Events

ANNUAL EVENTS

SPRING

American Village Festival of Tulips

The American Village’s Festival of Tulips allows visitors to stroll through more than 70,000 blooming tulips with replicas of some of America’s most historic places as a backdrop. As the only you-pick tulip field in the region, visitors can take home armfuls of beautiful blooms. The event is typically open through mid-April, depending on bloom time. americanvillage.org

Mt Laurel Spring Festival

The Mt Laurel Spring Festival offers everyone the opportunity to shop Mt Laurel’s largest-ever street fair, savor dishes from the best local food trucks, listen to live music on the Bryson Square Stage and enjoy a day strolling the idyllic streets of one of Birmingham’s best neighborhoods. mtlaurel.com

Oak Mountain State Fair

Buck Creek Festival

The Buck Creek Festival is a free, family-friendly community event featuring crafts, children’s activities, food and live music. The annual festival raises for various projects in the Helena community and is typically held in May at Amphitheater Park in Helena. buckcreekfestival.com

Fire at the Foothills BBQ & Chili Cookoff

Teams from across the Southeast compete for the title of Grand Champion of this annual barbecue competition in April where judges award points for ribs, butt and chicken to determine the winner. The event is hosted by the Chelsea Kiwanis Club, which disperses proceeds to its charities, and money collected from the chili cook-off goes toward the Chelsea Fire Department’s Kids Fire Safety program. cityofchelsea.com

Palooza in the Park

The city of Pelham invites the public to join in a celebration of the city each May. Festivities include arts and crafts, kids’ activities, live entertainment and various vendors. pelhampalooza.live

Oak Mountain State Fair

The annual Oak Mountain State Fair features attractions, rides, games, live music and food. Open hours, ticket prices and more information is available at Oakmountainstatefair.com. It’s typically held in April or May at Oak Mountain Ampitheatre, which is located at 100 Amphitheater Road in Pelham. oakmountainstatefair.com

Taste of Pelham

Guests can taste their way around Pelham without leaving Pelham Civic Center with a selection of dishes from local restaurants and caterers each year. The event, presented by the Pelham Library Guild, is typically held in April and is raising funds to build a new library. pelhamlibraryguild.com

Shelby County Senior Picnic

The county hosts senior citizens ages 55 and older from across the area each May at the Shelby County Exhibition Center in Columbiana for a morning and lunch of food, fellowship and live music—plus door prizes and giveaways too. Those interested in attending are asked to register in advance. shelbyal.com

Regions Tradition

Early May brings senior PGA golfers to Greystone Golf and Country Club for this annual tournament, which kicks off with a celebrity pro-am round on Wednesday followed by championship play Thursday to Sunday. Recent tournament champions have been Steve Stricker, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Bernhard Langer. Prior to 2016, the tournament was held at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club. regionstradition. com

Shelby County Dog Show

Xterra Triathlons & Trail Runs

Each May competitors come to Oak Mountain State Park for off-road triathlons and trail runs through Xterra. The main event combines a 1.5-kilometer swim, 3-kilometer mountain bike and 9.5-kilometer trail run, with spots for the XTERRA World Championship up for grabs. A shorter distance sprint race is a 750-meter swim, 17.1-kilometer mountain bike ride and a 4.5-kilometer trail run, and an even shorter distance Xticer race mixes a fun 200-meter swim with a 9.5-kilometer mountain bike and 2-kilometer trail run. Runners can also compete in 5-, 10.3- and 20.6-kilometer trail runs. xterraplanet.com/ oakmountain

Chelsea Fest and The Big Kaboom

ANNUAL EVENTS

ANNUAL EVENTS

SUMMER

Alabaster CityFest

Alabaster CityFest is a free family festival featuring a day of live outdoor concerts, kids’ activities and vendors offering arts and crafts, merchandise, food and fun. Parking, shuttles, admission to the music festival and entrance to the KidsFest area are free. It is typically held in June. alabastercityfest.com

Celebrate America!

Celebrate America! is the American Village’s summer program that features red, white and blue all-American fun as visitors step back in time and become part of the great American journey for independence and selfgovernment. The American Village is located in Montevallo. americanvillage.org

Liberty Day

The Liberty Day Celebration is held the last Saturday of June in downtown Columbiana. Events will include arts, crafts, food, children’s carnival and activities, Classic Cars CruiseIn, museum tours, military displays, live music both Friday night and all day Saturday, Hall of Memories, Miss Shelby County signing autographs, walking tours, patriot ic parade, fireworks display and more. cityofcolumbiana.com

Chelsea Fest and The Big Kaboom

Celebrate America’s Independence food, music, vendors and fireworks at Chelsea Fest and The Big Kaboom. The celebration, which features free fireworks and entertainment, is typically held a few days before the Fourth of July. cityofchelsea.com

Shelby County Shindig

Downtown Columbiana is filled with blue and a barbecue kickoff each July for this fundraiser for the Shelby County Arts Council. Cookoff awards are given for Best Ribs, Best Sauce, People’s Choice and Chef’s Choice. The event is ticketed for adults and free for children 12 and under with a paid adult per child, and all tickets come with barbecue team sampling. shelbycountyartscouncil.com

