One of the most interesting things about living in Birmingham right now is the access to several things at once. We’ve recently talked about the upcoming Movies by Moonlight series. Click here to see the previous entry about this great concept coming to Birmingham’s city center. John’s City Diner (downtown location) is providing options for dinner as part of the May 18 showing of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Contact them about the options for sandwiches that you can purchase in advance and pick up in Linn Park on the night of the event. It’s a great idea; hopefully one that will grow and include additional businesses as the series continues and grows. It would be great to forward a link to this post to people to let as many as possible know about the film series. The more that positive activities are promoted throughout the city by those that live in these areas or those that are aware of them, the less often that negative stories and attitudes will populate the area’s collective mindset. It will be a great way to begin to wind down from the week. In my case it will also be a great way to begin to rest up for the Leeds/Moody Relay for Life the following evening. Click here to see how the Jaycees team is doing and here to see what you can do to help on my personal page.
Posters talking about the film series should be available by the beginning of next week and copies will be available for distribution. Post a comment or e-mail me and I’ll make sure you know how to get your hands on them.
The same evening at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover will be the first ever TechMixer, supported in part by TechBirmingham. There was a story written about the event in the recent issue of the Birmingham Business Journal. The mixer is similar to the concept for the civic organization roundtable and it should be a lot of fun. Hopefully some of the 200 participants will eventually make their way downtown later Thursday evening.
It has also been announced that if Taylor Hicks is successful in making it to the semifinals of American Idol that there are plans to celebrate his accomplishment on Friday. Word is that there would be a parade through downtown Birmingham on Friday beginning at 12 noon. More details would be announced this evening after Idol. Let me say that I am NOT a regular viewer of American Idol. While I’m not a diehard fan of the show, I do believe in supporting local talent in our region. I also think it’s interesting that if he does make it, three of the five seasons that the television series has been on the air, someone from the Birmingham metropolitan area has made it to the semis. This speaks highly of our talent pool in the region and I know that I am not the first one to make that statement. “The guys” (Hicks, Ruben Studdard & Bo Bice) represent only those that have been “discovered” by the mass market media. This does not take into consideration other groups that we’ve been fortunate enough to be spoiled by in this region for some time. The idea of Birmingham becoming a music hotspot to the rest of the country sounds very nice indeed. It would definitely play into the diversified economy that we tout from the top of Red Mountain, providing one more reason to find out more about the secret that is the Magic City.
N.B. Catalyst is back! Not like they’ve ever really left, it’s just been getting itself in order to do its part in the effort to take Birmingham to the next level. The organization’s first mixer in a while will take place on May 23 at Sloss Docks. For those not familiar with the Docks, they are the buildings located to your right if you are driving towards Roebuck on 1st Avenue North. There will be more information available soon, but one thing to make readers aware of: the site of the event will also serve as home to an Alabama Folk Art Museum (just in time for the state tourism board’s celebration of the Year of Art in 2007). It will provide a chance to see a preview of a new art exhibition space and see art while learning about Catalyst’s plans for the remainder of 2006. It should be quite exciting, so stay tuned.
More when it slows down some more,
Cheers.
