BIG Week for BirminghamMommy as we offer the yearly McWane Membership Discount! If you’ve been thinking about becoming a Member of one of Birmingham’s Best Children’s Attractions, now’s your chance! We’ll be out all week accepting forms, you can find all of the details here.
If you’re enjoying a long weekend, take the kids down to the Veteran’s Day Parade. The Outlet Shops of Grand River will be opening the new ice skating rink and having their Grand Holiday Spectacular this week.
Later in the week look for the Zamora Shrine Circus at the Pelham Civic Complex.
Have a great week!
It’s Not Our Fault if Your Kids are Bored!
Sunday November 10th:
Disney on Ice – Princesses and Heroes
Enter a world of wonder where heroes and hearts prevail. Join Ariel as she yearns to explore the world above the waves and Prince Eric breaks Ursula’s slithering spell to reclaim his one true love. See Price Philip defeat the evil Maleficent as she transforms herself into a fire-breathing dragon in a race against time to rescue Sleeping Beauty’s Aurora. Be there to discover a whole new world with Jasmine and Aladdin. And, watch in awe as the dreams of Cinderella, Belle, Snow White and Tiana all come true. High flying jumps, daring acrobatics, breathtaking skating and loveable Disney friends are just a wish away! There’s even a special appearance by Disney’s newest princess, Rapunzel.
1pm and 5pm
Homestead Hollow Arts and Crafts Festival –
Homestead Hollow festivals feature fine arts, unique – one of a kind – hand made crafts, pioneer demonstrations of the old time days. See wood carving, ironwork, blacksmithing, smoke house cooking, gardening, quilting, whiskey making at our original working still, and tour original cabins as they were built by the early settlers. Relax by one of our many streams and listen to live local entertainment all day. Enjoy our great food that makes your mouth scream for more.
Children’s activities: ride the ponies, circle in our wagon ride or jump in the moon walk. Visit and talk with our Herbalist and find out more about grandma’s remedies or those nature produces naturally.
Adults – $7
Ages 3 to 12 – $3
Ages 2 and under – Free.
Groups of 20 or more – $6 each.
Free Parking. NO PETS ALLOWED. NO COOLERS ALLOWED.
9am – 4pm
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Monday November 11th:
*McWane Membership Drive Location- Come see us at the Carmike Summit from 10:00 until 12:30
Veterans Day Parade –
PARADE ROUTE
Start on 8th Ave North & 19th Street
South on 19th Street to 5th Ave North
East on 5th Ave North to 22nd Street
South on 22nd Street to 2nd Ave North
West on 2nd Ave North to 18th Street
North on 18th Street to 6th Ave North
Parade begins at 1:30
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 November 12th:
*McWane Membership Drive Location – Hart and Soul Coffee Shop in Homewood 10am – Noon
Family Night with Skin and Bones – Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest
Join us for dinner and a show! This month, enjoy quesadillas from Sol Azteca and the hilarious comedy of husband and wife clown/animal act Skin and Bones! Must call to register. All ages welcome.
Dinner served from 6:00 – 6:30 pm; show begins promptly at 6:30 pm.
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
Story Time
10:30am
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Wednesday November 13th:
*McWane Membership Drive Location – Starbucks Vestavia 9am – 11am
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
It’s bedtime in the woods of Burrow Down, and all the animals are ready for their bedtime story. But books are mysteriously disappearing. Join us as we find out where all the bedtime stories have gone.
11am
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Thursday November 14th:
Grand Holiday Spectacular – Outlet Shops of Grand River
The Outlet Shops of Grand River is hosting an enchanted evening to kick off the holiday season at the Grand Holiday Spectacular. Excitement will chill the air with the grand opening of Grand River on Ice presented by Diet Coke, a 3,500 square foot ice skating rink. This magical celebration will bring your family together with the 4th annual lighting of the magnificent 23-foot Christmas Tree along with live entertainment from Red Mountain Theater, Alabama Symphony Orchestra Choir, Alabama Ballet and more! The twinkling stars of Birmingham have just gotten a little more magical as your family kicks off the Holiday Season with The Outlet Shops of Grand River.
