Tag Archives: AL

Kresge Arts in Birmingham grantees announced

For those that missed yesterday’s announcement via al.com , Kresge Arts in Birmingham announced their first ever list of grantees via press release yesterday. The program, introduced to Birmingham, AL  just earlier this year, is one of five operating with the support of The Kresge Foundation.

The list that follows is of the nine organizations and their proposed projects taken from the official press release. The Cultural Alliance’s website has additional information about the program.

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We Have Signal, Rick Karle up for Southeast Emmys

we have signal posterLast weekend the nominations were announced for the Southeast Regional Emmy Awards. The Terminal found out when the folks from We Have Signal shared their excitement via Facebook last night; after winning for audio work last year, the popular live performance series is up for the award again and competing against two other Alabama Public Television (APT) shows for a second award (known as Outstanding Achievement: Television Crafts Achievement Excellence – Editor – Program (Non-News))

A once over of the official nominations list also shows that Fox 6s Rick Karle is nominated for three awards, including best sports anchor and best sportscast. APT’s episode of Alabama Stories titled Honor Flight rounds out the multiple nominees from metro Birmingham and Alabama.

The awards will be handed out in Atlanta at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead on June 26.

Good luck everybody!

Kresge Arts in Birmingham launches

Birmingham has been chosen as one of five communities participating in the Kresge Community Arts grants pilot program. The Kresge Foundation hopes that the program, “encourages residents to use art and culture as a tool to address issues in their communities.”

The Magic City will participate alongside St. Louis, MOBaltimore, MDDetroit, MI;  and Tucson, AZ. The first three have been participating since last summer – Birmingham and Tuscon’s participation was first announced late last year. Each community will receive $200,000 during the course of two years.

The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham will be the agency awarding the grants here in metropolitan area. Amounts between $2,500 and $10,000 will be provided to “community arts projects that strive to address Birmingham’s pressing issues as determined by its citizens.

Cultural Alliance president Buddy Palmer spoke with The Birmingham News recently about the organization’s hopes for the program as well as specifics about informational sessions to be held on February 22, March 10 and March 16.

Help out Art in Avondale Park tonight

Art In Avondale Park logoWe’re thinking that after yesterday’s news, many of our city’s residents are happy that it’s one of the busiest weekends on the fall calendar, especially if you’re a big fan of Art in Avondale Park .

In its seventh year, the community festival is scheduled to take place this Saturday, October 31 (though a rain date of Sunday, November 1 has already been announced) and they are still taking applications for art booths via Eventbrite.

This year they’ve added a Wild and Wicked Cruise to the festival’s list of activities. The fundraiser will be held at Old Car Heaven this evening (October 29) from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Partygoers can listen to live music by Ashley Miller with special guest Rick Carter plus have a chance to sample award-winning chili from Bottletree Cafe and view an outstanding collection of classic cars and a wonderful selection of silent auction prizes.

Tickets are $10 and include one drink and you can still buy tickets NOW.

A sit down with Amy Ray

NOTE: As we get close to City Stages turning 21 this coming weekend, we figured we’d take a few moments and do a couple of things to get you into the mood. Guest contributor Jeremy Henderson gets us started by sitting down with Amy Ray, one half of the Indigo Girls.

amyray“Lesbian” and “indigo” both have three syllables. The syllables are identically stressed. When I first heard them – les-bi-an, late 80s, walking home through the 3rd grade suburbs of old Vestavia; In-di-go, early 90s, in a church van, radio blasting, scruples flaring, girls pretending to French each other – they were both followed by snickers and dirty winks. I think that’s what did it for me. For a split second, I totally thought they meant the same thing, or that one implied the other, synonyms in a sinner’s vocabulary. Both words sounded so… exotic. So… earthy. Onomatopoetic even.

Amy knows what I mean. She remembers the first time she heard ‘indigo.’ It was 1985. She had a dictionary. She was looking for a word to go with ‘girls.’

And when she dials from her private number in the North Georgia Mountains, we’ll talk about how people who live in the North Georgia Mountains (she’s been there 17 years) love to say ‘North Georgia Mountains.’

We’ll talk about her youth group skate nights with the Methodists as a teenager in Decatur, Ga.

We’ll talk about their 1997 show in Auburn with The Rock*A*Teens the spring before my freshman year. They had to reschedule. One of them had a sore throat.

We’ll talk about how their new independently released album, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug (which references North Georgia in the second line of the first song), is kind of incredible and how it just might be the best thing they’ve ever done, which I’ll tell her I really wouldn’t know much about because other than recognizing that one song from the church van, I don’t know anything about their music. I only own one of their records – that one, the newest one, and only a promotional download version at that, which cracks her up. “That’s refreshing,” she’ll say.

But for most of the 20 minutes, the Indigo Girls‘ Amy Ray and I talked about the word “lesbian” – about our first times to hear it, how we both instantly knew it was bad, and how it sounds so different now.

I went first.

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got plans 2.0 | 6.12 – 6.14

Come on people, support the arts! Make your way to Naked Art Gallery this evening from 5-9 p.m. for the opening reception of Rock Paper Scissors.  This show features sculpted creations by artists Justin Roth and Tiffany Ownby.  Both will be present this evening as well as tomorrow for the tea time reception from 1-6 p.m. By the way, there’s going to be fresh baked cookies…

If you’re at Naked Art you might as well stop by Silvertron Cafe and take advantage of their weekend specials. You won’t be disappointed.

