From the movie of the same name by Tina Fey, this amazing Young Artist Production musical version comes to the RMT Mainstage for four performances only. Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung. It’s the story everyone loves, with wicked wit and over-the-top dance numbers, in a shortened version perfect for younger audience members. Tickets are just $12-24 at redmountaintheatre.org.

MEAN GIRLS, JR. at RED MOUNTAIN THEATRE

Friday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 28 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 29 at 2 p.m.

Purchase tickets now at Red Mountain Theatre

Children’s of Alabama is introducing PetsRX to help patients navigate their health journey. PetsRX is an animal-assisted program that includes the hospital’s first medical dog.

Wanda, the medical dog:

Thanks to a sponsorship from Nucor Steel, Wanda is one of Children’s of Alabama’s newest employees. She is a 2-year-old golden retriever. Wanda began her training at only a few days old at Canine Assistants, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and training hospital service dogs. Combined with the expertise of her handlers and Child Life Specialists, Wanda helps patients through goal-directed interventions. She helps patients cope, heal and achieve treatment goals at the hospital.

In addition to our medical dog, PetsRX also consists of three other animal-assisted programs, which include Hand-in-Paw. Hand-in-Paw is a long-time beloved partner of Children’s of Alabama. Teams visit the hospital often and help make the hospital feel more comfortable for patients away from their pets. Children’s also utilizes the P.U.P.S. (Poodles Unleashing Pawsome Smiles) Program at Children’s South. Shelby and Foster are poodles who are trained to work in therapeutic settings.  The CHIPS (Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services) Center also works with service-trained facility dogs through the Hero Program with the Office of Prosecution Services. The CHIPS Center uses this program to help in the healing journey for suspected victims of child abuse.

For more information about the PetsRX program, click here.

Spending the holidays in the hospital is not easy for anyone, especially children. You can help make Halloween memorable for Children’s of Alabama patients by sending them a card.

Through Oct. 30, you can send free greeting cards to children in the hospital. Visit give.childrensal.org/Halloween and select one of three card designs. Hospital staff will print and distribute the cards to patients on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Protective Life Corporation has sponsored Halloween activities at Children’s for the past nine years. The card drive gives the public a chance to bring smiles to children’s faces during a time when hospital visitation is limited. Children’s cannot accept in-person gift donations, food/candy, stuffed animals, toys that depict violence, religious items, crocheted knit items, and gently used or homemade items on behalf of patients.

For more information about donating to patients at Children’s, visit childrensal.org/foundation.

This holiday season will be even brighter, merrier and more colorful as Magic of Lights transforms Alabama Adventure into a vibrant drive-through holiday-themed light display. The festive event kicks off November 17th and runs through December 31st.

Produced by Family Entertainment Holdings, LLC, “Magic of Lights” will make its Birmingham, AL debut at Alabama Adventure, featuring dozens of displays, festive favorites, and digital animation, all constructed with millions of individual LED lights to create a memorable holiday experience for the whole family.

“We are excited to bring Magic of Lights to the Birmingham community for the first time ever and believe it will become an annual holiday tradition,” says Ken Hudgens, CEO of Family Entertainment Holdings, LLC. “Our innovative creative team has designed a drive-through holiday wonderland light experience that promises to dazzle and delight guests of all ages.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to be collaborating with Magic of Lights for our upcoming Christmas light show! Their expertise in creating enchanting, immersive light displays is unparalleled, and we couldn’t have asked for a better partner to bring this vision to life. Together, we’re going to create a Christmas experience like no other, one that will leave our guests in awe and filled with the spirit of the season. We can’t wait to see the magic they’ll weave into our park to make this holiday season truly unforgettable!” -Dan Koch, President and Owner

Other illuminated displays include the 32-foot-tall animated Mattel’s Waving Christmas Barbie®, Prehistoric Christmas featuring life sized dinosaurs celebrating the season, and the legendary BIGFOOT® Monster Truck. Created with over two million sparkling lights, Magic of Lights is a nostalgic and festive event everyone will enjoy.

A new augmented reality feature will be introduced this year as well to make the magical experience even more interactive, with details set to be released in November.

QUICK FACTS – MAGIC OF LIGHTS

·      2+ million lights per Magic of Lights event

·      12.6 miles of light cord per Magic of Lights event

·      3,750 staff hours to set up each Magic of Lights event

·      The steel displays are designed, bent, cut and welded into about 800 frames that are combined in different configurations to create each show’s giant winter holiday scenes. Each frame of each scene is designed using the latest CAD technology and hand built in-house from 15 pages of design specifications each.

·      Each Magic of Lights show uses about 10 miles of steel to build the displays and 10 miles of LED lighting installed inside the displays, there are 10 different colors of LED bulbs used in the shows.

·      Scenes, such as the animated Mattel’s Waving Christmas Barbie, are as high as 32 ft. tall and as long as several hundred feet.

Magic of Lights shines daily from 5:30 – 9:00 PM Monday – Thursday and 5:30 – 10:00 PM Friday -Sunday. Tickets for this colorful seasonal event go on sale October 10th at 10 am and tickets are priced per vehicle.

For a complete schedule and to purchase tickets, visit THIS SITE

Children’s of Alabama has implemented its seasonal visitation policy for its in-patient units. This change will protect patients, staff, visitors and the community from the potential spread of illness.

Visitors must be at least 12 years of age and symptom-free.

Please do not visit if you or your guest have any of these symptoms:

Have or have had a fever in the last 24 hours
Have a runny nose
Have a cough
Have a sore throat
Have been exposed to anyone with flu-like symptoms
Masks are recommended but not required. However, masks may be required in some patient care areas.

With a few exceptions, Children’s allows visitation daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.  All visitors must register and wear hospital-issued identification before visiting any area. Clergy/spiritual care providers may visit at the discretion of patients/families.

About Children’s of Alabama

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient, outpatient and primary care throughout Central Alabama. Ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s serves patients from every county in Alabama and nearly every state. Children’s is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the teaching hospital for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs. The medical staff consists of UAB faculty and Children’s full-time physicians, as well as private practicing community physicians.