Taking place on June 24 & 25, the annual Guntersville Lake HydroFest offers two days of competitive racing as drivers compete for the Southern Cup title. But HydroFest isn’t just about the race. The weekend’s on-land activities bring together adventure lovers from all over the South. Party Tents A highlight this year will be the […]

The roots of Appalachia run deep in the life of Nick Saban. He praises the region’s service-oriented spirit as one that uplifts the richness of its culture. Saban said there were “a lot of good people where I grew up, including here in Alabama, that do try to serve other people.” It seems as though […]

Baptist historian Leon McBeth called it “the woman question,” and Southern Baptists yet struggle with it. Sixty percent of our members are women. Normally we don’t hesitate asking them to serve in most church positions because we know they bring dispatch, order and grace to the job. But the two places we approach with fear […]

Bobby Madison Jr. is the Employee Concerns coordinator for Alabama Power, but the “concerns” part of his title extends beyond the workplace. He uses his skills and past success in the game of basketball to give back to the community – especially young people – through his annual basketball camp in Shelby County. “I’m from a small […]

Big Spoon Creamery is beloved in Birmingham and Homewood. Now the husband-wife team of Geri-Martha and Ryan O’Hara bring their creative, hand-made ice creams to Huntsville. The creamery’s third location launched with a getting-to-know-you celebration. Located on Jefferson Street North, it is open daily. “We are thrilled to open our doors to the Huntsville community […]

Vacation Bible School will kick off in churches across the nation this week. This annual event has become so engrained in the psyche of many churchgoers that it needs only to be referred to by the initials, VBS. VBS is special to me for many reasons. One of them is my shoe shine kit. There […]

I met them at the baseball field in Vestavia, Ala., where their son is our grandson’s teammate. Something was said about her difficulty learning English, so I asked where she was from. “Moldova,” she said. “I’m Russian.” I told them I’d had a student at Judson College from Moldova named Anna, and then I struggled […]

Signs of summer are everywhere across the state. The days are increasingly sticky-hot. The sun lingers a little longer each day. And watermelon margaritas have returned to Taco Mama’s restaurants across Alabama. With more than a dozen varieties on the regular menu at the beachy-casual chain, margaritas are one of the specialties at Taco Mama’s 23 […]

Traditions run deep at The Bright Star in Bessemer, Alabama’s oldest family-run restaurant. And plans are coming together for one of its most popular rituals, the annual Night in New Orleans featuring a guest chef from the Big Easy. The “night” is actually three nights, featuring a special menu representing cuisines by both the guest […]

July of 2002 was an amazing month for the Johnson family. We spent that entire month in Koln, Germany. I had the opportunity to serve an International Baptist Church in Koln while their pastor returned home to Australia. At the time I was pastor of First Baptist Church in Athens, Ala. The congregation was supportive […]

When seriously ill or injured patients need transportation and time is of the essence, Pilots for Christ (PFC) answer the call. Based in Monroeville, PFC is a nonprofit organization that provides flights for patients needing critical care who cannot afford air transportation and are physically unable to travel by other means. Since its start in […]

My sister and I traveled several years ago to visit a relative in prison in another state. I’ve been to a number of prisons and they’re all dark and foreboding. A correctional officer once escorted me from the gym where my class met to a cellblock so I could see it firsthand. I still shudder when thinking about those […]

Baskets of peaches now appearing at local farm markets and stands herald the arrival of Alabama’s favorite fruit. Between now and late August, state growers will harvest more than 80 varieties, cultivated to produce at different times. But this year’s crop is expected to be considerably lower than normal, and local peaches may be in especially […]

It is graduation season. Social media is saturated with photos of new graduates from every institution of learning. Some of these graduates have so many colored ropes draped over their shoulders they can barely turn their heads. Others are just happy to get school behind them. Some of them are going off to a university […]

Calling the death of Rev. Harry Reeder III a “tremendous loss,” Bruce Stallings, executive pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church broke the news to the congregation last Thursday. Reeder, the church’s senior pastor since 1999, died in a car crash returning home from speaking at the state Legislature’s Medal of Honor ceremony. According to reports, Reeder’s […]

Tiffany Pogue describes her life as a journey and her education as a process that pulls her in different directions. She’s an artist and a poet. She’s a voting rights advocate who hosts open mic nights for local nonprofits. She’s critiques conventional wisdom in business, politics and culture. “I’m definitely rebellious,” she said. “I question […]

Banana Republic has maintained its status as a household brand name for decades. Well-known for its classic, timeless styles and fits, the brand serves as a go-to for many looking for anything from casual to business casual looks. In recent years the brand has expanded beyond clothing to achieve the status of global lifestyle brand […]

Brig. Gen. Henry Martyn Robert was born in South Carolina and moved with his family to Ohio when his father couldn’t countenance slavery in the South. Robert chose a military career, graduating from West Point in 1857. As an army engineer, he helped design the seawalls in Galveston, Texas. During the Civil War he helped […]

It’s been a great year so far for Nathan and Michael Pocus, the Birmingham brothers and founders of Domestique, a decade-old coffee-roasting company with a growing roster of cafes and a clear vision for the future. In February, Food & Wine Magazine listed Domestique’s coffee beans among the nation’s best, citing the quality of the roasted […]

It’s a new day at Homewood Gourmet, which has moved to a new home in the heart of Homewood after 26 years wedged into a narrow storefront at a nearby shopping plaza. The move to 2703 Mamie L. Foster (18th Place South) gives co-owners Chris and Laura Zapalowski extra kitchen and refrigerated storage space, allowing […]

For a full year of my life, I had the privilege of being on the ministry team at First United Methodist Church in Guntersville, Alabama. That year was full of wonderful opportunities to get to develop relationships with new friends and deepen relationships with old ones. One day I was sitting at my desk, pondering […]

Last week, the hemorrhaging of churches from the United Methodist Church (UMC) continued in drastic fashion. In Montgomery, the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the UMC alone saw 193 congregations depart in a 24-hour period. Those 193 churches are 38% of the conference, 39% of its membership, and include nine churches with membership of more than […]

HUNTSVILLE — Multiple Grammy nominee Martina McBride will headline this year’s Huntsville Classic concert. This year’s event is 7 p.m. May 20 at the Orion Amphitheater. The concerts have raised more than $8.1 million for pediatric specialties and the Canines for Coping program at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. A philanthropist, McBride was honored […]

Once upon a time, life was simple for craft beer drinkers. They basically needed to distinguish pale ales from IPAs, with bonus points for knowing where extra-special bitter fit into that family. Lagers trended toward pilsner. Only funky Belgian beers had fruit. But amid today’s brewing baby boom—today’s population of some 9,500 craft breweries is […]