Spring Break is the best time to have fun and enjoy exciting places like the Birmingham Zoo!

Join the zoo over Spring Break for the opening of Seasonal favorites and activities at the Lorikeet Aviary, Predator Zone, Sea Lion Show, Children’s Zoo Splash Pads, Wildlife Show, Wild Slide and so much more. Just in time for the warmer weather, guests can soak up the sun while creating lasting memories with a visit to your favorite Zoo.

March 23 – 31

*Purchase your admission tickets and unlimited ride wristbands ahead of time at birminghamzoo.com*

Spring Break Daily Activities Schedule for March 23 – 31

Full Moon BBQ Wild Slide
Daily
9am – 4:45pm
Cost: $3.50 plus tax
Riders must be 4 years of age and 40 inches tall to ride

Protective Life Carousel Rides
Daily
9am – 4:45pm
Cost: $3.50 plus tax
Children under two, receive a free ride on the carousel with a paid accompanying adult.
Children two and older must have a ride ticket.

Red Diamond Express Train Ride
Daily
9am – 4:45pm
Cost: $3.50 plus tax

Goat Walk
Daily
9:30am

Schaeffer Eye Center Lorikeet Aviary
Daily
10am – 4pm
$2 plus tax
Weather dependent

Red Diamond Sea Lion Show
Daily
10am
2pm

Kiwanis Giraffe Encounter
Daily
10am – 3pm
Cost, $3.50 plus tax
Weather dependent

UAB Callahan Eye Hospital Wildlife Show
Daily
11am

Predator Zone Lion Training
Daily
11:30am
3pm

Animal Greetings at the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital Wildlife Stage
Daily
2:30pm

• Birmingham Bulls Hockey – Pelham Ice Complex

V. Peoria Rivermen

As You Walk Through the Door, Your Hearts Starts Pumping! The irresistible lure of HOCKEY and the buzz of a packed house causes your ADRENALIN to surge. The music is PUMPING, the lights fade and the smoke swirls – and that’s just the beginning. Monster hits, UNBELIEVABLE GOALS and in-your-face hockey keeps you on the edge of your seat. The action is NON-STOP! With heart pounding music, and contests, what are you waiting for? It’s an EXPERIENCE to remember.

Friday, 7:30pm
Saturday, 7pm

• St Patrick’s Day Parade – 5 points South

Put on some green and come out to the 35th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, led by the Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band.

Come early for kids activities, live music and brunch or stay after the parade to grab some lunch, dinner or a drink from any of the participating merchants who will be offering Irish food and drink specials ALL day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. While getting into the Irish spirit, grab a great spot to watch the parade with the family or visit one our many indoor music venues.

Parade
Saturday March 16th from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, 11am

• Birmingham Hammerfest – Lakeview

The inaugural Birmingham Hammerfest fueled by Gatorade Zero is the place to be on March 16th. Eighteen USA CRITS D1 professional cycling teams will be racing through the streets of the Lakeview District. This exciting, fast-paced criterium racing is not just for the pros. Amateurs and juniors will be tackling the same course and putting their skills to the test.

This family-friendly weekend includes something for all ages with the Thomas Waters State Farm Kids’ Zone featuring inflatables, arts and crafts, bike obstacle courses and more. Kids of all ages can deck out their bikes/trikes St. Patty’s style and show off their wheels in the Lil’ Shamrock fun ride during the Regions Bank Community Hour. Ride your bike to Lakeview and park at the Lewis & Feldman bike valet and visit their cycle pits for bicycle maintenance courses. Enjoy local food trucks or head up to the excitement and festivities at the restaurants and bars along 7th Avenue and 29th St.

Saturday, 8am – 4pm

• Cherry Blossom Festival – Birmingham Botanical Gardens

2019 Sakura Matsuri at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens!

Saturday, 10am – 4pm

• Tannehill Trade Days – Tannehill State Park

Shoppers and swappers come from far and near to Tannehill Trade Days in search of tools, clothing, jewelry, knives, furniture and other treasures. We have 350+ vendors to come and see. Rain or shine.

Saturday, 8am – 4pm
Sunday, 8am – 4pm

For even more events happening this weekend and beyond, make sure to keep an eye on our Events Calendar!

When school is out, science is in at McWane Science Center! Check out one of their traveling exhibits:

Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code begins to unravel the mystery behind the complete set of instructions needed for every living thing on Earth to grow and function: the genome.

SPEED: Science in Motion replicates the high-octane action of the Formula 1 racetrack, complete with pit lane, workshop and physical testing environments. This immersive experience is designed to unravel the cutting edge science and technology behind professional motor sports.

Don’t forget to check out what’s new in IMAX: Narrated by Captain America himself, Chris Evans, Superpower Dogs (Opening March 15) is the inspiring true story of man’s best friends and also real-life superheroes. Journey around the globe to meet remarkable dogs who save lives and discover the powerful bond they share with their human partners. Follow ‘Halo’, a rookie puppy training to join one of the most elite disaster response teams in America. Meet ‘Henry’, an avalanche rescue expert in the Canadian Rockies, ‘Reef’, a Newfoundland lifeguard with the Italian coastguard, ‘Ricochet’, a Californian surf legend helping people with special needs, and the Bloodhound brothers, ‘Tipper and Tony’, who are leading the fight to save endangered species in Africa. As we discover the incredible abilities of dogs and the astonishing science behind their superpowers, we’ll never look at our best friends the same way again!

Brain Awareness Week: Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign designed to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research. Join McWane and neuroscience students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham for brainy activities!

The inaugural Birmingham Hammerfest fueled by Gatorade Zero is the place to be on March 16th. Eighteen USA CRITS D1 professional cycling teams will be racing through the streets of the Lakeview District. This exciting, fast-paced criterium racing is not just for the pros. Amateurs and juniors will be tackling the same course and putting their skills to the test.

