By Gwen DeRu
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMIA BRYANT-DERU!! Many, many more!
It’s Spring!
….What are you doing this weekend?
IT’S HERE….What we have been waiting for…..AARON’S DREAM WEEKEND!!
DON’T MISS…. THE GOOD TIMES AND THE NEW THINGS…..at Talladega Superspeedway!!
People are asking….
CAN DALE JR. REPEAT HISTORY WITH A TALLADEGA TRIUMPH? DAYTONA 500 AND TALLADEGA WIN IN THE SAME YEAR?
Witness the attempt with the ‘Special Ticket Packages’ – Many NASCAR fans are hoping history repeats itself this season for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr. claimed the Daytona 500 in 2004 and he went on to win at NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track – Talladega Superspeedway – that same year. Dale Jr. won the season-opening Daytona 500, this year, and fans hoping to see a repeat performance at Talladega live and in person have some incredible ticket offers to choose from for the Aaron’s Dream Weekend, May 2-4. These amazing ticket packages include:
• 2-day Grandstand tickets starting at $50 (Saturday-Sunday, May 3-4)
• 2-day Tower tickets starting at $100 (Saturday-Sunday, May 3-4)
• $50 off regular pricing for Kids 12 and Under in Grandstands & Towers on Sunday, including FREE tickets in the Gadsden & Talladega Grandstands (2-day ticket package sections)
• Kids 12 and Under FREE in all sections on Saturday, May 3
Fans always see many Dale Jr. flags flying high around Talladega during an event weekend. It started with an affinity for Earnhardt Sr., and has since been passed to Earnhardt Jr., who sees all the support from Jr. Nation from behind the wheel. “You feed off of that so much,” admits Earnhardt Jr., who currently ranks fourth in the Sprint Cup title chase, of his fan support. “You never forget that, just looking up into the grandstands, seeing all those people cheering, so happy, especially when you get the (checkered) flag. You get right up on them, like they are coming through the fence. It’s just incredible, the energy from that side of the fence.”
NEW….. “Knockout” Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway – which will set the starting field for the Aaron’s 499 – is the most widely anticipated NASCAR qualifying of the year. The new format pits drivers against each other in three segments, with the first holding more than 43 drivers on the track at once during a 25-minute session. After a five-minute break, the fastest 24 drivers advance to a second round of non-stop action for 10 minutes. The fastest 12 will then move to the final five-minute dash for glory, with the quickest driver in the anchor segment taking the Coors Light Pole Position.
What makes Talladega’s qualifying different from any other session this year? No other track is like it – it’s the biggest, baddest and most competitive racing venue on the planet at a mammoth 2.66-miles and 33 degrees of banking. It’s a place where 4-wide at 200 mph is the norm. Couple that with a host of questions about strategy. Lead the pack or lag back and suck up to the driver in front when drafting? Who to team up with – teammates or others? Go with the same manufacturer, or go outside the box? How long to stay on the track during each session? Use all of each session, or just make one bonsai run? Lots of questions and no one has the answers – at least not yet. Saturday will tell the tale. FOX announced last week that it’s moving its coverage of the event from FOX Sports 2, marking the first time a non-Daytona 500 qualifying session has aired on FOX. And, the knockout qualifying is just one of three action-packed races of the day. This incredible Saturday kicks off with the ARCA Racing Series’ International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200, where Fairhope (AL) native Grant Enfinger will try to rewrite history by winning his fourth triumph in a row to open the ARCA season. Later in the day, the NASCAR Nationwide drivers take to the unpredictable track for the Aaron’s 312. And what are some of the drivers saying about “Knockout” at Talladega? Here is one…“If I weren’t in it, I would be tuned in to watch because it will be entertainment,” said Carl Edwards.
THEN, THERE IS DANICA PATRICK…The GIRL TO WATCH!! This is the weekend that you do not want to miss – the sun, the fun and the entertainment.
See you there!!!
JAZZ ON THE PORCH – Spring Brings Music! Don’t Miss ‘Jazz on the Porch,’ Every ‘First Thursday’ May – October, 5:30 – 9 p.m. with a Cash bar and the ‘best’ Burgers in town.
2014 FOX 6 KIDS & JOBS DEADLINES – (I just love Toni Hendrix…she keeps me on top of everything from the City of Birmingham Youth Services Division and its great team under Cedric Sparks.) Don’t miss …DEADLINES: MAY 2 – For youth applying for summer jobs. May Go to www.myfoxal.com/category.184251/kids-and-jobs.
