13 minute read
ABOUT TOWN
from 4.8.21
Editor’s note: Some of the events in our calendar may have been canceled after our press deadline. Please check organization websites and social media for the latest information
Sat., April 10
Funky Fish Fry
The Autism Society of Alabama and Mitchell’s Place will co-host this annual fundraiser to support children and adults affected by autism in Birmingham. When: 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Where: Avondale Brewing Co. Website: funkyfishfry.com
Cornhole Classic
The Bell Center will host its ninth annual event, including a maximum of 60 teams in order to allow social distancing. Festivities will include live music and a food truck. When: 1 p.m. Where: The Bell Center Website: thebellcenter.org
Sun., April 11
Brews with Bama Bully Rescue
Trim Tab Brewing Company will open their patio to fans of Bama Bully Rescue. When: noon-4 p.m. Where: Trim Tab Brewing Company Website: “Brews with Bama Bully Rescue” Facebook Page
McWane has events down to a science!
To learn more about hosting events, weddings, and more at McWane Science Center, please contact the Manager of Internal and Private Events at (205) 714 - 8491 or mecampbell@mcwane.org
“Plaza Suite”
Virginia Samford Theatre will present this three-act comedy by Neil Simon, each act involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Each act will be played by the same two actors, husband and wife team Nick and Kelsey Crawford. When: Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. Where: Virginia-Samford Theatre Website: virginiasamfordtheatre.org
April 16-30
End Heroin Bham
The Addiction Prevention Coalition will host its 5th annual End Heroin Bham event virtually challenging participants to complete 16.6 of any activity they wish, whether it be miles run, minutes of meditation, rounds of golf, etc. Complete the challenge on your own time and post selfies to social media using #EHBChallenge. Website: endheroin.org
April 17
Birmingham Diabetes Walk
Camp Seale Harris will host its annual Birmingham walk to raise awareness and support for those with Type 1 diabetes. This free event will include activities for the whole family. When: 9 a.m. Where: Veterans Park Website: campsealeharris.org Held each spring, Hoover will be collecting hazardous waste items from Hoover residents only, including items such as household chemicals, medicine, automobile fluids, batteries, paints, etc. When: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: Hoover Public Safety Building Website: hooveral.org
Ways of Seeing: The Art of Travel, Trade, and Transportation
The Birmingham Museum of Art will unveil a new installment of its ongoing Ways of Seeing exhibition, featuring more than 70 objects from the museum’s permanent collection to explore subjects of traveling for both pleasure and necessity. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 2, 2022 in the Bohorfoush Gallery. Where: Birmingham Museum of Art Website: artsbma.org
April 18
Cornapalooza
The Homewood Athletic Foundation will host its 6th annual corn hole tournament to raise funds for student athletes in Homewood. When: 12:30 p.m. Where: Pizzeria GM Website: “Homewood Athletic Foundation” Facebook Page
April 23-25
Magic City Art Connection
The 38th annual contemporary
arts festival will feature 150 juried artists from around the country, both through a virtual marketplace as well as an in-person event featuring live performances, children’s workshops, special installations and more. In addition, the 24th annual Corks and Chefs will take place on April 24 and 25, featuring tasting menus created by some of Birmingham’s best food vendors. When: Fri., 11:30 a.m.6 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Where: Sloss Furnaces Historic National Landmark Website: magiccityart.com
April 24
Red Shoe Run
The Ronald McDonald House will host its annual run in a socially-distanced fashion, including in-person 5k and one mile fun run as well as a virtual option. When: 7 a.m. - noon Where: Downtown Homewood Website: rmcha.org
A Night at the Oscars
Mitchell’s Place will host its Academy Award-themed fundraiser both in-person and virtually to benefit its mission to improve the lives of children affected by autism and other developmental disabilities. When: 6 p.m. Where: The Theodore Website: Mitchells-place.com
SEND ABOUT TOWN INFO TO: EDITORIAL@OTMJ.COM
Spring Plant Sale
Friends of BBG Takes Sale Event Virtual April 17-18
The Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens recently announced that it will host its largest plant sale fundraiser of the year, the Spring Plant Sale, in a virtual format this year.
To be held April 17 and 18, the sale will feature hundreds of plants that have been selected to suit this region by six of the Friends’ volunteer growing groups.
“After the sale’s cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are thrilled that this popular event will return in 2021,” said Tom Underwood, executive director of the Friends. “Because our Spring Plant Sale is staffed by volunteers and normally draws more than 5,000 attendees, we decided to move the 2021 sale online as we continue to do all we can to keep our community safe while also raising much-needed funds for the Gardens and helping Birmingham prepare to get outside and grow this spring.”
The sale will feature dozens of plant varieties, including natives, ferns, perennials, herbs, tropicals, houseplants, trees and shrubs.
Members of the Friends will have priority access to shop the site April 15 and 16, before the public sale April 17 and 18.
Purchases will be available for pickup at the Gardens on April 23 for members, and April 24 and 25 for the public.
Coinciding with the pickup schedule, the Friends’ Education and Visitor Experience team plans to host a free informational Spring Plant Fair from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on April 24 in the BBG’s Formal Garden.
Exhibits highlighting specific plants will be on display in a contactless fashion, created by the Library at the Gardens, select Friends growing groups
and local plant societies.
“The Friends’ annual Spring Plant Sale is a wonderful and important part of the fabric of our community, a signal that spring is here,” Underwood said. “When the 2020 sale was canceled last April, the Birmingham community still found a way to support the Friends’ mission and help us grow a greener tomorrow.”
To learn more, visit bbgardens.org/ spring.
TOM UNDERWOOD
..the 2021 50% EVENT..
.entire month of APRIL this year. .by appointment 205.930.9394.
