Late Fall Schedule
Picture by mcdlttx
We’ve been doing Midtown Montgomery for a couple of years now, and we regularly talk about how much we enjoy the time of year both before and after Halloween. We’ve talked about our favorite haunted houses, the Haunted Hearse tour, and the many other virtues of late fall. This year, we are reflecting on the recent loss of a beloved family member, which seems appropriate for autumn, as leaves fall and thoughts turn to darker subjects, death and rebirth, graveyards and skeletons. We had a surreal moment just before the funeral, having dinner in a restaurant that was full of macabre decorations, an irony that our deceased relative would have greatly appreciated.
That said, there’s no time like the autumn to reflect on mortality. There’s a reason why Day of the Dead is also approaching on the calendar. But our culture lacks this kind of institutional and ceremonial reflection on death, life, and connections to our departed ancestors. We all likely have some contemporary connections to and personal memories of funeral homes, and probably some treasured photos of our deceased loved ones, but there are real virtues to commemorating these timeless concepts by way of some outward annual expressions.
Montgomery is a great place to do this sort of thing because we have some really great cemeteries for walking around. Oakwood is the classic, of course (the one where Hank Williams is buried). It has tons of great ancient graves and if you can latch on to a tour, you’ll get a real history lesson, enjoy some natural beauty, and possibly gleam some connection to the afterlife. And most people know about Greenwood too (the one where George Wallace is buried). It’s more contemporary, but also nice for a meditative stroll. And also Lincoln Cemetery is being refurbished after years and years of neglect, a process likely to accelerate once they complete the litigation trying to determine who legally owns the place and is responsible for repairs.
But tromping around final resting places isn’t the only thing to do. We’ve just completed a run of fantastic events in Montgomery (all of which we missed due to our own death-related obligations), but don’t despair just because we’re done with TavernFest, Henry Rollins, the WineFest, ZooBoo, and any number of other things just passed by. There are still cool things to do:
Dracula — October 27 (at 7:30 p.m.) and October 28 (at 2:30 p.m.) — This is a ballet put on by the Alabama Dance Theatre at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. We’re not huge ballet fans, but if the ballet is half as good as the dramatic rendering that ASF put on last year, it ought to be pretty solid.
Veteran’s Day — A sober reminder that life isn’t all just war video games and shoot ’em ups. There are also the real wars and the people that are damaged by them. Montgomery honors those that sacrifice in its 3rd Annual Veterans Day Program and Parade in downtown Montgomery on Monday, November 12. Last year’s Armistice Day was on 11/11/11, but we should celebrate it every year, no matter how catchy the numerology of the date.
Architreats — The Architreats program at the Alabama State Archives is one of the real treats of each month. It’s over lunchtime, so a lot of people can’t go. But if you can step away from work for an hour, it’s totally worth it. Bring a lunch. Learn something. November’s offering is called “Lord Remember Me: Archiving Alabama’s Folklife” by Kevin Nutt.
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts — We love art, but often struggle to find exhibits at the MMFA that appeal to our tastes. There’s a promising one there now, though. “Accumulations: The Art of Joelle Ford and Stephen T. Johnson” looks pretty cool and it runs through January 13. From the exhibit’s promotional materials:
Prior to making these works Johnson poured over the English dictionary, selecting and grouping words to represent each letter from the alphabet. The phrases provide both visual cues and structure for the piece resulting in highly inventive works of art. In addition, furthering the idea of fun and games, Johnson invites the viewer to look deeper into the work and find the letter hidden within.
Catch a game — If you like football, the local college teams are doing pretty well. Faulkner is 5-3 and has a beautiful new stadium. ASU is opening a new stadium and is 4-3, a little disappointing, but still a winning record. The legendary Turkey Day Classic is Nov. 22 and will be the first game in the new stadium. Huntingdon is 5-1 and nationally ranked for the first time in school history. If you’re an Auburn fan, now would be a good time to take a Saturday off from the woeful Tigers and catch a game of one of your local teams.
If basketball is your thing, we’ve got plenty of that too. ASU’s men’s team is picked to finish 6th in the SWAC, which isn’t very good, but maybe they’ll play with a chip on their shoulders. ASU will begin the 2012-13 season on Oct. 31 when they host Huntingdon in an exhibition game beginning at 6 p.m. at the Acadome. The Hornets have a tough schedule, which includes Florida (11/11) and GA Tech (12/17). They’ll also split games (home and away) with Troy, which would be a good excuse to drive 50 minutes down the road and see Troy’s gem of a new basketball arena.
AUM also plays hoops. Who knew? They’re no longer the Senators, but the Warhawks will opens Nov. 2 against Selma’s Concordia College in the Jimmy Faulkner Classic at Faulkner University.
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