By Kennedy McJunkin
The cities of Mountain Brook and Homewood are joining to present the second annual Shades Creek Festival April 27 at Jemison Park.
The free event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and celebrates spring along the banks of Shades Creek.
The festival will feature live music, free fly-fishing lessons, animal exhibits, scavenger hunts, cookie decorating, food trucks and more.
Nature preservation groups such as Friends of Shades Creek, Friends of Jemison Park and the Cahaba River Society will present hawk, owl and reptile exhibits, give away trees for Arbor Day and demonstrate iNaturalist, an app that helps identify different plants and animals.
The president of Friends of Jemison Park, Sim Johnson, said that officials with Mountain Brook and Homewood decided last year to create an outdoor festival with conservation groups in the area.
“We have a great creek running through the area of Birmingham and we want to celebrate it,” Johnson said.
Caliber, an outdoor and sporting goods store in Homewood, will provide free fly-fishing lessons and sponsor the live music. Clear Blue Sky bluegrass band will play from 10 a.m. to noon, and the Chad Fisher Swing Band will play from noon to 2 p.m.
“It’s … family friendly but there are plenty of things to do for people younger and older,” Johnson said.
Saw’s BBQ food truck will be at the event and Continental Bakery will provide shortbread cookies in the Shape of Fish for a cookie decorating station.
