Localist

What’s Happening in Birmingham This Weekend?


What’s going on in the Magic City this weekend? Not nearly as much talk of wizardly worlds and fairy kingdoms and you might imagine from our “Magic City” nickname (unless you want to head out to Books, Beans & Candles), but there are lots of events for us Muggles to enjoy nonetheless. Sloss Fest is the big thing going on, and it’s no wonder — with bands like Modest Mouse, The Avett Brothers, Band of Horses and St. Paul & the Broken Bones, it should be pretty amazing.

 

Tickets are still available to Sloss Fest, but sadly for me, I can’t swing it (I’m on a post-book-tour budget). Instead of whining about that (I’ll even spare you my Avett Brothers story — it’s basically just a long-ish conversation with Bobby about books, American history, and the Federalists),  I’ll get all silver-lining about it and share my secret weapon for finding last-minute events in Birmingham: Birmingham 365 from Create Birmingham. (I dare you to use the word “Birmingham” more in one sentence than I just did.)

 

There are lots of calendars and digital events listings in Birmingham, and I’m sure they’re great, but this is the one I use most of the time. You can sort by date, type of event and price range (including free). You can look at a specific date, or today, or tomorrow, or just view the whole weekend. It also works pretty well on a phone, so it’s good for those annoying times when you’re out to dinner with friends and everyone wants to hang out longer but no one knows what’s going on and “oh-my-goodness-how-come-nothing-ever-happens-in-this-stupid-town.” Well, Birmingham 365 tells you what’s happening in this stupid town. And also the town is not stupid.

 

If you’re lucky enough to get to Sloss Fest this weekend, post lots of Instagram pics so I can live vicariously, and ask those Avett Brothers about their favorite books, because then you’ll have something cool to mention on your blog several years later. (Or maybe that’s just me.) And if you’re looking for something new, fun and even free to do after the weekly trip to Pepper Place on Saturday morning, check out my favorite Birmingham calendar — or comment and share your favorite calendar with me.

 

Carrie Rollwagen is author of The Localist: Think Independent, Buy Local and Reclaim the American Dream, creator of 30 Days of Local Praise and co-founder of Church Street Coffee & Books. Find her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @crollwagen.

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