Labor Day report, Sidewalk links and Catalyst’s plans revealed

The view from the top of the state

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. We enjoyed ours on this end, though it ended with my knees bothering me much more than I had planned. Before anyone asks about what my doctor would think about what I did yesterday, he didn’t know. Hopefully, I won’t be that stiff when I go to see him either.

Bets and I decided to take a trip to the hiking trails at Cheaha State Park. For those of my friends that read this that are not familiar with Alabama, the state park is the highest point in the state. As a result, you get to enjoy some incredible views from the overlooks. It was my first rigorous hiking experience since moving to Alabama nearly two years ago. All I will say is that what began as a two hour hike became a day-long hike. The views were worth it, as is evidenced by the image at the top of the post. There are more images available by clicking here and visiting the photo gallery. If you feel so inclined, you may also want to post a comment saying what you did for the holiday. Or just laugh at the pictures of myself and Betsy dripping along the trail.

Mystery solved

Last week I posted about a “big check” presented to Catalyst at a press conference held by Verizon Wireless. Well, now the cat can be let out of the bag about the reason and planned use of the $20,000 grant. Click here to read more about the planned collaboration between Catalyst and TechBirmingham. This is a great accomplishment for both organizations and yet another way to distinguish Birmingham from other cities in the southeastern United States.

Fall festivals are getting really close

I’d like to thank the guys at Sidewalk for linking to my post containing detailed information for all of the competitive film and documentaries for this year’s festival on their media page. Click here if you have not viewed the post and take the opportunity to figure out just what you’ll see when the festival rolls around at the end of the month. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to give some of the Artwalk artists a similar treatment by Thursday afternoon, as that festival kicks off Friday evening.

Speaking of both of those festivals, I was reminded earlier today that in my constant rushing mode of doing things, I’d forgotten to do the drawing for the Artwalk and Sidewalk passes last week in conjunction with the Happy Hour for a Cause event. So, I’m promising right now that the winning numbers will be drawn this afternoon and posted late this evening. I’ll contact the winners via e-mail and hope that those that win the Artwalk passes get in touch with me before the fun starts Friday.

We’ll see you later this evening.

Cheers.