Thirteen Distinctive New Homes in Vestavia Hills
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April 15-18
OUR 2021 SPRING PLANT SALE IS MOVING ONLINE!
Get ready to garden by shopping hundreds of plants specially selected for our region and grown by six of our dedicated volunteer growing groups. Members of the Friends will enjoy priority access to shop our new e-commerce website and first choice of pickup time April 23–25 at the Gardens.
MEMBER PRIORITY SHOPPING: APRIL 15–16 OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: APRIL 17–18
THINK SPRING!
Cultivate your inner gardener as well by joining us for an informational Spring Plant Fair on Saturday, April 24! Visit our website to learn more.
Sit, Stay, Read!
Hand in Paw Volunteer Animal Therapy Team Lusia MacPherson and Mooc Adapt to Virtual Programming
By Emily Williams-RoBERtshaW
When Lusia MacPherson retired from a nearly 50-year career in education, she was ready to go back to school. This time, she planned to take her miniature schnauzer, Mooc, along with her.
Once a week during the school year, MacPherson and Mooc visit Greystone Elementary School teacher
Melissa Summers’ English Language Learning classroom.
According to Hand in Paw, the Sit, Stay, Read! program was designed to help students who struggle with reading by creating an inclusive learning environment and using books that explore social and emotional themes as well as multicultural books to celebrate diversity and equality.
“In addition to having the students read, the teacher will sometimes do a question of the day,” she added. “That gives the students the opportunity to talk and converse. They are practicing their conversation and communication skills.”
MacPherson had known for a while that she wanted to volunteer for Hand in Paw in schools, but she waited until her retirement to pursue it.
“I felt strongly that this was an important experience for the students,” MacPherson said. “It is so beneficial to their language and reading development.”
During the spring of 2018, as she prepared to retire as Shelby County Schools supervisor of gifted education and advanced programs, she began taking Mooc to Hand in Paw to complete screenings.
That summer, Mooc completed his evaluations, and the duo was able to begin its volunteer work the next school year.
“Schools are my comfort zone,” MacPherson said. They also happened to be a place where Mooc thrives.
During their visits, Mooc is read to by students, serving not only as a cute and cuddly audience but as a nonjudgmental and unbiased listener.
Not only has Mooc showcased the ideal temperament for animal-assisted therapy work, he always has been drawn to kids.
“Even when I would take him walking some place – whether a store or trail – he would always get excited when he saw children, so I knew that (Sit, Stay, Read) was going to be the area that he enjoyed.”
In a regular school year, Mooc would don his yellow Hand in Paw bandana and go to work each Monday, meeting kids in their own classroom.
During the school year, MacPherson and Mooc visit Greystone Elementary School teacher Melissa Summers’ English Language Learning classroom.
MacPherson also has created a few picture books featuring photos of Mooc woven together by a story. She typically will gift these books to teachers for their classroom library. During the pandemic, Hand in Paw shared a video of Mooc “reading” the story “Mooc and Blue Bear,” about Mooc searching around the house for his favorite toy.
Virtual Visits
In the age of virtual learning, both MacPherson and Mooc have adapted to meeting their students through a screen.
“When we would go in person, the dogs get so used to the routine,” she said. “When we would put that yellow Hand in Paw scarf on, he would get so excited. He knew we were going to school.
“Now, when I roll in that chair that he sits on, he knows that he is going to school again. I’m not sure he knows that it’s ‘school’ but he knows it is something fun that he is doing.”
While MacPherson admits she is not technologically savvy, Hand in Paw staff made the transition to Google Meet and Zoom as seamless as they could.
“Even before they were virtually meeting with classrooms, the staff had virtual training, get togethers and provided ways to become more accustomed to the virtual process and stayed connected,” MacPherson said.
For the students MacPherson and Mooc serve, virtual learning already was normal by the time Hand in Paw resumed its programming.
“Having the dog come in every week for them to read to was something that was very readily accepted,” MacPherson said.
She added that the teacher, Summers, has found that Mooc’s weekly visits give the students something to look forward to.
“It’s something that they can consistently depend upon,” MacPherson said. “Even school schedules kept changing all of the time, so this has been a very interesting experience.”
The students’ love of Mooc was apparent on the Monday they returned to school after spring break.
“As soon as the students saw Mooc on the screen, you could hear them all saying, ‘Hi, Mooc!,’” MacPherson said.
Each session, the teacher will pick a student’s name at random to be the first to read. “When she picked out the name, you could hear the student in the background cheering,” MacPherson said.
She gives Hand in Paw a lot of credit for persevering to serve the community against the seemingly insurmountable odds of a pandemic.
“It’s a very forward-thinking group,” MacPherson said. “They are on the cutting edge.”
Throughout the shutdowns, when staff could not continue their typical programming, they continued to reach out to MacPherson and their fellow volunteers through social events such as book clubs.
They also have added a trick training course that MacPherson has been able to mix into her Sit, Stay, Read program.
“How fortunate the Birmingham area is to have this staff that continually tries to come up with innovative ways to reach out,” MacPherson said.
For more information, visit handinpaw.org.
Hand in Paw’s Mutt Strut 2021 Coming Up
Hand in Paw will host its 11th annual Mutt Strut: Dog-Friendly 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run on April 17. This year’s event will be hosted in a virtual format. Participants can run or walk the race at their leisure at any point on the event date, with Hand in Paw providing a selection of dog-friendly race routes and curated music playlists.
Runners’ furry friends can also participate in the pet costume contest by uploading pictures to the race day portal.
Funds raised will support the organization’s efforts to deploy professionally trained volunteer handler and animal therapy teams to help improve the lives of people in several medical centers, schools and service organizations throughout North Central Alabama and Tuscaloosa.
For more information, visit classy. org/event/mutt-strut-2021/e262416.
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