13 minute read
Good Fun
Some 8,000 folks turned out for the first SugarFest– at least one of whom got an awesome face-painting. Bottom, reigning pre-teen Miss SugarFest Makayla Burks stands with her proud mom Sandy Watson. How sweet it is!
SugarFest returns to Arab City Park with fun, food and fireworks
The much anticipated second year of SugarFesrt was cancelled last year due to Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s back this year, set for Saturday, Sept. 4, at Arab City Park.
It starts on a fast foot with a 5K race through the streets of the Arab, followed by the Miss SugarFest pageant set in the old Hunt School in the Arab Historic Village.
Quality arts and craft vendors will cover the park from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Kids can enjoy inflatable bounce houses, an obstacle course, a rock climbing wall, a petting zoo and much more. And the city pool and splashpad at the park will be open for patrons to cool off.
There should be no shortage of delicious food options this year. A variety of food trucks will line the sidewalks, serving up everything from Philly cheesesteaks, gourmet burgers and BBQ to pizza, wings, funnel cakes and cotton candy. Don’t miss the homemade lemonade and old fashioned ice cream floats – best sellers from the inaugural event.
The Classic Car Cruise-In will be happening from 4-7 p.m. And, due to popular demand, a SugarFest cornhole tournament will take center stage of the horse arena, tossing bags all afternoon and evening. A beverage tent in a designated area will be available for your enjoyment beginning at noon.
Adding even more fun will be live music on the amphitheater stage, kicking off with Rippy Dippy at 4:30 p.m. followed by Trotline at 6:30, And of course, the main event that started it all, the fireworks spectacular will begin at 8:15 p.m., followed by music headliner Everette at 8:30.
For information on SugarFest events or to be a vendor, visit: www. thesugarfest.com.
• Now thru Aug. 23 – See the “Pinta” A replica of Christopher Columbus’ famous ship is set to sail into Guntersville City Harbor July 30. It will be docked there through Aug. 23. Launched in 2015 in Brazil, the fullscale ship will be open for walk-about, self-guided tours daily from 10 am-5 pm (except Aug. 23). No reservations needed. Guided tours for teachers and other groups can be arranged: call 1-850686-3612; or visit: ninapinta.org.
Good Fun
• Now thru Aug. 11 – Cast of Blues
There’s still time to celebrate Mississippi’s rich musical heritage with a visit to the Guntersville Museum’s “A Cast of Blues” exhibition. It features 15 resin-cast masks of blues legends created by artist Sharon McConnellDickerson, as well as 15 color photographs of performers and of juke joints by acclaimed photographer Ken Murphy. The exhibition includes musical playlists and is a multi-sensory experience with sight, hearing and touch encounters.
The Guntersville Museum is open 10 am-4 pm, Tuesday-Thursday; 1-4 pm Saturday-Sunday. Admission is free.
• Now thru Aug. 27 – Belcher/Kelleys exhibition
Paintings by Deborah Belcher of Guntersville and Wood Art by Ken and Kendall Kelley – K4Kreations – of Grant will be on exhibit at the Mountain Valley Arts Council Gallery.
Set sail for a fun fall, y’all
A reception for the artists will be 5:307 pm, August 10. The MVAC gallery at 440 Gunter Ave., Guntersville, is open 10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-2 pm Saturday. For more info: www. mvcarts.org; or: 256-571-7199.
• Now thru Aug. 29 – Bluegrass in the Park
Thursday nights, 6-8 pm, enjoy bluegrass music and blue plate specials at Lake Guntersville State Park’s Pinecrest Dining Room. For more info: www.alapark.com; or call: 256-571-5440 ext. 7485.
• Aug. 13 – Car, Jeep, Truck Cruise-in
This will include a 6:15 pm dedication for Boaz’s big murals – from Wagons to Progress, Celebrating Transportation in Boaz – which you don’t want to miss. The cruise-in is from 5-8 pm on North Main Street. In addition to cool vehicles, there will be food vendors. Vintage music and raffle tickets. For more info, contact the Boaz Chamber of Commerce: 256-593-8154; or boazchamberassist@gmail.com.
• Aug. 14 – Casino Night
Join the big rollers – with play money fun and real prizes – as the Lake Guntersville Rotary Club helps raise money – real money – for Every Child’s Playground.
