Birmingham Events Calendar: October 6th - October 13th

Cooler weather is coming and the fall activities are in full swing!

We hope you will take the time to get out this week and enjoy some of what Birmingham has to offer.

Boo at the Zoo has officially kicked off, you can catch the Kick’n Chick’n Wing Fest or the Mt, Laurel Fall Festival happening this weekend.

If you’ve got a LEGO Fan in the house, check out the Special LEGO Event happening at Barnes and Noble Summit on Friday!

Have a great week!

It’s Not Our Fault if Your Kids are Bored!

Sunday October 6th:

Boo at the Zoo
Watch as the Zoo transforms into a destination of spooky attractions for 15 nights of Wells Fargo Boo at the Zoo. This year, you can seeyour favorite ©Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America*! Don’t miss your chance to experience special meet and greets with the heroes, get their autographs and take your very own pictures!
Be sure to come dressed in your favorite family-friendly costume to search for Bigfoot on the Sasquatch Safari*, jump on the Eerie Express train*, take a spin on the Scarousel*, participate in animal-themed games at the Creepy Carnival tent, trick-or-treat your way through safe candy villages and much more! Boo at the Zoo is one spook-tacular event you won’t want to miss!
*©Marvel character appearance dates: October 4-5 (Captain America), 11-12 (Thor), 18-19 (Iron Man) & 25-26 (Spider-Man)
*The Zoo will close at 4pm on each day of Boo at the Zoo.
*Animals will not be on exhibit for Boo at the Zoo.
* Daily attraction fees still apply
* Wristband includes unlimited access to: Eerie Express Train, Sasquatch Safari, Scarousel, Creepy Carnival, Gruesome Golf, Ghost Rollers and Cajun Sadie’s Fortune Telling Adventure
$8 Non-members*
$6 Members*–NEW MEMBER DISCOUNT!
$11.50 wristbands*
$3.50 attractions*
5pm – 9pm

Southern Women’s Show – BJCC
The Southern Women’s Show returns to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
One of the largest consumer events in Birmingham, the annual Southern Women’s Show attracts thousands of local women each year for four jam-packed days of fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, beauty tips, health screenings, decorating ideas and personal growth opportunities — all tailored especially for women — as well as celebrity appearances.
The 2013 edition features Miss Kay from A & E’s wildly popular Duck Dynasty.
Admission is $10 at the door, $8 in advance online, $7 in advance at participating Piggly Wiggly’s, $5 for children 6–12 years old and free for children under 6 years of age (with paying adult). Special $5 after 5 pm pricing is available every day.
11am – 5pm

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Monday October 7th:

Halloween Monday Movie – Homewood Public Library
Join us for hot popcorn and a cool movie.
3:30pm

Tot Time with Ms Eve – Avondale Library
Storytime for 2-4-year-olds with a caregiver. Includes stories, songs, and craft. 24-hour advance registration required.
10:30am

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Tuesday October 8th:

Family Tours – Birmingham Museum of Art
FREE // Meet in the Main Lobby
Join us for an in-gallery family experience! Children aged 3 – 8 and their adult companions are invited to join Museum educators to explore our collection, discover activities that make looking at art fun and exciting, and create new family memories about art.

No reservations required. Family Tours are also available by appointment for groups of 10 or more children aged 3 – 8. For more information or to schedule a tour, call 205.254.2964.
10:30am

Storytime for All Ages – Homewood Public Library
10:30am

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Wednesday October 9th:

Annual Fire Prevention Parade – Downtown Birmingham
The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service annual Fire Prevention Parade will follow 20th Street from Powell Ave to Rev Abraham Woods Blvd then over to 19th Street North to 10th Ave N. The parade will include new and antique fire apparatus from the city of Birmingham and surrounding areas, various mascots, bands, and other organizations.
11:30am

Storytime – Homewood Public Library
All Ages
10:30am

Family Story Time with Mr Mac – North Shelby Library
Storyteller Extraordinaire – Come join Mr Mac and his musical storytime complete with puppets! All Ages, no registration required.
10:45am

Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
Join a little girl on her exciting trip to the local farm. From apple picking to finding the best pumpkin, discover how much fun the harvest season can be!
11am

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Thursday October 10th:

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Friday October 11th:

Special LEGO Event – Barnes and Noble Summit
If you love Lego, then this is the event for you! Adults, teens, older children, will have the opportunity to try out the new Lego Architecture Studio line of kits. Learn about scale, models, and other aspects of design — with Lego!
7pm

Magic Tree House – Hoover Public Library
Join Annie and Jack for an adventure of games, crafts and snacks inspired by one of Hoover’s favorite series. Grades 1 – 3.
4pm – 5pm

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Saturday October 12th:

Fresh Air Family Fossil Hunt – Walmart Sumiton
Giant creatures crawled out of a swamp in Alabama millions of years ago, leaving footprints for modern fossil hunters in an abandoned coal mine. On one of our digs, we found a museum-quality fossil! On October 12, you can dig for rare fossils in one of the most important fossil sites in world, where scientists study ancient sea creatures. And you keep what you find! Sponsored by Dayjon, Inc. a company creating products for the modern coal industry.

