The reopening of Birmingham’s Lyric Theatre, the grand opening of Montgomery’s Museum of Alabama and Mobile’s annual Mardi Gras celebration are among the Alabama Tourism Department’s Top 10 events of 2014, the state tourism agency has announced
Each year, the tourism department spotlights 10 events around the state that it feels will be significant and unique attractions for tourists.
Those events, along with more than 1,400 others around the state, will be featured in the department’s 2014 Alabama Vacation Guide and Calendar of Events, which will be available beginning this month at eight welcome centers around Alabama, as well as online at www.alabama.travel.
The 2014 Alabama Vacation Guide and Calendar of Events is available at welcome centers around the state. (Alabama Tourism Department photo)
Here, in chronological order, are this year’s Top 10 Alabama events, with descriptions provided by the Alabama Tourism Department:
Eagle Watch Weekends, Lake Guntersville State Park, Jan. 17-Feb. 23
See eagles in their natural habitat during Eagle Awareness weekends at Lake Guntersville State Park in North Alabama. Eagle Awareness weekends feature guided field trips, knowledgeable guest speakers and talks from the park’s naturalist. www.alapark.com
Mardi Gras, Mobile, Feb. 1-March 4
Mobile is known as the home to “America’s Family Mardi Gras.” The celebration lasts for more than two and a half weeks and culminates on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. The streets are filled with marching bands, floats and crowds of parade-goers. www.mobilebay.org.
Grand Opening of the Museum of Alabama, Montgomery, Feb. 15
The Museum of Alabama has been named the Attraction of the Year by the state tourism department. The new museum is located adjacent to the State Capital at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Displays will include Native American artifacts, Civil War weapons and photographs of the Civil Rights Movement. The centerpiece exhibition of the museum is “Alabama Voices,” containing more than 800 artifacts and hundreds of images from Alabamians telling the story of the state from prehistory to present. www.museum.alabama.gov.
Bassmaster Classic, Birmingham and Guntersville, Feb. 21-23
Competition takes place on Lake Guntersville, and the daily weigh-ins and the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo will be held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. www.marshallcountycvb.com, www.bassmaster.com.
Alabama Music Hall of Fame induction banquet, Florence, Feb. 28
Black-tie banquet honoring those who have made exceptional contributions throughout their careers to Alabama’s musical heritage. www.VisitFlorenceAL.com.
200th Anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Daviston, March 27-29
Experience live cannon fire, the lives of Creek and Cherokee Indians, hunting camps and demonstrations of traditional skills of the early 1800s. www.nps.gov/hobe.
25th season of “To Kill A Mockingbird” play, Monroeville, April to May
Monroeville’s 25th annual theatrical production of Christopher Sergel’s “To Kill A Mockingbird,” presented by the all-local Mockingbird Players. Tickets go on sale March 1. Performance dates are April 17-19, 24-27, and May 1-3, 8-10, 15-17. www.discovermonroeville.com.
National Shrimp Festival, Gulf Shores, Oct. 9-12
The Annual National Shrimp Festival is held each year during the second full weekend in October on the Gulf Shores public beach. The festival is one of the nation’s premier outdoor festivals attracting 250,000 people, featuring over 250 vendors that offer fine art, arts crafts, a retail marketplace, outdoor world, live music performances and great shrimp. www.myshrimpfest.com.
Alabama Bass Trail Championship, Jasper, Oct. 10-11
Held on Lewis Smith Lake. With 21,200 acres spread over 500 miles of winding shoreline with large impounded creek systems, Lewis Smith Lake offers challenges for even the most experienced bass anglers. www.alabamabasstrail.org.
Lyric Theatre Reopening, Birmingham, late December
This 1914 vaudeville theater, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been restored and is reopening to the public as a world-class performing arts center in downtown Birmingham in late December. www.facebook.com/lyrictheatre.