Tuesday (July 6th) – It’s Muse – 20th year on the Summer Swing Bandstand! Easy listening, vocal oriented acoustic soft rock played as only Muse can. Don’t forget the eats start just after six and the music starts at 7PM
Don’t panic, I’ll still be posting stuff going on around town the next few days, but the entire ODN staff is remote in Canada for the next ten or so days. I’ll have more on that later I’d suspect.
Gosh, what’s it been. Six or Seven years since I met Rob and Jen Slocumb. They moved here about the time Eighth and Rail opened, wrote a song about Waverly, Alabama, have had two kids, become active in a church and now a project that can be funded by friends. I’ve probably posted this a little late, after all it’s a holiday Weekend, but watch the video and if you can make a pledge, it will probably be the best money spent this weekend.
Okay Folks, before you get mad at me, I know it’s our Fourth of July Celebration, but what a great post headline. Again this year for folks that travel out of town and would miss the Opelika fireworks, the City of Opelika will host the Freedom Celebration on July 1st!
From the cities Facebook Page: Opelika’s Annual “Freedom Celebration!” The fun begins at 6:30 p.m. Music by MUSE! Buddy Blue and his Skydiving team at 7:30 – and FIRE WORKS at 9:00 p.m.! See ya there, but I may have a Canadian flag! I’ll explain more on my fixation with Canada in coming weeks. If you’re in town on the 4th, check out the Auburn celebration!
Several years ago for work, I traveled to Baltimore, MD. It was there that I learned of the Cicada. I guess I had heard the little guys in years past, but this was one of the big “Seven year Events” and the Cicada’s were so thick in the air, you could wave your arms and snag one or more of them.
From the folks at National Geographic… Cicadas are probably best known for their buzzing and clicking noises, which can be amplified by multitudes of insects into an overpowering hum. Males produce this species-specific noise with vibrating membranes on their abdomens. The sounds vary widely and some species are more musical than others. Though cicada noises may sound alike to humans, the insects use different calls to express alarm or attract mates. Read more about them here!
Tonight on Facebook a friend commented that, “Sitting on the screen porch relax and enjoy the evening. The crickets and frogs got so loud we had to come in…they were stressing me out.” Well Sweet Vickie, some of the sounds were in fact our friend the Cicada. Confirmation last week, when I found one that had been stepped on downtown.
Showtime is Sunday, June 27, 8:30 p.m. in the courtyard. Admission is $5
Summer Swing continues with an Elvis Tribute tonight (Tuesday, June 22nd). Bill J. Brooks -ELVIS Lives Concert –It’s a Top rated Elvis Tribute artist in the S.E. This show is dynamic, entertaining, moving and family friendly. Elvis fan or not, you are in for a rare treat. Thank you, Thank you very much!
Then don’t forget to drop by the Farmer’s Market earlier in the day. It’s 2 to 5 this year, and from what I understand last week the crowds and the goodies where plentiful. The Main Street Farmer’s Market continues thru the summer downtown in Opelika along South Railroad Avenue, between 8th and 9th Street.
I’ve been meaning to grab some pictures of some work in downtown to a few buildings of note. Below first, is the building at the Corner of Avenue A and South 8th Street. This is one owned by Race Cannon. The offices on the second floor are occupied I believe, and the large space below is being closed in, with a new coat of paint on the outside. Second picture below is the Irish Bred Pub. We’ve talked about this one for nearly a year, as the final touches have gone on the outside and inside of the building. We could see an opening (something like a soft opening) in July. They have a pretty extensive beer tap system both downstairs and upstairs, with bar’s in both locations. Neighbor Rick will be in charge of the kitchen so we’re looking for big things coming. And the picture of the banner in Woodbine, Indiana was just to show what some other cities have done with banners in downtown, similiar to what had been in Opelika in past years.
So, lots of pictures and stories at the Speedway today. Running out of time tonight to post, because I need to shut down the generator. And we’ll celebrate a birthday of a MIS Staffer and her friend Dick. More on that later. Sorry, we’ve had a busy day and just ran out of time. The race today was great fun. Check back over the weekend. All is good!
Well, the entire staff is in place here at MIS. Woke to the sound of the Jet Dryers on the track this morning after some rain around 2AM. In case you wonder where old school busses go, apparently Michigan, where one of of five fans is driving one. Okay, maybe not that many, but we’ll grab pictures to some some of the best and worst of the group. You may wonder why people in the world can’t get along, because if they were all Nascar fans, then there would be no problems. I show some pictures to show you what I mean about that as well. Buddy Kim is cooking breakfast, and then it’s off to the vendor trailers.
Sidenote: We were in the lineup to get into the In Field yesterday for a few hours before they opened the track. I’m not sure how they got us in so quickly and orderly, but they did. I even got a golf cart escort to my site for setup. I see why so many fans love this place.