Tomorrow night you’re going to miss something special if you sit at home during Paint the Town Red.  The American Red Cross presents Birmingham’s first digital art show in downtown’s loft district. The storefronts along 2nd Avenue North will come alive with digital media creations from 6-11 p.m. Tickets are $12.

If you’re achin’ for a show, checkout the calendar over at bham.fm and remember, unless it storms there’s going to be a kickball game Sunday at Crestwood Park followed by the Rojo after party.  Get the details at @gokickball.

What else do you have to share?

got plans 2.0 | 6.5 – 6.7.2009

If you haven’t had a chance to celebrate since the hops got freed, the Magic City Brewfest is where you need to be this weekend. That is if you can get a ticket. From looks of things on their website the inebriated masses have already bought up most of the tickets, but if you rush over to Sloss this morning you may be able to get a couple of the 100 beer tickets they’re selling.

Are you a country music fan? Forget Nashville this weekend, road trip it down to Enterprise, AL for BamaJam. Taylor Swift and just about every other country star is there this weekend. Things kicked off last night but I’m sure the best is coming tonight and tomorrow.

Celebrate at Vulcan’s 105th Birthday Bash Sunday. Tickets are pretty cheap for this afternoon of family fun.

Also on Sunday, the Alabama Theatre is hosting an open house which includes a tour of the Lyric Theatre.  The tour is free but a donation towards the renovation of the Lyric would be greatly appreciated. The Alabama’s summer film series starts this weekend as well with screenings of Pinocchio and the sing-along version of Mamma Mia .

If you’ve got plans of your own be sure to fill the rest of in…

got plans 2.0 | 5.29 – 5.31

Of course you know that tonight’s the night with the first Art on the Rocks of the season and the second Sound of Summer evening with the Symphony in Caldwell Park, but I’m thinking that most of you haven’t figured out that it’s just the first night of an awesome Birmingham weekend.

Birmingham’s (and Alabama’s) only gay and lesbian film festival, Birmingham SHOUT, runs it’s opening film Sissyboy tonight at 8 p.m., but be sure to get there early for the filmmaker reception at 6:30. WorkPlay is host to the two day festival that showcases “…features, documentaries and short films by new and established artists” while giving “attendees the opportunity to view topics of interest to the LGBT communities.” Be sure to check this event out and show some support for Birmingham’s gay and lesbian community.

…to give a quick run down of what else is happening this weekend: The Birmingham Urban League is having the Young Professional’s Throw Back Prom tonight at 8 p.m., tickets are $25 at the door.

Saturday stop by the Open Door Cafe for the 5th Annual Mudbugs & Music Crawfish Boil benefiting Juvenile arthritis, checkout the details highlighted by NBC 13.

If you haven’t heard Manchester Orchestra, you need to, and to further emphasis that you need to go see them at Bottletree Sunday night. Speaking of Sunday, it doesn’t look like rain so that means kickball, check it out @gokickball.

I’ll be out of town overnight Saturday, but keep an eye on @J_Don, to find out about anything that I might have left out.

got plans 2.0 | 5.22 – 5.24

I was somewhat hard pressed to find events for this weekend. Luckily, it looks like I won’t go wrong with tonight’s Alabama Symphony Orchestra performance in Caldwell Park as the headliner for the weekend. As the opening night of the ASO’s Sounds of Summer event series, they’re mixing it up with Charlie Daniels Band. That’s going to be quite the show, can you imagine “Devil Went Down to Georgia” backed up by an orchestra. Maybe it’ll be kinda like this… just maybe, but probably not.

I digress… That’s not the only show tonight; if you hurry you may still be able to get one of the extra tickets to the sold out Brandi Carlile show at WorkPlay, which starts at 9, but if not head over to Speakeasy and stay up late for the American Aquarium show.

Find your way to Bottletree tomorrow to see ISIS and Pelican, and support local jazz legend Cleve Eaton at his Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame benefit on Sunday.

What else are you doing this holiday weekend?

Take a moment next week to support Cleve Eaton

Back in March I highlighted a benefit concert for local Jazz legend Cleve Eaton in a got plans post, and I’m about to do it again…

Jazz Bassist Cleve Eaton and the Alabama All-Stars, bplonline/FlickrLater this month there’s going to be another round of shows to raise money to help with Cleve’s medical expenses related to his oral cancer therapy.

First up, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame is hosting a benefit at the Carver Theatre on May 24. This evening of extraordinary jazz is headlined by the 18 piece Tommy Stewart Orchestra. Cleve is scheduled to perform, and there’s going to be a jam session open to all musicians. Interestingly enough, this is the first time that the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame has had the opportunity, or cause, to do this type of benefit for a living member. You will not be disappointed by this caliber of performance.

On May 28 head over to Ona’s Music Room for another performance benefiting Cleve with drink specials and appearances by Eric Essix as well as other local jazz talents.

Photo: Jazz Bassist Cleve Eaton (center) and the Alabama All-Stars. bpl/Flickr.