By Cissy JacksonThe Alabama Wilds area of the Zoo is about to get a lot wilder. Cougar Crossing, the Birmingham Zoo’s newest addition will feature two fascinating wildcats, who will join other native species as the Zoo continues to enhance guests’ opportunities to experience and learn about the wildlife in our state.  Building on a leadership gift from Phyllis and … [Read more...]

Once again we bring you our annual Camp Guide.  With dozens of options from dance to drama, music to math, sports to special needs it’s all here. And don’t forget to check out our awesome sponsors’ advertisements as well as their listings below.The sooner you get your summer camp plans scheduled the more you can relax. Read … [Read more...]

By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.Photos by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.Aldridge Gardens was the site of a reunion and an introduction.Former photographers from Southern Living magazine assembled in the Eddie and Kay Aldridge Arts and Historical Collections Museum to remember days gone by. “On the program are the dates that we worked there so it is pretty much a Southern Living … [Read more...]

By Barry Wise SmithPhoto by Jordan WaldWhen Phillip McWane found out he’d been selected as the 58th King of the Beaux Arts Krewe Ball, it was a very meaningful moment for him. “Being the King is a very unique honor,” McWane says. “It’s a small group—I’m just number 58.”McWane joined the Krewe in 1997, as his father, James R. McWane, had done before him. “I remember … [Read more...]

When Kirby Pool was very young, she asked her mother, Saint Mark’s Episcopal priest Jayne Pool, what God was like. Jayne answered, “God is like everything.” And so began Kirby’s upbringing as a child of spiritual, intellectual and musical parents. Jim and Jayne Pool met in high school, he being older by two years. Jayne saw Jim getting out of his Opal with a guitar case in his … [Read more...]