Meow-A-Thon set for June 3

By JON ANDERSON

People who want to help save abandoned, stray and injured cats and kittens — or who just enjoy a run or walk in the park — have another chance to do so with the 2023 Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue 5K Meow-A-Thon and 1-mile Whisker Walk.

This will be the sixth year for the event, held at Veterans Park in Hoover. This year’s 5K and walk is scheduled for Saturday, June 3. Check-in and on-site registration will begin at 7 a.m., while the 5K will start at 8 a.m. and the 1-mile Whisker Walk will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Awards will be given out to the overall top three male and female runners in the 5K, as well as the top three male and female runners in various age groups, said Kitty Kat Haven founder and Executive Director Rita Bowman.

Last year’s event drew 216 participants, which is probably one of the better turnouts, and raised about $9,000, including money from sponsors, registration fees and T-shirt sales, race director Kim Tyler said. The lead sponsors this year are Hargrove Engineering, Holmes Feline Clinic and Alford Avenue Veterinary Hospital.

The cost to register is $25 for the 5K and

Kitty Kat Haven 5K Meow-A-Thon & 1-Mile Whisker Walk

• WHERE: Veterans Park in Hoover

• WHEN: June 3, 7 a.m.

• WEB: runsignup.com/meowathon

$15 for the 1-mile Whisker Walk through Friday, June 2. The price goes up $5 for each on race day. Online registration is at runsignup.com/meowathon.

Packet pickup and in-person registration is Friday, June 2, at Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue’s facility at 3432 Old Columbiana Road from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue has placed more than 800 cats into homes in the past year. Since the nonprofit first opened in 2016, it has saved and found homes for more than 5,500 cats and kittens. There are about 60 cats at the center and another 150 cats and kittens in foster care elsewhere, Bowman said.

Hoover-AHEAD to hold third annual Juneteenth celebration

By GRACE THORNTON

Hoover-AHEAD (Ambassadors for Hoover Equity and Diversity) will hold its third annual Juneteenth celebration June 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hoover Public Library.

The event will include activities from storytelling to kids’ arts and crafts and film screenings. An African dance troupe and local choirs will perform, and food trucks will be on site.

Juneteenth — observed officially on June 19 — celebrates the day when 250,000 enslaved African Americans were given their freedom in Texas. The decree brought by Union troops on June 19, 1865 — 2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation — freed the last slaves still held in Confederate territory.

“I grew up in Oklahoma, and out there

Juneteenth is a fact of life and always celebrated,” said Withrow Newell, ambassador and event committee chair for HooverAHEAD, which was founded in 2019. “But coming to the Deep South, it’s surprising a lot of people don’t know about Juneteenth. It’s such a beautiful and truly American story.”

He said the day celebrates “that pure joy

Hoover-AHEAD Juneteenth Celebration

• WHERE: Hoover Public Library

• WHEN: June 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• WEB: hoover-ahead.com/ events/hoover-ahead-events/juneteenth-2023 people probably felt not only knowing bondage is over, but bondage has been over.”

The event fits with Hoover-AHEAD’s goals of celebrating different cultures and promoting racial equity and inclusion, Newell said.

“With the Juneteenth celebration, we’re hoping to continue to produce an event that brings the community together and offer an opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures.”

The celebration is free, and everyone is welcome. For more information, visit hoover-ahead.com/events/hoover-aheadevents/juneteenth-2023 or visit the group’s Facebook page. A calendar of other upcoming cultural events is also available on the group’s website.