The Fry Down is a fantastic annual event for adults and kids alike. This fundraiser helps ensure a…read morehealthy future for the Cahaba River and let's you have a great time in the process. Birminghamians love cooking competitions, so you know the crowd will always be good. There are usually around a dozen teams that provide fish for the crowd. In addition there is beer for the adults and cooking demonstrations as well. For the kids, there are clowns, hands on activities, and even an area for them to play in the river itself.

Free Fall Festival at Buck Creek in Alabaster next to City Hall. This is an annual event that…read morestarted in 2009 and is always the Saturday before Halloween/ 3rd Saturday in October. There are tons of vendors a hayride, a haunted trail, inflatables, games, a cupcake walk where all the kid win,food trucks, live music and much more. I spent a whopping $6.00 today. The vendors hand out candy to the kids, several vendors handed out bottled waters and fans/ huggies, frisbee etc... the inflatables were free, a bank handed out balloons. It's great for all ages and pets are welcome. It's partially wooded and shaded. Lots of kids and adults alike wear costumes but they're not required. We will be back next year for sure! Oh and since a large portion of the trail is gravel break out the big stroller or big wheeled wagon. The umbrella stroller we took ended up being carried more than pushed.

Everything was even better than the previous year. It seemed to be more vendors there this year. We…read moredefinitely had some delicious and different gumbo there. I enjoyed the music and the other treats offered. Bellini's was my all time favorite and I hope they won at least placed. The gumbo was amazing and so was the bread pudding. I love the interaction with all the different people. I was with 5 others friends and family this year and it was a joy to watch them experience the different flavors and taste. Some was reallllllly bad as well and it was quite funny to us all that they even served it there. We were over stuffed by the end. It was just that many tastings there. I enjoyed and can't wait until next years event.

Amazing event. Family friendly. Pet friendly. Gumbo friendly!! We usually like to get there early…read moreso that we don't miss out on any good tents. We like to try everyone before we sacrifice our one voting ticket!! There are PLENTY good ones and a few bad ones here and there. But that's what makes it exciting!! Overall a very fun event. Only our second year attending but I will definitely make it a point to keep attending as long as they have it. Never judge a gumbo by the color of it roux! Lol!!

My absolute Favorite local art festival in and around Birmingham. Where else can you puruse booths…read moreof both local and regional artists in one location. Not to mention strolling along while enjoying a beverage of choice. Love how the event has included food trucks in recent years to accommodate the 'Foodies'. Bonus: with the additional Beer Garden add on one can also come and go between both events during the evening of choice.

I frequent the area fall festivals every year, and this was very disappointing. (1) you pay $12 to…read moreenter & then you have to purchase anything you want from the vendors. I've never paid to enter a festival, and I always make purchases. (2) They had several vendors with quality merchandise, but the overwhelming majority was art (wall art, jewelry, carvings). So the variety was lacking - only saw 2 selling edibles & don't remember any clothing. I go to Pepper Place regularly & it's a better mix/balance... farm fresh veggies, pastries, art, jewelry, a number of food trucks, etc. & it's FREE to enter. Mt. Laurel even has a better balance/variety of vendors & it's FREE. Will stick w/the free ones

FREE LOCAL FUN…read more Local is an evening festival that features local artists, musicians, etc. all in one area. This is located right in the plaza of Alys Stephens Center. There are dozens of tents offering items for sale from homemade flavored popcorn, flavored sweet, t shirts, pillows, jewelry and various items for your home. There were food trucks offering BBQ, wood fire pizza, big spoon creamery, and dreamland cupcakes. There were also free stations for caricatures and face painting for kids. From 5-9 there were live performances from different musicians in the area. Great event for kids and adults. Bring your blanket, lay in the grass and enjoy an evening with local friends and talent

My husband and I had a great time at LOCAL. This was our first year attending. I love that it's a…read morefree event, open to anyone, and showcases some great small business, most of which are local. There was no shortage of food or sweets trucks/carts. There was also a good mix of food and art vendors. It was kind of like a smaller (and less crowded) pepper place market. A large stage housed the musical acts. They had a different one for each hour that seemed to span several different genres. Chairs and tables were set up near the stage, but they filled up fast. There was also a bar next to the stage that offered drinks for purchase. Right off of the stage seating area was the VIP area. This area was reserved for certain members of the center along with their junior board. So, unless you were a lucky yelper (me!), you couldn't just a random person and get tickets. In this area, there was a bar with complimentary wine, beer, and water along with catering from Jim N Nicks. They also offered free goodies like sunglasses and fans. If these tickets are ever available for purchase, I would say they are worth a reasonable price. We really had a great time at this event. The weather was perfect, with a steady breeze, and it wasn't too crowded. The only thing I may change for next year is to bring a blanket to sit on in the grass while watching the musical acts.

