Bummed about all that might not be happening this summer with COVID-19? Here’s our list of what fun you CAN partake in even with social distance in Homewood and beyond.
IN HOMEWOOD
Go to the West Homewood Farmer’s Market
Tuesdays 5-8 p.m.
160 Oxmoor Road
You can still spend warm summer evening supporting local businesses and farmers at this weekly market with special safety measures in place due to COVID-19. The number of vendors has been reduced by 50 percent, booths will be spaced 10 feet apart, hand sanitizing stations wll be setup, and visitors are asked to wear masks as they walk around. Vendors will be required to wear masks and gloves, and no kids activities will be held this year and pets will not be allowed either. The market runs the first week of June through the first week of August. Learn more at westhomewood.com.
Sign Up for Online Summer Reading
May 1-8-Aug. 1
No pandemic can stop you from summer reading! In fact, you might have more time for it than usual. Register for summer reading and log your books with the Homewood Public Library, and you can start using their curbside pickup service beginning June 1.
Get a Sweet Treat
Start with a frozen one from Steel City Pops on Central Avenue and Big Spoon Creamery and Edgewood Creamery in Edgewood. There’s always bakeries too: Pastry Art, Dreamcakes, Savage’s, Cookie Fix, Homewood Bagel Company, Bandit Patisserie—Homewood has no shortage (and that’s not even counting the doughnut options!).
Visit a Community Garden
Have you explored Homewood’s community gardens? The Sims Garden, the legacy of as been the legacy of Catherine Sims since she gifted it to the city of Homewood, is located at 908 Highland Road in Edgewood. The Homewood City Schools Community Garden has plots of community members and more in its location on Grace Street. To get there, turn off Oxmoor Road on Evergreen Road (between Dawson and Chevron) and follow this road up the hill; garden will be on the right.
Run the Virtual I’m With Mike 5K
June 20
Last year summer you could run this 5K starting at Little Donkey at a set time, but this summer you can start any time you want from the comfort of your own treadmill or favorite trail on Father’s Day weekend. Not only will you help save lives by supporting the Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research, but you also get a t-shirt! Learn more or register here.
Create Pottery To-Go
Do-It-Yourself Crafts on Oxmoor Road has reopened, but for those who are not comfortable with painting inside their studio, you can order pottery and supplies to paint it at home. Shop their selection of offerings here.
Shop Local + Eat Local
Downtown, Edgewood and West Homewood shops are mostly reopened and ready for shoppers! Browse them with a mask on with social distance in person, or many are still offering online and/or curbside options as well. Likewise, most restaurants have reopened patios and dining rooms with limited capacity, and are still offering to-go and curbside offerings too—perfect for al fresco dining in your backyard or a park picnic.
AND BEYOND
Drive in for Pop-Up Movies at The Summit
May 30+June 7
The Summit
Sidewalk Film Center is setting up (temporary) shop The Summit. Gates fo these drive-in movies open at 7 p.m., and the lot closes at 7:45 p.m. The movie begins at sunset, around 7:40 p.m. Pretty in Pink is on tap for May 30, and The Peanut Butter Falcon for June 7. Admission is $20 per car.
Take in a Concert from the Car
June 4, 11, 18, & 25
Hoover Met Complex
Who says you can’t rock on and social distance at the same time? The Black Jacket Symphony is returning to the stage to perform classic rock albums with the audio blasting directly into your car stereo. It’s like a drive-in movie but with music! Visit blackjacketsymphony.com for more information.
Watch Cardboard Puppet Theatre
Birmingham Children’s Theatre can’t host live shows for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t putting on shows. Each Wednesday at 9 a.m. they are releasing at Cardboard Puppet Theatre production on their website. Titles like Anita’s Vacation, Harris the Helper and Turtle Takes Her Time helps young audiences process these new and uncertain times, and they are all written, performed, filmed and edited by the BCT team. Watch them here.
Go Berry Picking
We all went strawberry picking to save our sanity in the spring. Now it’s blueberry season, or it will be by sometime between mid-June and early July. Find a list of farms that offer u-pick options here and be sure to pack a hat and bug spray. Trust us, it will be worth all the sweat for cobblers, muffins and smoothies in your future.
Visit the Virtual Zoo
The Birmingham Zoo is planning to open gradually this summer, but to tide you on animal visits over until then you can take a peek behind the scenes in its Virtual Zoo video offerings. Check them out here.
Are there any local events and activities we should add to this list? Email them to our editor at mm@homewoodlife.com.
