Fall is my favorite time of the year. The cotton, sunflowers, and peanuts growing in the fields. The rolls of hay in the pastures. The fall festivals. The cooler weather. Football season. So many good things, and you can definitely take advantage of the weather this month with all the things happening in our city.
And if you stop by Pepper Place this Saturday (the 6th) or Mt. Laurel’s Fall Festival next weekend (the 13th), be sure to stop by our booth and say hello!
This Week (October 1-7)
- Iron City Showdown (October 2)
- Location: BJCC Legacy Arena
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Cost: $15+
- Watch pro basketball’s Houston Rockets take on the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Greek Food Festival (October 4-6)
- Location: 307 19th St. S.
- Time: 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
- My favorite food festival of the year, and probably Birmingham’s oldest one, considering this is their 45th year. Be sure to check out their desserts (Greek donuts and baklava!), and if you’re unsure of what to order, my fave is the pasticho (macaroni, ground beef, Greek tomato sauce, covered with a layer of béchamel). Click here to view this year’s menu. You can also tour the church, which is both beautiful and historical and worth your time.
- Art Crawl (October 4)
- Location: The Pizitz
- Time: 5 – 9 p.m.
- This monthly rain or shine event brings together local makers and allows the public to view and purchase their wares. Plus, you can eat dinner at the yummy Pizitz Food Hall while you’re there.
- Southern Women’s Show (October 4-7)
- Location: BJCC
- Time:
- Thursday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Friday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Cost:
- Adults: $12 at the door ($9 online tickets)
- Special Pricing: $5 after 5 p.m. (Thursday-Saturday)
- Youth: $6 (ages 6-12)
- Children under 6: Free
- Enjoy all sorts of shopping, delicious gourmet treats, runway fashion shows, cooking classes, and informed speakers.
- Right to the Ballot: Then and Now (October 4)
- Location: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
- Time: 5 – 6:30 p.m.
- Cost: Tickets are free but reservation is required.
- The ACLU of Alabama will be presenting a presentation on the history of voter disenfranchisement and gerrymandering in Alabama as well as the modernization of voter suppression and information about the upcoming midterm election.
- Antiques at the Gardens (October 5-7)
- Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens
- Time:
- Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Cost: $15
- Come to the Gardens to peruse the antiques gathered from across the U.S. as well, to attend workshops, and to meet regionally and nationally known architects, interior designers, and landscape designers. This is Birmingham’s premier antique show, so if antiques are your thing, you won’t want to miss this event. This year, Martha Stewart will be even be presenting a lecture!
- The Temptations and the Four Tops (October 4)
- Location: BJCC Concert Hall
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Cost: $52+
- If you like R&B, these two groups have had an undeniable impact on this musical style. Plus, they have tight harmonies, and the Temptations even have a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Their hit “My Girl” continues to be one of all-time fave songs.
- Art After 5 (October 5)
- Location: Birmingham Museum of Art
- Time: 5 – 9 p.m.
- On the 1st Friday of the month (Sept. – April), the BMA features a blend of art and entertainment. This month, the theme will be “Salsa Night” and involve dancing the salsa, margaritas, and crafts.
- Sean Curran Company with Third Coast Percussion (October 5)
- Location: Alys Stephens Center
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Cost: $25
- Grammy Award-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion provides live music for Sean Curran Company’s 20th anniversary debut performance.
- Bluff Park Art Show (October 6)
- Location: 517 Cloudland Dr.
- There is no parking on site, but free shuttle buses are available at the Bluff Park United Methodist Church, Shades Mountain Independent Church, Bluff Park Village Shopping Center, and Shades Crest Baptist Church.
- Time: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- See the work of more than 150 artists in this annual juried art show, and enjoy several food vendors, music from local high school jazz bands, and a children’s art activities section.
- Location: 517 Cloudland Dr.
- Brazilian Day Festival (October 6)
- Location: 2345 Columbiana Rd.
- Time: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Enjoy a day of Brazilian culture and food at the 4th annual Brazilian Day Festival.
- Oktoberfest (October 6)
- Location: Railroad Park
- Time: noon – 5 p.m.
- Cost: $21+
- Birmingham’s biggest German-themed party will include German food, live music, Oktoberfest-themed games and activities, and a variety of cold beer.
