140830_102547-MOTIONThere was a lot of celebratory barking at Red Mountain Park on Saturday, August 30, as VIPs and volunteers got a sneak peek at Remy’s Dog Park. (It was the latest to be granted, though probably one of the largest; AL.com accompanied Pig to a sneak preview of the park in early August.) The space will open to the public this coming Saturday at  8 a.m., with an official ribbon cutting taking place at 11 a.m. featuring remarks from local auctioneer and philanthropist Ken Jackson (that’s the guy you see in the GIF accompanying this post talking to attendees) and Birmingham Mayor William Bell.

Last summer Jackson contributed $200,000 (via a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham) towards construction of the 6-acre dog park. It is named for his late Jack Russell-Shih Tzu mix and has designated areas for large, small, and special needs dogs. Park officials report more than 750 volunteer hours have been contributed towards getting the land cleared for the installation.

The park will open at 9 a.m. on September 6, with the ribbon cutting taking place at 11 a.m. Click here to view an image of the sign that goes over the park’s rules. The park will be closed to the public on Wednesday mornings in order to perform maintenance and repairs. There are several naming opportunities still available throughout the space, including pet waste stations (20 @ $2,500 each) and one of the three unclaimed for a pavilion (@ $25,000 each).