Fresh Air Family has scheduled the fossil hunt for at the Union Chapel coal mine, near Suniton. The hike will be led by Carl Sloan of the Birmingham Paleontology Society, which has been credited with many of the discoveries on the site.

At one fossil hunt, we found seven human-hand-sized prints left there more than 300 million years ago by a sailback reptile, which roamed a Coal Age Forest that covered Alabama. The six-foot-long amphibian resembled a giant salamander with a fin on its back, in an age predating dinosaurs.

This fossil site has been rated as the most important Coal Age footprint in the world by international experts, according to Congressional findings that resulted in saving the mine from being destroyed by the Mining Reclamation Act. Only three other places in the world are known to have these types of fossils: Scotland, Nova Scotia and the Czech Republic.

Please note that this site has jagged rocks and uneven surfaces. Children must be supervised by parents.
$15 non-members
$10 members

Two sessions
9:00 am – noon
1:00 – 5:00 pm

Kicki’n Chick’n Wing Fest – SOHO Square
The 2013 Magic Moments Kick’n Chick’n Wing Fest is upon us! The outdoor wing cook-off, referred to as the “ultimate tailgate party” by the Birmingham News, features local restaurants, games for kids, local celebrity judges, a wing eating contest and, of course, live football games on big screen TVs. More football, more wings, more people, and more fun! Come eat some wings and show your support of Magic Moments. It’s all about the MAGIC baby!
$10 per person
11am – 4:30

Oktoberfest – Trussville, Holy Infant of Prague
Trussville is again hosting a family-fun Oktoberfest. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge to attend. Enjoy Authentic German food and live music along with lots of other treats such as German pretzels, cakes, strudels, funnel cakes, cookies and other goodies such as cotton candy, peanuts, pizza and nachos.

There are plenty of activities planned for the entire family from tots to seniors and everyone in between. Some of the offerings include hayrides to the pumpkin patch, a rock wall, obstacle course, pumpkin painting, jewelry- making, lots of children’s games with prizes, football toss, ring toss, corn hole, hole-in- one, grab bag wheel, balloon figures, miniature golf and face-painting. There are opportunities to win prizes, cakes, and even cash with games, the cake wheel, bingo, and a raffle that includes a $1500 vacation, large screen TV and iPad. Grandma’s back porch will be open with homemade jellies & jams, pickled vegetables and hand- made candies, cookies and other delicacies, including gluten-free and sugar-free selections.
9am – 3pm

Kids In Nature – Ruffner Mountain Nature Center
Let’s go outside and explore! KIN programs focus on a different topic each month and includes a naturalist-led hike and a craft. October’s theme is fall foliage.
1pm – 2:30pm
$5/ $7 (non-members) per child.
Chaperones are free.

Mt Laurel Fall Festival
Farmers Market and Craft Fair with music, food, hay rides, petting zoo and rides for children
10am – 3pm

Bart’s Art Cart – Birmingham Museum of Art
This drop-in art program for kids and families features a different theme from our galleries and art activity each month. Stop by to make art with Bart! Sugar Skulls // Trick us with your sweet skills while decorating these ornamental treats!
11am

No reservations required. Family Tours are also available by appointment for groups of 10 or more children aged 3 – 8. For more information or to schedule a tour, call 205.254.2964.
10:30am

Family Storytime – Emmet O’Neal Library
Bring the entire family and join Mr. Mac for stories and music each Saturday morning.
10:30 a.m.

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Sunday October 13th:

Fall Scavenger Hunt – Ruffner Mountain
Enjoy a walk through the forest and search for answers to the clues from Ruffner’s Fall Scavenger Hunt. Once you have found all the answers, return your paper to the front desk and claim your prize! Children of all ages. Scavenger sheets will be at the front desk.
This event is on-going. Come any time between 1 and 5.

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Local Attractions Open Daily!