** Stop by and see us to sign up for the Big McWane Membership
Grand Holiday Spectacular Schedule
- 4:00 pm: Opening of Grand River on Ice with skating demonstrations and entertainment.
- 6:00 pm: Family entertainment with face painting, cooking decorating, holiday crafts and more.
- 6:30 pm: Holiday Celebration hosted by Magic 96.5’s Rob and Dana with live performances from Red Mountain Theatre, The Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Leeds Children of Joy Choir, Alabama Ballet and more.
- 7:15 pm: Arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus.
- 7:20 pm: Lighting of the Christmas Tree.
- 7:25 pm: Visits with Santa, holiday activities and shopping.
NOTE: Schedule is subject to change.
Mommy and Me Storytime – Homewood Public Library
Story Time for our younger patrons (birth to 30 mo.) and their lap partner.
10:30
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Friday November 15th:
McWane Membership Drive Location – Hoover Starbucks, Hwy 31 Noon – 2pm
Mr. P’s – Hoover Public Library
Come to the library to create your own marble art masterpiece. Grades 1-3. Registration required.
4pm – 5pm
Zamora Shrine Circus – Pelham Civic Complex
Come see the tigers, bears, amazing juggling acts, elephants, high flying acrobats, and everyone’s favorite the Zamora Clowns. Pre-performances start one hour before each show. Come ride elephants, take pictures with tigers & bears, and meet the clowns.
Adults $12
Children 12 and under $8
For VIP ticket information please call Zamora Shrine Center 205-956-3636
4:30 and 7:45
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Saturday November 16th:
If You Give a Pig a Party – Hoover Library
Join Pig, Moose and Mouse for a party that will appeal to your sweet tooth and funny bone. All ages
10:30
Zamora Shrine Circus – Pelham Civic Complex
Come see the tigers, bears, amazing juggling acts, elephants, high flying acrobats, and everyone’s favorite the Zamora Clowns. Pre-performances start one hour before each show. Come ride elephants, take pictures with tigers & bears, and meet the clowns.
Adults $12
Children 12 and under $8
For VIP ticket information please call Zamora Shrine Center 205-956-3636
Noon and 4pm
Cereal and Cartoons – Homewood Public Library
Dry cereal only, available until 10:45 am.
10am – Noon
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! Portrait Project // Look at the people around you. Who do you see?
11am – 1pm
Bart’s Books – Birmingham Museum of Art
Bart’s Books is a storytelling program for children ages 4-7. Bart selects a new book and related work of art each month that he thinks kids will enjoy.
This month, Bart has selected Hooray for You! by Marianne Richmond.
11am
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.
Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
I know an old lady who swallowed a pie, a Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry. Come find out what happened when the feast really began.
11am
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Sunday November 17th:
Zamora Shrine Circus – Pelham Civic Complex
Come see the tigers, bears, amazing juggling acts, elephants, high flying acrobats, and everyone’s favorite the Zamora Clowns. Pre-performances start one hour before each show. Come ride elephants, take pictures with tigers & bears, and meet the clowns.
Adults $12
Children 12 and under $8
For VIP ticket information please call Zamora Shrine Center 205-956-3636
Noon, 4pm and 7:45
Elf on the Shelf Storytime Event – Barnes and Noble Summit
Join us in November and December for The Elf on the Shelf: A Holiday Tradition, featuring Storytime, activities and an Adopt-an-Elf event. Come see if you can find the elf!
1pm
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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, Titans 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.
Hoping to add a community giving project to your family’s activities over the holidays? If so, this is the perfect time, as Family Volunteer Day takes place on November 23, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The Points of Light Foundation created national Family Volunteer day 22 years ago to showcase the benefits of family volunteering and provide opportunities for families to help communities create supportive environments for their children and each other.