I've been to Secret Stages in the past so I knew what to expect. This festival has a lot of great…read moreindie-like musical artists from different genres perform. There are also vendors there offering services, products, and food. I was glad to see they had mainly outdoor stages vs. indoor stages this year. I think that was a good way to address the still serious issue of Covid-19. There weren't as many people here as the last time I attended, but it drew a nice crowd. They had signs up with directive related to staying safe. I enjoyed many of the artists I saw. I was surprised to see kids out here because many of the artist use adult language in their music. I do think they should probably enforce an age limit. Anyways, it was a good experience as usual. I'd attend the festival in the future.

This event shows the best of Birmingham/Avondale's music scene, food and diversity. We loved seeing…read moreabout 20 of the 40 musicians/bands over the two-day event. We got the VIP tickets, which provides a shared-private setting (great protection if it rains) with complimentary drinks and food. The food and drinks make the cost of the special ticket an excellent value. The crowd was so diverse, with all ages, races, cultures, preferences, etc. The music acts we saw were a variety of Indie, Alternative, Rap, Rock and practically any genre you can imagine. Parking was plentiful, streets were blocked off for safety, and there are food trucks offering great options. I would recommend this event, and will be attending next year.

Great food event at Sloss Furnaces this year! There was food from EastWest, The Mayor, Bongiorno,…read moreSol y Luna, Tre Luna, Adorned Sweets, Daniel George, Habitat Feed & Social, and Troup's Pizza (that I can remember at least!). There were cocktails from Reve, Paper Doll, Adios, as well as beer and wine samples. It is a great way to taste some local cuisine!

This is an annual event held in Linn Park, downtown Birmingham…read more This is a well conceived, but poorly executed event. Tickets are sold in advance and at the gate. There is not enough of a discount for the pre-sales to take the risk of inclement weather as absolutely no refund is offered. That would be okay if the "organizers" did some planning and made arrangements for rain. But no, they have outside tables with no cover so these tables are useless if it rains or is very hot as was the case in 2013. You end up standing in line for measly offerings of food and then stand to eat. There are no facilities in the event itself to go relieve yourself of consumed beverages. Why not expand the area for the restaurants? This is a real charlie foxtrot. Nobody can walk by, the lines are ridiculously long and when it rains, it is just a massive jam. If you are going to take my money and offer no refund, you need to plan for rain, very hot weather and other contingencies. The portions are small, usually cold and unappetizing. You can go to a good restaurant for the money and not have to put up with all the inconvenience. We will not go back until better planning is initiated. I would recommend taking this event off your future plans. I came home wet, aggravated, disappointed and feeling like my pocket had been picked. No, no, just no. If you want to be miserable, go. Otherwise, go somewhere else. IMHO, this is the kind of event that needs to go out of business.

Note: This review comes from a guy that has never read a comic book and is not even sure what…read moreBattlestar Galactica is. This is one of the most fascinating events of the year. For me, it's an eye opening look at a world that I barely knew existed. There are people dressed up as their favorite characters, quasi-celebrities, cool exhibits, and relics from my childhood. The back to the future Delorean, R2D2, and the Ghostbusters car were among my favorites. Whether you're a nerd or not, try not to miss the best people watching event of the year when it comes back around.

This sci-fi/fantasy festival is amazing. There are great local authors, artists, and filmmakers…read moreattending so that gives you an excellent opportunity to support their craft and be "local" minded. There are also actors like Ernie Hudson, Colin Ferguson, and Gil Gerard attending and doing Q&A Panels. You'll seeing storm troopers mingling with Vulcan and Dr. Who hanging with the Ghostbusters. Oh and something about a Bronie. Just ask Will Lochamey he'll tell you all about it.