McWane Science Center:

IMAX
McWane Science Center’s IMAX® Dome Theater puts you in the center of the action by projecting breathtaking quality images onto the 5-story-tall dome screen and delivering intense surround sound through almost 3 tons of speakers and subwoofers.
Now Showing: Flight of the Butterflies, Titians of the Ice Age

Unearthing Alabama’s Ice Age – through December 31st, 2013
McWane Science Center is home to Alabama’s second largest natural history collection. Made up of over 500,000 specimens and objects pertaining to the natural history of the state, this important collection focuses on the preservation, education, and research of Alabama’s rich biodiversity and paleobiodiversity. One of the more significant subsets of the collection is Alabama’s largest collection of Late Pleistocene faunal remains – or Ice Age fossils.

Made up of nearly 10,000 cataloged specimens, the McWSC Pleistocene collection contains a unique diversity of fauna that not only includes those native to North America, but migrants to the state from both South America and the Old World. This collection includes mammals, both extant and extinct, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fishes, and botanical remains collected from both cave and stream localities in the state. Extinct mammals represented in the McWSC collection include mammoths, mastodons, giant beavers, saber-toothed cats, giant armadillos, tapirs, peccaries, and giant ground sloths.

This spring, visitors will have an opportunity to view some of the fossils in the collection with a new exhibit titled — “Unearthing Alabama’s Ice Age.” This exhibit will not only highlight many of the Ice Age animals from the McWane Science Center Collection, but will highlight and dispel many of the common misconceptions surrounding the Ice Age in the state. The goal is for visitors to have a better understanding and appreciation for this time in Alabama. For example, guests might learn that Alabama was on average only five degrees colder than today, glaciers did not reach farther south than southern Illinois or that all the Ice Age animals did not go extinct at the end of the Ice Age. While the largest animals, such as mastodons, giant ground sloths, and saber-tooth cats died out, nearly all the animals that are living in Alabama today were also around in the Ice Age.

The Unearthing Alabama’s Ice Age Alabama display is located in the City Gallery on Level 2 of the museum. It is included in the cost of admission to the museum and free to members.

Birmingham Zoo:

Lorikeet Aviary – Our Lorikeet Aviary has more birds than ever! Zoo guests can feed these exotic birds every day. You and your family will see these birds’ behavior as they eat nectar out of your hand.
Weekends 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

PELICAN FEEDING – A great way to see our pelicans in action is to witness them eating their favorite treats near the pelican boardwalk.

RHINO ENCOUNTER – Embark on an African adventure and experience one of the world’s most extraordinary animals, the Southern White Rhino. Watch from only feet away as our zookeepers engage in hands-on interaction with the animals inside their African-themed exhibit. Don’t miss this exciting encounter with one of the largest mammals on the planet!
Weekdays: 3pm – 3:30pm
Weekends: 11:30am – Noon & 3pm – 3:30 pm

GIRAFFE FEEDING – This up close and personal animal encounter is a memory you and your family will have for a lifetime.
Weekday: 11am – Noon
Weekends: 10am – 11am & 2pm – 3pm

Vulcan Park and Museum:

Vulcan is the world’s largest cast iron statue; made of 100,000 pounds of iron and 56 feet tall, he stands at the top of Red Mountain overlooking the city of Birmingham. But, Vulcan is more than a statue. Vulcan Park and Museum features spectacular views of Birmingham, an interactive history museum that examines Vulcan and Birmingham’s story, and a beautiful public park for visitors and locals to enjoy. With an official information center that is operated by the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, Vulcan Park and Museum serves as the first stop for visitors to the Birmingham area!

Railroad Park:

Railroad Park is a 19 acre green space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the industrial and artistic heritage of our great city. Situated along 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, the park is a joint effort between the City of Birmingham and the Railroad Park Foundation. Hailed as “Birmingham’s Living Room,” Railroad Park provides a historically rich venue for local recreation, family activities, concerts, and cultural events, while connecting Birmingham’s downtown area with Southside and UAB’s campus.

Southern Museum of Flight:

Earn Your Wings – Bring your little pilot and soar above the clouds in our little pilots room. Kids enjoy building aircrafts, flying kites, and more.
Museum Open Tuesday – Thursday
9:30am – 4:30pm

Do you have or know of an event you would like to have added to our weekly calendar? Please email us at contact@birminghammommy.com, subject line “Events Calendar” – We would love to hear from you!

** All information listed on our calendar is subject to change without notice to us or you… We do our best to keep the information accurate and will always update as soon as we learn that something has changed. It’s always best to double check with the event via their website or a quick call, especially when weather can impact the event.