This family-friendly weekend includes something for all ages with the Thomas Waters State Farm Kids’ Zone featuring inflatables, arts and crafts, bike obstacle courses and more. Kids of all ages can deck out their bikes/trikes St. Patty’s style and show off their wheels in the Lil’ Shamrock fun ride during the Regions Bank Community Hour. Ride your bike to Lakeview and park at the Lewis & Feldman bike valet and visit their cycle pits for bicycle maintenance courses. Enjoy local food trucks or head up to the excitement and festivities at the restaurants and bars along 7th Avenue and 29th St.

• Holi Festival at the Birmingham Museum of Art

Join us for our ninth annual Holi festival, the Indian celebration of color. Enjoy classical Indian and Bollywood-style dancing, food from local Indian restaurants, henna artists, art making, and more! The day ends with a huge celebration where everyone heads outside to play Holi, which involves the traditional throwing of powdered colors.

This event is free of charge.

Saturday, 11am – 3pm

• You are my Happy Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit

In this charming book from Today Show anchor Hoda Kotb, a mama bear and her cub cuddle together for a good night’s sleep and reflect on the everyday wonders of life that make them happy. Join us for Storytime, and get a coupon from our Café for a grilled cheese sandwich with milk or juice for $4.

Saturday, 11am

• LEGO Architecture Event – Barnes and Noble Summit

Join fellow builders to construct the newest in the LEGO Architecture series, San Francisco.

Saturday, 6pm

• Me… Jane: The Dreams and adventures of young Jane Goodall at Alys Stephens Center

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour Presents Me…Jane: The Dreams and Adventures of Young Jane Goodall

In this brand-new musical adaptation, join young Jane and her special friend as they learn about the world around them and the importance of protecting all living species. With anecdotes taken directly from Jane Goodall’s autobiography, this adaptation makes this very true story accessible for the very young – and young at heart.

Join us for a fun, family-friendly pre-performance lunch at 12:30 p.m. before the show at 2 PM!

Saturday, 2pm

• Girls Rock Fest at Cahaba Brewing Company

This is the inaugural Girls Rock Fest 2019 presented by Birmingham Mountain Radio and Cahaba Brewing Co. with all proceeds benefiting Girls Rock Bham!

Music will kickoff at noon

This event is all ages!
Kids 10 and under are free
Girls Rock Bham campers get in free!

Early bird tickets start at $15.00

Sunday, 12pm – 9pm

Add this to your Spring Break Bucket List! It looks AH-Mazing!!

It’s the Huntsville Botanical Garden’s biggest exhibit to date! Boasting more than 1,000 illuminated lantern displays of wildlife from around the world (and dinosaurs!), this festival offers a stunning visual exhibition of Chinese art and culture.

Other Festival activities will include:

Live Kung Fu performances at 6:00 pm and 7:45 pm
Chinese shadow puppetry performances at 7:00 pm and 8:45 pm
A marketplace featuring authentic Chinese folk arts and crafts

The Lantern Festival features:

800+ illuminated Lanterns
112 Acres of Huntsville Botanical Garden Utilized
17 Magical Vignettes scattered throughout the Garden
5 Nights a Week from Wednesday – Sunday starting  March 20 – May 19
4 Shows a night featuring live Kung Fu and Chinese shadow puppetry
1 Magical Experience you won’t forget!

Daytime Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am – 4:30 pm

Evening Hours (Wednesday – Sunday Only):
Gates open at 5:30 pm with last admission taken at 9:00 pm

The festival begins March 20, 2019 and will be there through May 19, 2019. It will feature over 1000 vividly radiant lanterns, live Kung Fu performances, Shadow Play puppet shows and a Chinese Folk Art Marketplace.  Tickets are on sale now!

Afilm Camp offers Ten weeks of summer day camps that gives students the opportunity to participate in making a short film every week.  Our curriculum is designed so that any experience level can participate and have a great week learning about film and culminates each week with an actual film that they were a part of creating.

“We wanted to provide a specialty camp experience at a price that most parents can afford.  We also wanted Afilm Camp to be a legitimate option for your entire summer. We believe that this experience of working on and completing a short film will give students practical knowledge about something that they are very interested in; while also allowing them to have a lot of FUN,” says Afilm Camp co-founder Scott Ross.

“We are pleased to be working with Daniel Wallace, (author of national best selling book Big Fish) this summer to create the short film experience.  Daniel has opened up his volumes of short films to our team to collaborate and create some very imaginative stories! We think that it is amazing that our students this summer will get to be a part of content created by such an amazing and experienced author,” says Matt Bayley, Afilm Camp co- founder.

Afilm Camp will be located at Alabama’s premiere venue for Film Production, Workplay.  Located in beautiful downtown Birmingham, workplay has a 10,000 square foot soundstage that was built with Afilm Camps mission in mind.  “We are excited about this space getting used for what it was designed to do,” says Tom Williams owner of Workplay. A normal day at camp begins with a high-spirited, welcoming staff with a background in children & film.  Your first break out session could be anything from composing your own original monologue to creating from scratch a stop-motion animation to share with your friends & family. Then after lunch it may be time for stunt play to burn off a few calories before going in our 10,000 sq ft indoor sound stage so you can work as a team to construct your very own short film by the end of the week.

AFilm Camp 2019 Schedule

May 27th – June 1st
June 3rd – June 7th
June 10th – June 14th
June 17th – June 21st
June 24th – June 28th
July 1st – July 5th
July 8th – July 12th
July 15th – July 19th
July 22nd – July 26th
July 29th – August 2nd

For Registration and more information please visit www.afilmcamp.com TODAY!  Signups have already started and some weeks are starting to fill up.