Eight Days (9/16/10 - 9/23/10)

A FREAKIN’ NEAR- FORTNIGHT OF FESTIVITIES:  This week, the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center celebrates the beginning of their new season. In the course of their first 11 days, they will assemble close to 30 performances for your enjoyment, as well as bring together outdoor parties, an afternoon salon, lunchtime demonstrations and discussions, a show for families and more. In the coming week-and-a-half, the venue will play host to a percussion fest with John Scalici, a Liza Minnelli discussion, a hip-hop Disney spectacle, and an array of MASS ensemble events, including a yoga workshop, an architecture and sculpture demonstration, and performances on their Giant Outdoor Earth Harp. You’ll get many chances to watch “Brown Conducts Schumann,” a violin and cello show of classical numbers (Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann) conducted by Justin Brown. You’ll experience what Alys Stephens calls “Living Art,” along with “educational events and live performances for kids and families, culminating with an awe-inspiring genre-bending rock opera and a special evening with one of the world’s brightest stars.” The “rock opera” refers to MASS ensemble’s grand production of artists, musicians, composers and choreographers on September 24, and the “star” refers to Liza Minnelli, performing the 25th. The entertainment extends through September 27. Prices and times vary, though the free opening show, “Inter- Art-Ive,” goes from 6-9 p.m. on September 16. For more information or tickets, call (205) 975- 2787. www.alysstephens.org

FRIDAY, September 17

CHIPPING IN: Come out and register for the Housing Authority District of Birmingham’s George A. Pegues Family Self-Suffiency Golf Tournament. Besides having the longest sports event name possible, the annual tournament also stands to do quite a bit of good. They’ve found a date ideal for golfing— nestled between the end of our typical scorching summer and the beginning of our inevitable five months of cold—and if you’re lucky enough to find yourself with a Friday morning off, you might find it worth checking out. The Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners uses this tournament, working with Family Self- Sufficiency (FSS) to try and provide community families with financial assistance for school essentials, including childcare, books, supplies, and transportation, and to create vocational and educational opportunities for the youth. The HABD is an advocate for equal opportunity housing. They own and manage over 6,000 public housing units and provide home ownership through their many programs. The tournament will take place at Roebuck Golf Course. Registration starts at 7 a.m. and the tournament begins with an 8 a.m. tee off. There will be a luncheon at 12:30 pm. $150/individual player; $300/ two man team; $600/four man team. All donations are tax-deductible. For more information, contact (205) 521-0769 or (205) 521-0687; email m.billingsley@habd.net or tmccants@habd.net. To learn more about the Housing Authority, visit www.habd.org.

EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE ALL WRIGHT: Since August 6, the Birmingham Weekly Visual Arts Calendar has been telling you about “Steep,” an exhibit of teapots at Red Dot Gallery. The show displays a collection of ceramic teapots from 19 artists (Scott Bennett, Fong Choo, Tony Wright, Tim Sullivan, Steve Loucks, Virginia Scotchie, Chris Kelly, Doug Balous, Janice Kluge, Chris Greenman, Connor Burns, Suzie Bowman, Mark Knott, Adam Sterrett, Juan Granados, Lynette Hesser, Paveen Chunhaswasdikul, Bradley Birkhimer and Dori DeCamillis) working in the south. If you’ve been to the show and found yourself inspired, or if you’ve glanced longingly at the listing when you pore over our paper every week, you might be interested in Red Dot Gallery’s teapot class this Monday. The course will be taught by Tony Wright, Alabama ceramic artist and recent Alabama State Council of the Arts Fellowship recipient. He’ll help give you whatever hands-on experience you need to start working towards your teapot making dreams. Some rudimentary clay experience is suggested. Register early. The workshop is limited to ten participants. The class will go for two days, Saturday from 9a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The cost is $150, and that includes clay. For more information, call (205) 870-7608 or email scott@reddotgallery.com.

MAKE SURE TO CLEAR YOUR PLATE: Every year, volunteers and food-lovers alike come together to participate in a week-long campaign called the “Great American Dine Out.” Starting Sunday, thousands of restaurants from across the country, including our very own Village Tavern at the Summit, open their doors for individuals who want to contribute to the fight against hunger. Through special publicity and promotional dishes, the eateries will all be able to give a portion of their proceeds to Share Our Strength, whose goal is to end childhood hunger by 2015, a feat that is hardly unattainable given our country’s resources, yet relentlessly challenging considering our prioritization of said resources. The funds raised will go to a vast number of projects from Share Our Strength, including plans to help families with afterschool programs and food stamps, low-income communities with gardens, farmers’ markets and fresh produce in their stores, local food pantries and soup kitchens with food donations and children with the information necessary to live a healthy lifestyle. On Monday, September 20, you can join in the first ever Great American Dine Out “Tweet-a-Thon” and help promote the campaign by using the hash tags #DineOut and #NoKidHungry. Follow the event on Twitter at @Dine_Out. Other participating restaurants around town include Captain D’s, McAlister’s Deli, P.F. Chang’s, T.G.I. Friday’s, and Joe’s Crab Shack. To learn more about this event, visit join.strength.org, or go to www.villagetavern.com.

