Category Archives: homewood

Got plans this weekend? 5.2 – 5.4

Celebrate Hoover Day has been moved to Sunday. But that means you can go to the Noble Street Festival in Anniston instead on Saturday. This festival seems to revolve around watching people go really fast on bikes, bicycles that is. When we say fast, we’re talking 40 mph. That’s scary fast. But the festival does have more to offer. There’s food from area restaurants, a whole day of music, kids’ activities including the McWane Science Center KidZone and more. The music is free and most of the kids’ stuff is too. You’ll have to buy tickets for the food. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The website does say rain or shine so take the umbrellas.

Celebrate Hoover Day? We Love Homewood Day? How do you choose? More after the jump…

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Murder in the Magic City

Tomorrow, the Homewood Library hosts the 2008 mystery fan conference menacingly monikered Murder in the Magic City. The door open at 9 a.m. and runs through 4 p.m. The cost is $45 and includes lunch (for those with reservations), drinks, snacks and a “goody bag”. Because of limited seating they have been encouraging reservations, but I am told a few walk-up seats are still available.

The all day event includes a panel discussion, a special session with award-winning author Donna Andrews and book signings. What’s cool is that fans can bring their own books from home to have signed by the authors present (a complete list of which is here).

trav blogs regularly at {head}:sub/head, about reading, publishing, books and Birmingham.

Slamming in the ‘Ham

Ultimate Fighting Champion Matt Hughes is cruising through Birmingham tomorrow night. He’ll be at the Wildwood Shopping Center Books-A-Million location at 7 p.m. He’ll be ready to pose for pictures and will be signing his new book Made in America, which is loaded with tons of background information about his rise to dominance and dishes backstage happenings about one of the most explosive leagues in all of sportdom.

{trav blogs regularly at {head}:sub/head, about reading, publishing, books and Birmingham.}

Back to back book signings this weekend

The Alabama Booksmith is hosting Michael Knight tonight at 6pm. He’s signing his new book The Holiday Season. The book contains two novellas exploring loss, loneliness and family. This is a book that had the New York Book Review calling Knight “… authentic and intense.”

And then Saturday, at 3:30 p.m., Wayne Greenhaw will stop by The Alabama Booksmith to sign his latest, Ghosts on the Road. With this latest release, Greenhaw fans will be treated to a peek at his “poet’s soul” as they flip through page after page of “portraits…” which he describes as “…snatches of myself, my observations, my life that has been so enhanced by loved ones and great friends, some of whom I remember here.”

trav blogs regularly at {head}:sub/head, about reading, publishing, books and Birmingham.

Got plans this weekend? 11.30 – 12.2

Wow! December 1 might be the most over-scheduled day of the year – everyone wants to kick off their holiday season Saturday. Makes me wonder what we’re going to do the rest of the month besides fight the crowds at the mall.

If you like a parade, there’s four to choose from:

Homewood: 9 a.m.
Starts at Homewood Library, through downtown Homewood and ends on Central Avenue at Homewood Park. Downtown Homewood is said to be the best location to view the parade.

Center Point: 11 a.m.
Starts at Cathedral of the Cross church near the Birmingham city limits and ends at the Post Office Shopping Center.

Vestavia Hills: 10 a.m.
Parade travels down Highway 31 South from Shades Crest Road to Canyon Road.

Mountain Brook: 3 p.m.
Starts at Crestline Elementary, heads through Crestline Village to end at Dan Watkins Drive. The shops of Crestline Village will have their annual Home for the Holiday Open House from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Craft fairs and movies on the other side of the jump…

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Travel options:Red Dot gallery opening tonight

Red Dot Gallery owners

Gallery owners Dori Decamillis and Scott Bennett in their Homewood Studio. Bob Farley/f8photo

A grand re-opening celebration lost in the shuffle of all of the larger events taking place this evening is the one for Red Dot Gallery. The gallery and teaching space was located near Pepper Place and is now settling in to its new home in Homewood. Check out their site for more information about the facility and head on over and talk to Dori and Scott.

The fun starts at 6 p.m. for those looking for a slightly more relaxed way to spend your Friday evening.

A Daniel Wallace contest… no, seriously

wallace book coverWe’re going to see if we can’t help jump start this contest that Daniel Wallace is running over on his website. Yes, the same Daniel Wallace that wrote Big Fish.

The simple way to do this is to have you click here and read it directly from him. If you’re just waiting for us to tell you about it, we’ll try our best:

Wallace wants to know people’s predictions about how  his new book, Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, is going to do after it’s released on Tuesday, July 3.

And he doesn’t want vague ones either; he wants specific details as to how successful (or unsuccessful) his latest literary work will be.

 The person who wins the contest gets a 10" x 15" glossy print of the book’s cover. If you want to enter, you’re probably going to want to post your entires as comments on that blog entry that you skipped up above.

We’ll try to let you know what the winning entry is once he decides. Of course, you can always head on over to The Alabama Booksmith on July 10 at 6 p.m. and pick up a signed copy. Maybe he’ll even let you know where you stand in the contest.