Category Archives: 35222

Freshfully shares the wealth with area schools

Freshfully the day before the grand opening 2012Freshfully never loses; it’s pretty much a fact. Wednesday, May 15, the purveyor of fresh produce looks to share its Midas touch with its neighborhood Birmingham City elementary school.

A Facebook event created late last month invites folks to visit its nearly 1½ year-old Avondale Market on May 15. According to the event’s description, 10% of all in-store sales will go to directly benefit Avondale Elementary School. They’ve already held similar fundraisers for both Red Mountain Community School and the Alabama Waldorf School earlier this month.

The two year old business is continuing an unbeaten streak similar to the ones SEC football fans hope for each season. Just last week the store was named one of the winners of Intuit’s Small Business Growing Strong initiative, securing $5,000 to improve the physical store’s lighting. This came on the heels of wrapping up an IndieGoGo campaign to add a café, a month after it reopened following a renovation of their space. Their Occupy:Avondale win presented them with the opportunity to open in the space in addition to six months free rent.

You could even say they started off with a (bang). Area schools have the privilege to benefit from their efforts while residents enjoy locally sourced food options. Sounds like a win for everybody.

Whitney Duncan shoots video at Sloss

Whitney Duncan at Sloss - Bob Farley/f8Photo

Bob Farley/f8photo

Whitney Duncan, a country singer and former contestant on television show Nashville Star produced music videos for three songs – “Right Road Now,” “Open Road” and “When I Said I Would” – in Birmingham this past week. Wednesday night the Bessemer-based production company Erwin Brothers, shot scenes at Sloss Furnaces. About 200 extras were on hand to play adoring fans and concert goers for the video accompanying her song “When I Said I Would.”

Click on the image above to view images from the video shoot last night. In one scene Duncan signs autographs for a crush of her fans. In the other she and her band perform on the Sloss stage. The single and video for “When I Said I Would” is due out this summer. Duncan records on the Warner Bros. label.

Josh Ritter’s near death experience

Yes, Josh Ritter was in town last night and he performed. No, we actually thought that he was kidding (at least a little)…

But according to Josh’s post today on his Huffington Post blog, it sounds like it was just that (though it sounds like he definitely enjoyed his time at The Bottletree last night – great pics too). And he did live to write about it…

We also figured we’d use this space to announce that there will be a concert benefiting The Terminal on Saturday, July 26 @ said Bottletree. More information will be following soon…

ShamRocking at Sloss this weekend

ShamRock Music Festival logoSloss Furnaces will host the first annual ShamRock music festival on Saturday, March 15. Check out the destinations calendar entry to hear the pitch…

We figured it would be nice to share the schedule of bands here (and possibly some links to their online presence so you’ll know just how great it’s going to sounds this weekend:

Time Band
2:00 – 2:30 p.m.   Moon Taxi
2:45 – 3:15 p.m.   Jasper Coal
3:30 – 4 p.m.   Caddle
4:15 – 4:45 p.m.   Stoned Cobra
5 – 5:45 p.m.   Leaderdog
6 – 6:30 p.m.   Selling Mary
6:45 – 7:15 p.m.   Red Halo
7:30 – 8:15 p.m.   Beyond Me
8:30 – 9:15 p.m.   The Bridges
9:30 – 10:30 p.m.   Rantings of Eva
     

Greencup Books opens tomorrow

This Friday, February 8th, at 2 p.m., Birmingham’s newest used bookstore opens its doors to the public. This grand-opening of Greencup Books, located in an old two-story brick building at 105 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd., South (next to Bare Hands Gallery), includes a kick-off event featuring a signing with Tony Crunk and artist Peter Wilm, who will be there at 7 p.m. to promote their book project Stories from Real Life, which is Greencup Books first publishing project.

Owner and publisher Russell Helms says opening a business that published books and art, as well as sell it, is something that he hopes will spur new ideas within the revitalized Southside area.

“It’s all about building community and supporting creativity “at any cost”, says Helms. “If you need a creative boost, just spending half an hour with us should do the trick. Ideas and original thoughts are guaranteed. We have books, books, books, and lots of cool art from Bare Hands Gallery. We exist to spur creativity. People can expect whatever they are looking for, and more!”

Continue reading

Got plans this weekend? 10.26-10.28

While Halloween isn’t until Wednesday, you can take your costume on a test-run at the Alabama Theatre tonight. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the Rocky Horror Masquerade Ball. You have until 8:15 p.m. to register for the costume contest. And while it would be more fun to dress as Brad or Janet, there is also a general category. After the judging, it’s time to sit back and watch the movie. Actually, you don’t just sit — there is a lot of audience participation. I suggest you read up on the do’s and don’ts. Tickets are $17 at the door.

Definitely if you have children, I think you should check out Art in Avondale Park Saturday. I’ve already written a bunch about it here. In case of rain, the festivities will be on Sunday. The event is free.

This is the last weekend to experience “The Phantom of the Opera” at the BJCC. The show’s run here ends Sunday. I’ve seen several touring products of Phantom and haven’t been disappointed yet. If you at all like musical theater, witness for yourself the power of the music of the night. Tickets run from $25-65.

For something to talk to fellow theatergoers about before the curtain rises, check out this Birmingham News article about Helena native Rebecca Luker’s turn as Christine.

If you can’t get enough Phantom, The Alabama is showing the original 1925 silent film at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for 12 and under. But I think you’ll have more fun if you leave the kids at home.

A creative day in Avondale on Saturday

Kids don’t need much but there are a few must-haves besides food, shelter and clothes. Fresh air is an example. Kids need to get outside to explore the world around them. It helps them grow and gives them exercise. Another example is a creative outlet. Kids, especially little ones, need a way to express themselves and sometimes they just don’t know the right words. Art expands their minds and fuels the imagination.

Art in Avondale Park poster

Lucky for kids of all ages, there is an event Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that combines fresh air with creativity. The mission of Art in Avondale Park is “to inspire children to discover their talents.” They’ll be able to do just that through lots of hands-on activities placed around the park, located at the corner of 41st Street South and 5th Avenue South. There will also be music and dance, booths manned by well-known and emerging artists, a silent auction and more.

Details of the day’s activities after the jump. You can also click on the image to view the poster in PDF format.

Continue reading

WorkPlay hosts College Football Saturdays in the theater

WorkPlay College Saturdays

Photo credit: André Natta

SEC fans now have one more option to consider when figuring out where they’re going to watch a game as WorkPlay now hosts College Football Saturdays in the theater. The image above is from last week’s event as Alabama fans enjoy the view from the venue’s 25′ screen with HD projector and digital sound.

The seats in WorkPlay Stadium even include an Astroturf playing field and goalposts. Food will be on sale from OT’s Sports Grill. Doors open at 1 p.m., with the game beginning at 2 p.m. as #1 LSU plays at #17 Kentucky.

Cowboy Mouth will perform later tomorrow evening. Next week promises to be fun as well, with Alabama vs. Tennessee or Florida vs. Kentucky.

Scare easy? You need not apply

Furnace shot

It’s a spooky, spooky place out at Sloss. Apparently, the supernatural activity is known to heat up in September and October. Special to The Terminal

Continue reading

There’s always time to vote for your favorite bar!

It’s been years since The Garage made it onto GQ’s list of “The World’s Best Places To Fly To”. Now, they and three other local bars are preparing for a similar fate at the hands of Esquire magazine as they vie to be voted one of the Best Bars in America for 2007:

Click on any of the links above, slide the rating meter to 100% and make your voice heard! Visit the complete list to view the current rankings.

Editor’s note: modified from original post on Musings on Birmingham, 8.2.2007