- Vulcan AfterTunes (October 7)
- Location: Vulcan Park & Museum
- Time: 3 – 6 p.m.
- Cost:
- $12 in advance
- $15 at the gate
- $5 child ticket (ages 5-12)
- Enjoy tunes, brews, and views in Birmingham’s backyard as Vulcan presents up-and-coming artists. This Sunday’s lineup includes hometown hero, Will Stewart, at 3 p.m. and Iron Horse, a well-known bluegrass band, at 4 p.m.
Other Events in October
- Taste of Hoover (October 11)
- Location: Aldridge Gardens
- Time: 5 – 8 p.m.
- Cost:
- $50 for adults
- Children 12 and under are free
- Stroll through the Gardens and sample the best of Hoover’s restaurants, caterers, and more.
- Evening of Change (October 11)
- Location: Quinlan Castle Courtyard
- Time: 6 – 8 p.m.
- Cost: $75
- Celebrate Southern Research’s inaugural Change Campaign, which supports scientific discoveries here in Birmingham! Festivities will include in complementary drinks and hors-d’oeuvres, a live LED dance performance, and live music. Ticket proceeds support Southern Research’s efforts in cancer research, green chemistry, and neuroscience research.
- Dancing with the Stars of the Magic City (October 11)
- Location: Lyric Theatre
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Cost: $25+
- Watch local stars and choreographers perform in this one-night competition. Each team will perform a 90-second dance routine and compete for various trophies. Proceeds from this evening support First Light’s emergency shelter and supportive housing programs for homeless women and their families.
- Ross Bridge Farmers Market (October 12)
- Location: Ross Bridge
- Time: 4 – 8 p.m.
- Shop from local vendors and get your costumes ready for the 2nd annual Bark-It Market.
- Harvest Festival (October 13)
- Location: Oak Mountain State Park
- Time: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Cost:
- Adults: $5
- Seniors (62+): $2
- Ages 4-11: $2
- Ages 3 and under are free
- Military and Veterans are free
- Celebrate fall with music, food vendors, yard games, inflatables, pony rides, shopping from local vendors, and activities like mining for gems and painting pumpkins.
- Mt. Laurel Fall Festival (October 13)
- Location: Mt. Laurel (5 Mt. Laurel Ave.)
- Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Shop from various arts and crafts vendors, watch the live music at Bryson Square Stage, savor delicious eats, and browse all the artwork, home decor items, jewelry, and pottery from local vendors. And guess what? Down in the Ham will be there as well, so be sure to stop by!
- Woodlawn Street Market (October 13)
- Location: 1 55th Pl. S.
- Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Shop from local vendors at this urban street market in the heart of historic Woodlawn. I always enjoy watching the dance battles, picking up some coffee at Woodlawn Cycle, and trying some of the food (like the street corn) when I go!
- Breakin’ Bread (October 14)
- Location: Pepper Place
- Time: 1 – 5 p.m.
- Cost: $35
- Alabama’s premier food, wine, and beer festival will also include a makers’ market, kid zone, and live musical entertainment. Proceeds form the event will benefit Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s Urban Farm Project.
- Neverland Carnival (October 14)
- Location: Birmingham Children’s Theatre
- Time: 1 – 4 p.m.
- Cost: $5+
- Birmingham Children’s Theatre presents its 1st annual Neverland Carnival with games, crafts, rides, carnival food, and prizes.
- Tuneful Trick-or-Treat Sensory Friendly Concert (October 14)
- Location: Alys Stephens Center
- Time: 3 p.m.
- Cost: $10
- Join the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for some harmonious hocus locus in a sensory friendly environment. Costumes are encouraged!
- Jazz in the Park (October 14)
- Location: 101 Hoyt Ln.
- Time: 5 – 8 p.m.
- Enjoy listening to Daniel “Jose” Carr and Vann Burchfield at this community jazz concert. Bring a picnic dinner or grab some food from a restaurant nearby as you enjoy the music.
- Haunted Sloss Furnace (October 18)
- Location: Homewood Public Library
- Time: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
- Hear Sloss Furnaces Museum curator, Karen Utz, discuss the historical basis to the claims of paranormal activity related to Sloss and some workers who gruesomely died on the job.