Here are a few things going on this weekend and soon. (Look around for other things that you may want to enjoy and share with others. See you around. Say Hi!)
**LAUGHTER at the STARDOME COMEDY CLUB with this weekend and coming soon.
THIS WEEKEND…Don’t Miss… SINBAD – Sinbad never tells jokes- “I don’t know any,” he admits-but rather stalks the stage, telling real-life stories. He doesn’t deliver payoff lines; he slam-dunks them. His comedy is large, physical, and impetuous. Psychologically, he jams us, poking holes in our lifestyles. His stories mirror our foibles. His is the explosive energy of the neighborhood; his phrasing is manic, musical and right on time. He doesn’t write his material; he relives it as he remembers it. Call (205) 444-0008 for more. Tell them Gwen sent you. See you there.
FOR LAUGHTER…… The STARDOME COMEDY CLUB is always the place to be.
COMING SOON… JAMES GREGORY (May 9-10 and 16-17), RONNIE JORDAN (May 23), EDDIE GRIFFIN (May 24-25), JEN KOBER (May 2-June 1), ROMMY DAVIDSON (June 5-8), RUSSELL PETERS (June 13-15), CRAIG SHOEMAKER (June 20-21) all at the StarDome Comedy Club. See you around.
NOW… through Sunday…
TODAY….
**ENJOY TODAY…IT IS NOT RAINING!!!
FRIDAY…
**FRIDAY AFTER WORK, 4-9 p.m. at 25 West Oxmoor Road, Suite 26, Homewood, Ala. 35209.
**MIKEY JR. AND STONE COLD BLUES BAND will be playing at the Red Wolf, 9:30 p.m. at 3108 Park Avenue SW . Mikey is an amazingly talented harmonica player and vocalist. With a very high energy, he played the first Bob Sykes BB & Blues Festival and everyone has been asking for his return. He headlined the Magic City Blues Society Blues Ball a few years ago, and what a party it was. Mikey hails from New Jersey and it is rare he travels this far south. But he is passing through town this Friday on his “Travelling South” CD release tour. This may be the best $10 show you will ever see! Check out his website www.mikeyjr.com for information on Mikey, or see him on YouTube http://youtu.be/iSP-_BtA_mE . The Red Wolf was recently featured on APTV http://journeyproudalabama.com/journey_episode/juke-joints/
Here is a link to get the map – http://mapq.st/1izw3RW
SATURDAY…
**PEPPER PLACE MARKET, 7 a.m. – Noon at Pepper Place.
SUNDAY…
**Lawson State Presents Creative Arts Show – Lawson State Community College Graphic Art Communications students will hold their second Creative Arts Show at 5 p.m. in the Alabama Center for Advanced Technology & Training Building (Birmingham, West Campus, 3060 Wilson Road, Birmingham, AL 35221). Creative works focusing on advertising, graphic design, illustration, multi-media design, photography and fine art will be on display, along with personal statements by students regarding their chosen fields of study. The event is free and open to the public. Industry professionals looking for fresh talent and high school students interested in an affordable way to begin creative careers are encouraged to attend and meet with the graphic communication, and fine art students and instructors.
For more information on the Creative Arts Show, contact Roosevelt Williams at 205-929-3473 or rswilliams@lawsonstate.edu
ENJOY THE WEEKEND!!
COMING SOON…….
MAY 30 – JAZZNET 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Harbert Center. Join professionals as they combine great people with great music and two floors of live jazz with AMPLIFIED NOIZ on the Main stage and CADILLAC JAZZ on Stage 2. Call (205) 873-4572 for more. It is hosted by Jeh Jeh of Fox 6.
AUGUST 29-31 LABOR DAY WEEKEND ERIC ESSIX’S JAZZ ESCAPE – The Eric Essix Jazz Escape at the Birmingham Renaissance Ross Bridge Gold Resort & Spa, is the first event of its kind in this region to be hosted by a world class golf resort and spa. Check out Eric Essix Project, Brian Culbertson, Rick Braun, Karen Briggs, Kim Scott, Tracy Hamlin, Kelley O’Neal, Roman Street, The Chad Fisher Group and Frank McComb.
NOW…. a BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT FOR MAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL CELEBRATING!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL YOU BIRTHDAY BALLERS…MANY, MANY MORE HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!! ENJOY!!
Well, that’s it. Tell you more ‘next’ time.
(People, Places and Things by Gwen DeRu is a weekly column. Send comments to my emails: thelewisgroup@birminghamtimes.com or gwenderu@yahoo.com)