The “casino” will be open 6-10 pm at Guntersville Town Hall. Your ticket gets you catered food by Rock House, two drink tickets and play money to bet at poker, Texas Hold ‘Em, craps, the roulette wheel and a prize wheel. Donated prizes range from an autographed Chris Lane jersey to bicycles and more. Enjoy the DJ and music. Buy extra play money if you lose it all. Take home a photo booth memento. This is Rotary’s way of funding scholarships and other community needs, including the inclusive playground project started by the Guntersville Ladies Civitan Club.
Tickets and sponsorships sold for
Oxford is on the agenda for the Albertville Chamber trip.
2020 will be honored. Tickets are $75 and available from Rotary members, online at Eventbrite, at the door or by calling Rotarian Windy Zahn; 256-5057889.
• Aug. 17 – Learn about the British trip
Jack Brinson from Collette Travel will be at the Albertville Chamber Office at 5:30 pm to give details on “British Landscapes,” a chambersponsored trip set for March 20-29, 2022. Highlights include Edinburgh Castle, York, Chester, Llangollen, Wales, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and London. The double-occupancy pricing option is $2,998 per person; an extended three-night stay in Paris is available. Pricing includes round trip air from Birmingham, nine nights in hotels, including H10 London Waterloo, hotel transfers, 12 meals and various fees. For more info, contact Kathy Gore at the Albertville Chamber: 256-878-3821, or kathy@ albertvillechamberofcommerce.com.
• Aug. 26-Oct. 6 – Water/Ways
Guntersville Museum will host The Smithsonian Institution’s Water/ Ways exhibition, which dives into water – an essential component of life on our planet – environmentally, culturally and historically. The exhibit is in partnership with the Alabama Humanities Foundation. Guntersville Museum is open 10 am-4 pm TuesdayThursday; 1-4 pm Saturday-Sunday. Admission is free.
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• Aug. 28 – River Run Car Show
From 8 am to 2 pm hundreds of cool cars, trucks and motorcycles will be at this annual car show, as will several thousand people, including some regular favorites: Barney will be back along with Floyd the Barber (get your picture made outside his barbershop). There will be entertainment, fun for kiddos and lots of food trucks to keep your tank filled. Door prizes will be given throughout the day.
Sponsored by the Guntersville Lions Club – celebrating their 91st anniversary – the show is one of the biggest and best car shows in Alabama. Register online for the car show at www.RiverRunCarShow.net; or call at 256-677-9763. Gate admission is only $5 per carload. It all happens on U.S. 431, 1.5 miles north of Guntersville.
More info? Visit: www. riverruncarshow.net.
• Aug. 30 – Deadline for Irish trip
This is the deadline to register for this eight-day trip, sponsored by the Arab Chamber of Commerce, to the Emerald Isle that combines fabulous
Visit Cabra Castle on the Arab Chamber trip to Ireland.
accommodations, stunning scenery and incredible cuisine.
Visit Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Farm Visit, Cliffs of Moher, a visit to a tasting at one of three whiskey distilleries in Tullamore and see Cabra Castle.
The trip will be March 5-12, 2022. Double occupancy is $2,498
per person, single is $2,848. Other options include a medieval banquet in Limerick and Guinness Storehouse and traditional night out in Dublin. Cost includes round trip flights from Birmingham, stays in four hotels, numerous meals, various fees and transfers and a ton of memories.
A deposit of $600 per person is due upon reservation with final payment due Jan. 4, 2022. For more information, contact Jynnah Mooney at the Arab Chamber: 256-586-3138; or jmooney@ arab-chamber.org.
• Sept. 1-30 – A Few of Our Favorites
Talk about eclectic, this art exhibit is what happens when Mountain Valley Arts Council member art fans and artists share their favorite art – whether they created it, bought it, received it as a gift, or inherited it. A reception for the artists will be 5:30-7 pm Sept. 7. The MVAC gallery at 440 Gunter Ave., Guntersville, is open 10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-2 pm Saturday. For more info: www. mvcarts.org; or: 256-571-7199.
• Sept. 3-4 – 51st Annual Seafood Festival
The good eats for this Labor Day Weekend classic will be at St. William’s Foley Center at 915 Gunter Ave., Guntersville.