SIMPLE FOLKS: Theatre Downtown at Fifth Avenue Antiques invites you to the first performance of the organization’s fifth season. The show, Ordinary People, is the story of a suburban family’s unraveling following the death of the family’s eldest son. The play is based on the bestselling novel written by Judith Guest and the Oscar-winning film directed by Robert Redford, and is quite a heavy story. But don’t let that discourage you. The show is directed by Billy Ray Brewton and stars Michael T. Walters, Brad Riegel, Charla Cochran, Ron Dauphinee, Chris Hicks, Heather Burgess, Christoph Hooks, Kelsey Sherrer and Shawn Castle. Showtimes: September 16-23 & 23-25, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17 for adults ($15 online), $10 for students and seniors. For more information, call (205) 306- 1470 or visit www.theatredowntown.org.

STRIP OF COMICS: The stand-up comic is a special brand of dying breed. Look anywhere and you’ll find them—film, television, radio, advertisements, bookstores, record stores, you name it—comedy and comedians are essential and permanent facets of world culture. But you are far less likely to walk into a venue and see them in their basest form, on stage, jokes and ideas stemming from one mind to please one audience. Comedy is broad and covers all bases, so its natural evolution is like that of storytelling. Everyone cherishes story as part of almost any entertainment, but when was the last time you actively listened to a story—not one that developed from a day-to-day conversation, or that sprung from a book or movie, but in the so-called oral tradition? I think people have forgotten what power a live performance, especially a comedic one, can have. Which is why I suggest  you visit Zydeco this Tuesday. Zydeco is known for hosting music events—whether it’s a rock band, a bluegrass band or a hardcore punk outfit—they don’t usually deviate from their weekly regiment. But this week they’ve decided to mix it up. They’ve invited stand-up after standup to perform in their “Two Hour Comedy Hour” and dazzle you with their wit and wiles. Performances include Ken Partridge, Jr., Kristi Griffin, Martin Morrow, Joshua Mays, Michael McCall, Chris Davis, John Goodwyn and Zach Carradine. Ages 18 and up. For more information or to buy tickets, call (205) 933-1032 or visit www.zydecobirmingham.com.

CLOTHES CALL: Hit up Belk at the Summit or Belk at Riverchase Galleria or Belk at Brookwood Village for some sweet deals at “Girls’ Night Out.” Belk is holding this sale for one night only, so listen closely. During event hours, customers will receive a 20% discount on all purchases of sale and regular priced women’s contemporary apparel and accessories, including rarely discounted designer brands such as BCBG, DKNY, Free People, Lucky Brand, Citizens of Humanity, Cole Haan, Joe’s Jeans, Juicy Couture and 7 For All Mankind. There will be giveaways for customers to enter, and even some live music from a DJ. Enjoy some wine from Little Black Dress Wines in Hopland, California, and gourmet catering from B&A Warehouse. The sale goes from 5-8:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.belk.com.

REAP THIS HARVEST: For those who don’t know anything about Jones Valley Urban Farm, here’s a quick rundown: 1. They are a non-profit organization based out of Birmingham.  2. They are also a farm. 3. They are essentially a downtown backyard, drawing on over three acres of downtown property. 4. They strive not only to grow organic produce, but to educate the city about growing, farming and eating healthy. If you’ve never been, next Thursday might be the time to do so. Jones Valley will be teaming up with Slow Food Birmingham, another organization intent on nutrition education, to bring you the “Urban Harvest Twilight Supper.” Executive director of Jones Valley, Edwin Marty, will take you on a tour of the farm to start the evening. Then you will sit down at a 120-seat table smack dab in the middle of the farm to enjoy a lavish, four-course meal, prepared by popular Birmingham chefs Drew Robinson (Jim ‘n Nicks) and Frank Stitt (Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega). They will be grilling Argentine-style, with a menu that includes organic beef, pasture-raised lamb and sausages cooked over an open flame, justpicked autumn vegetables, and a dessert. Tickets include a complimentary Argentine wine. 5 p.m. $200/person. For more information, call (205) 439-7213 or visit www.jvuf.org. To buy tickets or to learn more about Slow Food Birmingham, visit www.slowfoodbirmingham.com.