#14

So ever since I was about 13 and really started getting into my shopping obsession, I have loved local businesses. Coming from a descently sized city, small shops, restaurants, and other businesses give a sense of community and a small town feel. The service is usually fantastic and many have much more to offer than the large chain stores. Also, it is comforting to me to know that my money is going toward a local citizen and his or her business and not some large, multi-million corporation.
Although I did my best to support local businesses before this English class, I especially do now. I was familiar with many of the businesses of Montgomery, but not so many in Tuscaloosa. Keeping this blog nearly forced me to get out and explore this town. The more I did, the more I realized how much Tuscaloosa really has to offer, from the arts to restaurants. I feel Tuscaloosa is more a part of me now that I am much more familiar with it and have found favorite places. I also have realized how many spots I love in Montgomery. Actually writing about somewhere I like, such as Old Cloverdale, really got me to think and increased my liking of it even more!
I am now much more aware of where I am going and what I am doing in my community, and will definitely continue to do my best to support it and become a part of it.

Westervelt Warner Museum

Early in the semester, I had to go to the Westervelt Warner Museum for a class paper. I did not know much about the museum at all and had no idea how to get to the place which is about a fifteen minute drive from campus. However, once I finally found it, I was pleasantly surprised.

The museum is located deep in a beautiful Tuscaloosa neighborhood, Northriver, near the Northriver Yacht Club and looks over Lake Tuscaloosa. The outside of the museum is not what you would expecct, it looks much like a house. The inside resembles a home as well with numerous rooms, each filled with pieces of American art and devoted to a different time period. The museum has a very cozy, relaxed feel which I really liked, for I felt as though I could take my time and not have a security guard standing over me every second. Not only does the Warner Museum contan paintings and sculpure, but it also has furniture from different time periods, another aspect that sold me on the place for I love antique furniture.

I did not catch Mr. Warner when I visited, but I have been told that if you introduce yourself he will guide you through the museum and inform you of each piece's history. Also, I have been told it has one of the most impressive collections of art of any museum in the United States.

Shakespeare Festival

Montgomery, AL is lucky to be home to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. The area is beautiful with numerous ponds and walking trails. On one side there is a large art gallery with a great cafe inside that looks over a large pond always full of ducks and swans. Just last year, the gallery hosted a tour of French impressionists paintings. Pieces of art included works from the Louvre and artists such as Manet (not to be mistaken with the famous Monet) and Renoir. On the other side is the theatre. It constantly hosts well-known plays, now Romeo and Juliet and the production of one my favorite books, The Count of Monte Cristo. The plays are held in a very small theatre called the octagon, similar to the university's Galloway Theatre.

I love to go on picknicks there or walk my dog Baxter when the weather is nice. It is definitely somewhere everyone should visit, if not for a play or tour of the gallery's art, at least for the beauty of grounds.

Old Cloverdale

(My Church)

(Sinclair's)

My favorite area of Montgomery is a historic neighborhood near downtown, Old Cloverdale. It is filled with old beautiful homes, parks, churches, numerous independently owned shops and restaurants and even Huntington College. I live in the eastern side of town where everything is very new and a lot of "big name" department stores are migrating. I live very close to a brand new outdoor mall, Eastchase, similar to Birmingham's Summit. Although all of these new shops and businesses are very convenient and some are exciting additions, I still love and prefer Old Cloverdale.


The area is very near a small town inside a city. It is a community. where everyone seems to know everyone else. One of my favorite areas is Mulberry Steet, a long road filled with old homes that have been conserved and turned into boutiques. Another is East Fairveiw Avenue. Part of Huntington College is found there along with some of my favorite restaurants: Cafe Louisa, Tomatino's Pizza, El Rey's Burrito Lounge, and Sinclair's. Aside from businesses, the homes themselves are stunning. Old Oak trees line the wide roads filled with homes from starter houses to mansions. The old churches are just as beautiful. The church that I grew up in is here. I always look foward to going to the area on Sundays and stopping for a homemade cheese biscuit and coffee at Cafe Louisa after the service.


Although some claim that the area is going downhill due to the city's move to the east, many citizens contribute to conserving the historic area and keeping the local entrepeuners in business. The area is truly an asset to Montgomery and I think it is very important to support local areas such as this one.

Dance and Theatre Not Just at UA

The University of Alabama has a lot to offer in both the theatre and dance departments, for it puts on about eight theatre shows and four dance performances each academic year. I think a lot of students think this is all the city of Tuscaloosa has to offer in these two areas, for they are advertised all over campus. This is what I thought also until my Arts of Tuscaloosa class recently taught me other wise.
I learned that outside of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa is home to the Tuscaloosa Community Dancers, Inc., a company of dancers from all area schools. It includes both a professional company and apprentices and puts on several productions each year at Tuscaloosa’s downtown Bama Theatre such as the holiday favorite, the Nutcracker. This is a great opportunity to see dancers from outside the university and compare their style to the dance department's.
Tuscaloosa also offers Theatre Tuscaloosa, one of the largest community theater companies in the state of Alabama. Theatre Tuscaloosa is a non-profit organization that works with Shelton State Community College to provide opportunities for locals to partake in live performances. The company not only puts on several public performances of their own, but also supports children’s theatre and the Tuscaloosa Community Dancers. All of the company’s performances are held at the Bean-Brown Theatre located on Shelton State Community College’s campus.
It is great to support the university's art programs, but can also be fun to go see other community dancers and actors. I think Tuscaloosa has much more to offer in the arts than most people think.

Walk of Life

The weekend of April 18th-20th, I decided to go home for the long weekend which happened to be the weekend that Montgomery was hosting its 7th annual Walk of Life sponsored by the Joy to Life Foundation. My dad was running in the 5k and my mom was walking it, so I signed up at the last minute to walk with her. I have participated in several runs around town, all of which normally consist of one to two hundred people. So, I was very surprised when we drove up to see over 3,000 men and women participating in the event held in the heart of downtown. The race turned out to be a huge success raising over $125,000 to provide medical care, including free mammograms, to under-priveleged women. It was also very touching to see teams come together to honor or remember a previous breast-cancer patient.

Not only was the race for a great cause, it was a lot of fun as well. The race ended at Crampton Bowl, a large football stadium that had a great band and lots of vendors that gave away fresh pretzels, sports drinks, Starbucks coffee, and even snowcones.

Short local runs/walks such as this one are always lots of fun to do and nearly all contribute to a good cause. Also, they are a great way to get out and exercise and enjoy the nice weather.

Red-light Cameras Up in Montgomery

At the very beginning of April, the city of Montgomery put seven red-light cameras in place at various busy intersections. Anyone who runs a red-light in one of these places may be sent a $50 ticket in the mail for the first two offenses in a twelve-month period and will double after any additional violations. Throughout the month of April, violators will solely be issued a warning, but beginning May 1, actual tickets will be given. All camera images are to be reveiwed by the city and a police officer will then issue the tickets.

I think that this is a smart move for the city of Montgomery, for people run red lights constantly and accidents occur as a result. If more tickets are given for this violation, people will be more careful , including myself, and fewer fatalities will result.