- Arc Stories (October 19)
- Location: Avon Theatre
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Cost:
- $10 General Admission
- $25 VIP
- This is one of those hidden gems of Birmingham – a live storytelling event where people tell true stories that they actually lived! The theme for this event is “Spooked: True. Scary. Stories.” and I recommend getting there when the doors open in order to get a good seat.
- ARTastings at ArtPlay (October 19)
- Location: 1006 19th St. S.
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Cost: $20 in advance ($25 at the door)
- Explore new art forms while including samplings of drinks and hors d’oeuvres. There will also be pumpkin decorating and caricatures. Halloween costumes are encouraged but not required for this event.
- La Sylphide Ballet (October 19-21)
- Location: BJCC Theatre
- Time:
- Friday: 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday: 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 2:30 p.m.
- Cost: $30
- The Alabama Ballet performs this romantic ballet from the Scottish Highlands where a young man leaves everything he knows to pursue the elusive woodland sylph of his dreams while a vengeful witch conspires to tear them apart.
- Magic City Fried Chicken Festival (October 20)
- Location: Good People Brewing Company
- Time: 3 – 9 p.m.
- The Market at the Pizitz (October 21)
- Location: The Pizitz
- Time: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Shop from local makers, farmers, artists, and more!
- Vulcan AfterTunes (October 21)
- Location: Vulcan Park & Museum
- Time: 3 – 6 p.m.
- Cost:
- $12 in advance
- $15 at the gate
- $5 child ticket (ages 5-12)
- Enjoy tunes, brews, and views in Birmingham’s backyard as Vulcan presents up-and-coming artists. This Sunday’s lineup includes Maddie Medley at 3 p.m. and Great Peacock at 4 p.m.
- Birmingham Punk Rock Flea Market (October 21)
- Location: Avondale Brewing Co.
- Time: noon – 4 p.m.
- Enjoy live music as you shop from over 50 vendors from all over the southeast with their vintage oddities, art, music, collectors items, and more.
- Mummies’ Night Out (October 23)
- Location: Regions Field – Club Level Room
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Cost: $25+
- Birmingham Moms Blog is hosting a chic Halloween party for just moms. Dress up in costume (or just jeans if you prefer) and enjoy food, cocktails, costumes, live music, local vendors, giveaways, swag, and more.
- TEDxBirminghamSalon (October 23)
- Location: Forge (2nd floor of The Pizitz)
- Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
- Cost: $15
- TEDxBirminghamSalon is an intimate opportunity to come together with others committed to “ideas worth spreading” in Birmingham. Watch several curated TED Talk videos and engage in connection and conversations afterward.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert (October 25)
- Location: Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Cost: $89+
- Catch Lynyrd Skynyrd in his farewell tour.
- Vintage Market Days of Birmingham (October 26-28)
- Location: International Motor Sport Hall of Fame (3198 Speedway Blvd, Lincoln)
- Time:
- Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Cost:
- Adults: $5
- Children 12 and under are free
- Shop from an upscale vintage-inspired market featuring original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry, handmade treasures, home decor, outdoor furnishings, and more.
- Brian McKnight Concert (October 26)
- Location: Alys Stephens Center
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Cost: $67+
- Hollywood Legends Concert (October 26)
- Location: Wright Center at Samford
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Cost: $24+
- The Alabama Symphony Orchestra presents an epic concert celebrating Hollywood with music from The Wizard of Oz, Jurassic Park, Titanic, The Incredibles, and more.
- Orvis Game Fair & Sporting Weekend (October 27-28)
- Location: Pursell Farms (Sylacauga)
- Time: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- This family friendly fair and sporting event event hosts artists and craftsmen, fly-fishing demonstrations, dog-training seminars, a variety of hands-on youth programs, and a Land Rover driving course. Plus, you can enter to win Orvis clothing, dog beds, and more.
- Five Points South Historic Home Tour & Fall Festival (October 28)
- Location: Anderson Place Historic District
- Time: 1 – 5 p.m.
- Cost:
- $10 for adults (advance ticket)
- $20 for adults (day of ticket)
- Children 12 and under are free
- $20 to compete in the pumpkin carving contest
- This inaugural home tour is a documentary you can touch with 150 years of story and style built into the walls of 7 different homes in the 5 Points South neighborhood. There will also be a fall festival, which includes a pumpkin carving contest, food trucks, live music, and more.