Drive-thru hours for quarts of gumbo and Cajun boiled shrimp by the pound are 4-6 pm Friday; 7:30 am until sold out Saturday. Dine-in hours Saturday are 10:30 am until sold out for Cajun boiled shrimp by the pound, hot or frozen gumbo by the quart, catfish or BBQ halfchicken dinners with coleslaw and hushpuppies, crawfish by the pound, gumbo pints served hot and a la carte items. Don’t be surprised to find a line.
• Sept. 4 – Concert at Lake Guntersville State Park
Love live music? Then head up to the Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge to see Peyton Gilliland 6:30-8:30 pm. For more info: 256-571-5440.
• Sept. 24-Oct. 3 – “Frights of the Night”
The Whole Backstage production – directed by Joshua Barksdale and Sara Elizabeth Phillips in the Black Box Theatre – will consist of intimate readings from horror classics, including “The Woman In Black,” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Amityville Horror,” “The Raven” Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and more. Readers are . Aniah Havis, Jan Price, Hannah Grace Yost, Debbie Moss, Gary March Force, Leilani Hayes, Susan Ruhlman, Liz Lincks, Rich Resler, Morgan Parker, AnnaMarie D’Angelo and Jules Oliver.
Performances are at 7 p.m. Sept. 24, 25, 30, Oct. 1 and 2; and 2 pm. Sept 26 and Oct. 3. Tickets are $15 and will be available beginning in September at: wholebackstage.com.
Not recommended for children under 13.
• Sept. 25 – Grant’s Mile-Plus Yard Sale
The Grant Chamber of Commerce’s annual Mile-Plus Yard Sale starts at 6:30 am to browse and shop their way a mile down Main Street where a hundred or more vendors will offer tons of yard sale bargains. Food vendors will also be on hand. Booth space rents for $30. For guidelines visit: www.grantchamberofcommerce. com; or Grant’s Mile-Plus Yard Sale on Facebook; or call: 256-728-8800.
• Oct. 1-2 – 57th Annual Harvest Festival
Fun starts at 8 am both days at Old Mill Park and downtown for this big, Boaz Chamber of Commerce event. Enjoy lots of arts and crafts, gospel, country and bluegrass music, food trucks and enter the free pumpkin painting contest. Sign up by Sept. 30 with the chamber for the third annual Harvest Fest, double elimination cornhole tournament starting at 6:30 pm Friday.
The Miss Harvest Festival Pageant starts at 9 am Saturday at Old Mill Park. To Register, pick up an application and pay your $50 fee at the chamber office.
Register 8-10 Saturday for the car, truck, Jeep and tractor show. Entry fee $10. For more info, contact the chamber of commerce: 256-5938154; or boazchamberassist@gmail. com.
• Oct. 5-29 – Book Cover Photography
Guntersville photographer Judy Vest Kennamer LeBlanc has had numerous photos published worldwide on the covers of books. Her book covers were featured in the winter, 2018, issue of Good Life Magazine. See these and more examples of her work at the MVAC Gallery. A reception for the artist will be 5:30-7 pm Oct. 12. The MVAC gallery at 440 Gunter Ave., Guntersville, is open 10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-2 pm Saturday. For more info: www. mvcarts.org; or: 256-571-7199.
• Oct. 8-9 – Lake City Fallfest
The annual event, with an outdoor market and food trucks, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday in downtown Guntersville. Hours are the same Saturday with a return of the above, live music, pumpkin patch, games, contests, train rides, hay rides, costume contest and more. Follow on Facebook @LakeCityFallfest.
• Oct. 22-31 – Little Shop of Horrors
Director Wesley H. Rorex will bring the classic to the Whole Backstage for the Halloween season. Auditions were still underway as this issue of GLM prepared for press.
Performances are 7 pm Oct. 22, 23, 28, 29, 30; and 2 pm Oct. 24 and 31. When available at wholebackstage.com, tickets will be $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $12 for students.
• Oct. 30 – Pink Pumpkin Run
Pink Pumpkin Run/Walk – sponsored by the Foundation for Marshall Medical Centers at Guntersville Civitan Park – always draws a crowd, and after last year’s virtual run because of Covid, this could be more “pink” than ever. Details were incomplete at press time, but the 10K, 5K and a 1-mile fun run begin respectively at 9 a.m., 9:15 and 10:15 with awards at 11. The pancake brunch – free to participants – starts 9.
Register online at: www. pinkpumpkinrun.com.
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