22 THURS
Jones Valley Urban Farm annual Urban Harvest Twilight Supper Thursday, September 22nd. I remember sitting out for a very pleasant fall evening on the urban farm last year. Frank and Pardis Stitt of Highlands Bar & Grill join Nick Pihakis and Drew Robinson of Jim N’ Nicks to create a unique Farm to Table experience in downtown Birmingham. Tickets are $200 and in support of Jones Valley’s mission to improve the overall health of children and enhance their educational experience through agriculture and nutrition. Over the last five years, Jones Valley has educated over 4,000 children/ students through it’s innovative Seed2Plate program. 6:00 pm. Tickets $200 Jones Valley Urban Farm. 701 25th Street NorthBirmingham, AL 35203
23 FRI
The Alabama Symphony has frequently stepped out of its classical symphonic bounds to play Radiohead compositions, for example. Well this time it is bluegrass as the team up with alt-country Dailey & Vincent. Christopher Confessore, Conductor, Jamie Dailey, Guitar & Vocals, Darrin Vincent, Mandolin, Bass & Vocals. Vincent is a former backing musician from Ricky Skaggs’ backing band Kentucky Thunder, and Dailey was formerly the lead vocalist and guitarist for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Vincent is also the younger brother of bluegrass superstar Rhonda Vincent (Rhonda Vincent & The Rage)Their 2009 disc Brothers from Different Mothers rose to number one on the Blue Grass charts. $60 // $47 // $37 // $27 Students with ID $10. Leslie Wright Fine Arts Center, Samford University. 8 pm. 205.975.2787
24 SAT
The German Culture Club’s Oktoberfest. No need to go to the faux alpine village of Helen (known by me as Hell-on-earth, Georgia). Birmingham has its own German Culture Club and its own Oktoberfest celebration. It starts on Thursday and goes through Saturday, with food, music, a Dachsund parade, and I bet you can find a beer there somewhere. Bratwurst Plate, Knockwurst Plate, Schnitzel Plate, 1/4 Baked Chicken Plate: $12, Sandwiches: $6, Sides: $3, Dessert: $3. Takeout Available! Order ahead at www.bhamoktoberfest.org/menu.php or 205.324.5949Check out the Oktoberfest’s schedule! http://www.bhamoktoberfest. org/schedule.php. Oktoberfest Tickets: $5 each, Beer Tasting: $25, Menu Plate: $12, Sandwich: $6, Sides: $3. Thursday, September 22: 11am - 8pm, Friday, September 23: 11am - 9pm, Saturday, September 24: 11am - 11pm. FDSK. 2318 2nd Avenue North. 205-324-5949.
25 SUN
Four Coursemen: 0n Sunday my grandmother always made us eat up. And that is what I plan to do this Sunday. If I can get tickets to the Four Coursemen dinner at Little Savannah before they sell in the first five seconds (that is how long they usually take to sell online when the FC hold a dinner in Athens, GA, where they first started their sensation that is now migrating around the country with the Food Channel, I will spring for the $100 for a five course meal at Little Savannah. If not, I have an alternative plan to be fed. I will just head out to the headwaters of the Cahaba at Trussville Springs for the Cahaba River Fry-down and discuss the Greenpage in this issue with interested citizens. Folks who attend Fry- Down will enjoy a free fried fish plate and try samples from the friendly/fierce fish fry competition. I just hope and pray I don’t run into any old girlfriends from Trussville. They seem to have a mean streak better suited to Oktoberfest 1941, but river conservationists might pull them away from the Fox News long enough to have a good influence on them. You can learn about water conservation and protection and go on a nature walk to work off the fried fish. 11 am - 4 pm. $20, 12 and under free. http:// frydown.com/
26 MON
North Texas is not just where Alabama finds a whipping boy to tune up for Arkansas. It is also the birthplace of Snarky Puppy, now Brooklynbased on Ropeadope Records, fusion jazz pop funk rock R&B etc etc. rotating-players collective ensemble. It is, in its physical makeup, a group of musicians from two different cultures and traditions- jazz and rock kids from white America, and gospel/R&B kids from black America. This convergence, which occurred while the band was in its adolescence at the University of North Texas, has naturally established a series of combinations and a system of balance that instantly draws listeners to the music- raw funk and sensitive dynamics, relentless pocket and lyrical melodicism, lush harmony and soulful simplicity, and most importantly, a delicate mixture of composition and improvisation 10 pm, $8 advance, $10 day of show. Zydeco, 2001 15th Avenue South. 205-933-1032.
27 TUES
So you never considered Hoover overly exotic with syncopated samba rhythms and international fusion cuisine, or the place to experience an eco-adventure. Well Boa noite! Because here comes A Taste of Brazil. Brazilian cuisine from Coffee-ology and a samba exhibition and lesson with Bailey Dance Studios. Cuisine will include two types of salgadinhos, the Brazilian term for appetizers, including empadinhas (a pastry stuffed with meat) and kibe (a croquette made with rice and meat). We’ll also serve mortadella sandwiches, which are made with mortadella sausage and provolone cheese and served on sourdough bread, and cheese buns, a very popular type of roll served in Brazil. Dessert will include arrodoce (a rice pudding made with cinnamon and quejadinhas), a cookie similar to a macaroon and Brazilian coffee, of course. Hoover Public Library, 6:30 pm. 200 Municipal Drive, Hoover. 205-444-7800.
28 WED
I think of Samford as a Baptist school, too. In fact, it was the original campus of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and did not cotton too much to the weird artsy kids who showed up, but it surprising these days how many local artists and musicians went there. Maybe there is a subversive professor or two. Well one way to check it out is by checking out Samford art faculty exhibition. It is your last chance because it closes today. Artwork by faculty members will be in all media, including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, pottery, mixed media, printmaking and graphic design. If you did not procrastinate and wait to read this today, maybe you can sneak in early. Free. The Samford Art Gallery is housed in Bonnie Bolding Swearingen Hall which encompasses Ben Harrison Theatre, Bolding Studio and the Samford Art Gallery. It also joins Wright Center Concert Hall and Jane Hollock Brock Hall to form Samford’s fine arts complex. 800 Lakeshore Drive, 205- 726-2853. Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
29 THURS
Freedom Riders Exhibit. I hate to sound depressing by hitting you with two closings in a row, but I know this town is full of procrastinators and today is the day the freedom riders exhibit closes. Free traveling exhibit detailing in photos and narrative the events of the 1961 Freedom Rides, the journey through the South of two commercial buses whose passengers included black and white civil rights activists determined to challenge Jim Crow segregation laws. The buses met with violence in Anniston, Birmingham and Montgomery, bringing national attention- -and federal Marshals--to Alabama. Also featuring a preview of PBS’ documentary. Free. Birmingham History Center, 1731 First Avenue North. 205-202-4146.