- The Phantom of the Opera (October 28)
- Location: Alabama Theatre
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Cost:
- Adults: $14
- Children (12 and under): $7
- See this 1925 classic silent film on the big screen.
- Piazzolla’s Tango Sessions (October 30)
- Location: Alys Stephens Center
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Cost: $29+
- Raul Jaurena (a Grammy award-winning bandoneon player) joins the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for an evening of Piazzolla’s Latin dance music.
Monthlong Events
- Alabama Autumn Skies (October 4, 11, 25)
- Location: Christenberry Planetarium at Samford
- Time: 8 – 9 p.m.
- This live and interactive planetarium presentation is suitable for the entire family, and seating is first come, first serve.
- Moonlight Movies (Fridays Only)
- Location: The Pizitz
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Bring your folding chair and enjoy dinner, drinks, and an outdoor movie in The Pizitz’s courtyard.
- Movie Schedule:
- The Goonies (Oct. 4)
- Ghostbusters (Oct. 11)
- Casper (Oct. 18)
- Hocus Pocus (Oct. 25)
- The Market at Pepper Place (Saturday mornings)
- Location: 2829 2nd Ave. S.
- Time: 7 a.m. – noon
- Birmingham Bulls (October 19, 26)
- Location: Pelham Civic Complex
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Cost: $15+
- The Birmingham Bulls kick off their 2nd season this month, and they’ll play the Huntsville Havoc on the 19th and the Evansville Thunderbolts on the 26th.
- Sloss Fright (October 5-6, 11-14, 18-21, 23-31)
- Location: Sloss Furnaces
- Time: Sundown (around 6:30 p.m.)
- They stop selling tickets at 10:30 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on the weekends.
- Cost: $20+
- I’m not much for haunted houses or scary things, but if you love this sort of thing, head to Sloss Furnace this month for a zombie infested forest, a Sloss Fright Furnace tour, a marathon of horror flicks, and the Roadkill Cafe.
- Boo at the Zoo (October 11-14, 18-31)
- Location: Birmingham Zoo
- Times: 5 – 9 p.m.
- Cost:
- $18 for admission and unlimited rides
- $10 admission only
- The Birmingham Zoo transforms into a destination of spooky attractions this month with the Haunted Hayride & Tour, Ghoul School, Spider Slide, the Eerie Express Train, the Scarousel, and trick or treating throughout the Zoo. Kids are welcome to come in their family-friendly costumes and to collect candy on Trick-or-Treat Lane.
- Tiny Tyke Tales: Monster Tales! (October 16, 18, 23, 25, 27, 30)
- Location: Birmingham Children’s Theatre
- Time: 10:30 a.m.
- Cost: $5+
- Enjoy an interactive story adventure through some of your favorite children’s books. For ages 6 weeks – 3 years. Each week features a different children’s book about our favorite furry and fanged friends. Tiny Tyke Tales will feature a 30 minute guided interactive adventure followed by 30 minutes of open exploration and play.
- Local Pumpkin Patch & Corn Mazes
- Old Baker Farm has a pumpkin patch and is a great place to take the little ones.
- Location: 184 Furrow Ln., Harpersville, AL
- Time:
- 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturdays
- 1 – 5 p.m. on Sundays
- Cost: Pay with cash or check only
- $10 per person
- Pumpkin Patch Express offers a ride on a vintage train, a pumpkin patch, hayride, bounce house, corn maze, and other family activities. Click here for the train ride schedule.
- Location: Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
- Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Saturdays & Sundays)
- Cost for Train Ride:
- Adults: $17
- Children (Ages 2-11): $12
- Children 2 and under are free
- Penton Farms has a corn maze, and they also have a pumpkin patch, cotton picker play area for kids, wagon ride, corn pit, and more. If you’re familiar with The Market at Pepper Place, Penton Farms is one of their vendors.
- Location: 3595 County Rd. 59, Verbena, AL
- Time:
- 1-5pm on Mondays-Fridays
- 8am-5pm on Saturdays.
- Cost: $10 per person, which includes 1 pumpkin and all activities (except concessions).
- Old Baker Farm has a pumpkin patch and is a great place to take the little ones.