Yesterday was a fun-filled day here in town. Betsy and I decided to take advantage of the Discover Birmingham’s Hidden Treasures activities throughout the city, visiting a couple of places we hadn’t yet. Selfishly, it helped knock another item off the 101 in 1001 list (#100).
Check out the highlights after the jump.
The first stop on our day of activity was the Birmingham Zoo, where we got a chance to see the Ghost of the Bayou. This image pretty much has the while alligator looking like a ghost. We walked the entire facility and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The Zoo is already the most visited attraction in the state of Alabama, with yesterday being no exception. Some of the animals were finding ways to beat the heat that has been consuming the Magic City recently, and those in attendance were understanding, and rightfully so.
After making a quick stop at the newest ice cream shop in the area, Clumpie’s (thanks, Megabeth), we ventured over to McWane Center. While we’d visited the center previously, most notably to watch Santa vs. the Snowman, we had not ventured too far into the exhibits. As you can see above, the idea of the exhibits being only for the young and not the young at heart is a fallacy.
We met up with some friends and took part in the first annual Sunflower Harvest Block Party at the Gardens at Park Place. It would not be an exaggeration to say that a substantial number of people attended the event and walked away with armfuls of sunflowers. We’ll have some sitting in the loft for a while. It was such a great site a separate photo gallery was created for images from the event.
Our day ended with a visit to Sloss Furnaces to take in a performance by a brass quintet representing the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Afterwards, we took part in the site’s first attempt at an organized ghost tour through its grounds. Considering the fact that all of the spaces for the tours were reserved as of Thursday afternoon, it would be safe to say that it was a popular activity.
One couldn’t get an idea of how successful the day’s activities were, as most of the venues we visited are known for being quite busy on the weekends. The event at Sloss Furnaces finally provided a visual measure of the potential that events like this one have for expanding support of arts and culture in our region. It also provides a glimpse for people of all of the things that our city has to offer in terms of arts and culture.
Cheers.
P.S. Two things:
- Keep it relevant: Lori and the Martin family.
- I’ve been put in the B’ham Wiki. Thanks, guys! Go check it out if you want to.