Vincent in the Park

Vincent Municipal Park is filled with everything from a fireworks display to kids’ activities to a cruise-in car show in July during this annual outdoor event. Admission is free for the day of fun, which also features arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, musical acts and carnival rides. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair with them. townofvincent.com

Tinglewood Festival

FALL

Shelby County Fair

The annual Shelby County Fair features fun for the whole family. The midway provider is Kissel Entertainment. Competitive exhibits for adults and children include canned and dried foods, fresh produce, baked goods, crafts, sewing, arts and photography, horticulture and junior livestock shows. Entertainment is provided by local school choirs, dance lines and other talent. The fair is held at the Shelby County Exhibition Center in Columbiana in November. alshelbycountyfair.com

A Taste of Shelby County

Vendors from across Shelby County offer a “taste” of their specialty dishes from their menus at this Greater Shelby County Education Foundation and The Partnership of Shelby County event, typically held in September. Proceeds benefit the Greater Shelby County Education Foundation. shelbyedfoundation.org

Tinglewood Festival

Montevallo is often recognized for the carvings in this park. Each year thousands of visitors come to Orr Park to see more than 40 tree carvings by Tim Tingle, and once a year a festival in the park fittingly celebrates wood carving and other woodworking crafts. The free one-day event is typically held in September organized by the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce, Montevallo Main Street and the Montevallo Arts Council. tinglewoodfestival.com

Cotton Pickin’ Celebration

Old Baker Farm holds its Cotton Pickin’ Celebration in late October. Exhibitors from all over the South will bring handmade Indian arts and crafts, baskets, brooms, goats milk soap and more. Come enjoy live music, an antique tractor show and parade and pedal tractors for the kids. oldbakerfarm.com

Monster Walk

Kids can celebrate Halloween safely in downtown Columbiana with a parade and trick-or-treat at local businesses. Be sure to wear your costumes! cityofcolumbiana.com

ANNUAL EVENTS

Grape Stomp

Morgan Creek Vineyard’s annual Grape Stomp is the biggest event of the year celebrating the harvest or “crush” as it’s known at wineries. Visitors get to stomp grapes with their feet in wooden barrels, take free tours, enjoy free wine tastings, plus enjoy food and other fun activities. The event is typically held in September or October. morgancreekwinery.com

Hoover Hayride and Family Night

The Hoover Hayride and Family Night is an annual familyfriendly celebration held in October. The event features hayrides, candy giveaways, vendors, face painting and more. The event is typically held at Veterans Park on Valleydale Road in Hoover. hooveral.org

Montevallo Artwalk

The Montevallo Artwalk, typically held the last Saturday in October, features art, food, fun and activities for all ages. During the Artwalk, Main Street businesses fill their storefronts with a variety of artworks including, but not limited to: sculpture, paintings, photography and functional art. montevalloartwalk.com

Alabaster CityFest

WINTER

Stevan Grebel’s The Nutcracker

The Alabama Youth Ballet Company brings the magic of “The Nutcracker” to stage each holiday season. The event is sponsored by the city and is held at Pelham High School. grebeldance.com

Christmas Tree Farm

Old Baker Farm in Harpersville hosts a Choose and Cut Christmas Tree Farm seven days a week from 9 a.m. to dark from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Visitors can enjoy complimentary hot apple cider, candy canes and hayride through the Christmas trees before they pick out their tree. oldbakerfarm.com

Columbiana Tour of Homes

Each year the Columbiana Beautification Board invites you to take a tour of homes in December. All proceeds are used for Beautification Board projects for the city of Columbiana. cityofcolumbiana.com

ANNUAL EVENTS

Colonial Christmas Lunch and Tour

The American Village’s Christmas Lunch and Tour consists of a concert in the Chapel, lunch in the East Room at the White House with entertainment by a patriot of the past. americanvillage.org

Juried Art Show

The exhibit for the Shelby County Arts Council’s annual Juried Art Show is typically held in January. A winner is announced and submitted pieces are exhibited at the show, which is held at the Shelby County Arts Center in Columbiana. shelbycountyartscouncil.com

Have a Heart for the Arts

The annual Have a Heart for the Arts luncheon benefits the Shelby County Arts Council and is typically held in mid-February. The event features a fashion show with clothes from local boutiques. shelbycountyartscouncil.com

Cowboy Parade

This parade, which is usually held in mid-February in Columbiana, will feature non-motorized vehicles such as wagons, horses, mules, donkeys and more. It also includes cowboy demonstrations, herding, blacksmith, roping and various other activities. Free admission. cityofcolumbiana.com

Cattlemen’s Rodeo

The Shelby County Cattlemen’s Rodeo is held each February at the Shelby County Expo Center at 1 Argo Road in Columbiana. The rodeo has been held since 1989 and usually includes a live rodeo, chuck wagon races, bull riding, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling and bareback riding. 669-6921 or 669-7806

College Night

The University of Montevallo’s homecoming culminates in College Night, an evening of musical shows written, produced and acted by students. Homecoming is held in February. Make sure to pick a side – purple or gold – before you go. montevallo.edu

Regions Tradition