Calendar of events

School is out and summer is in full swing. The SEC Baseball Tournament just wrapped up, setting an attendance record with more than 180,000 fans and, amazingly, not a single drop of rain fell during the 17 games at the Hoover Met.

The local events calendar slows down a bit in the summer, but there is plenty to do around Hoover in June!

June 1: First Saturday Cruise In at Hoover Tactical Fire Arms
Hosted by the Dixie Vintage Antique Automobile Club, the cruise in features antique and vintage cars in the Hoover Tactical Fire Arms parking lot on Highway 31. Talk with owners, listen to oldies music and sip complimentary coffee.

June 4-5: Koo Koo at the Hoover Public Library Theatre
Experience the dancing, comedy and singing of this popular high-energy duo. For times, go to events.hooverlibrary.org.

June 11-12: Roger Day at Hoover Public Library Theatre
Sing, dance, jump and dream big with award-winning children's musician – and local elementary school favorite  - Roger Day. For times, go to events.hooverlibrary.org.

June 14: Peach Day Farmer's Market at Ross Bridge from 4-8 p.m.
Enjoy a special peach-themed treat at Ross Bridge's farmer's market on Peach Day. Shop local vendors, including farm fresh produce, food, and handmade goods. Then, grab dinner from one of several food trucks and listen to live music on the green space.

June 15-16: Summertime Bham Craft & Vendor Fair at Riverchase Galleria
Support local vendors and escape the summer heat at this indoor craft and vendor fair. Shoppers will find handmade crafts, home décor, clothing, art and more. The fair is open during the Galleria's regular business hours.

June 21: Hydrangeas Under the Starts at Aldridge Gardens at 6:00 p.m.
Come to the gardens for a summer evening filled with starlight and gorgeous hydrangeas. An indoor reception and silent auction will begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner under the pavilion at 7:00 p.m. For more information about this premier fundraising event, go to aldridgegardens.com.

June 21: Berry Day at Ross Bridge from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Enjoy a special berry-themed treat at Ross Bridge's farmer's market on Berry Day. Shop local vendors, including farm fresh produce, food, and handmade goods. Then, grab dinner from one of several food trucks and listen to live music on the green space.

Maker feature

For small business owner Jen Batson, celebrating alongside those she loves is one of the best things about being part of the Hoover community.

“Clients will send me pictures or post them on social media, and I love knowing I was able to be part of the beauty of celebrating,” she said.

Jen, who is 55, opened her home-based floral business, Garage Corsage, on January 1, 2024, after a conversation with a close friend about how they would spend the second half of their lives.

“We spent a lot of time talking about how people act like life is for those who are young, like those are the best years of your life,” Jen said. “But we fully believe that the best is yet to be, and God will still use us until the very end to bring Him glory!”

From there, Jen’s lifelong love of fresh flowers began to blossom into a way for her to spread joy to friends and neighbors. She recalled a floral arranging workshop she attended a couple of years prior, where she learned new skills and “had an absolute blast.”

Jen enjoyed keeping fresh flowers in her Hoover home and quickly incorporated the tips and tricks she learned into her own personal bouquets. She began making floral arrangements more often, giving them away to friends and neighbors and creating them for her parties and friend’s celebrations. Soon, she realized her way of spreading joy, the beauty of the flowers, and the special moments she was able to be part of were her life’s new calling.  

As Garage Corsage grows in popularity, Jen’s business goals are growing, too. She says, “My first goal is to get a refrigerator for my garage so that I have a place this summer to keep my floral arrangements cooler! Every time I have a big order, I have to clean out our refrigerator in the kitchen!”

She would also like to be able to hire a part-time assistant to help with large orders around holidays. Right now, she doesn’t mind the busyness because “friends are lending a hand, which is also fun!”

To order an arrangement for Mother’s Day, dance recitals, birthdays, school dances and other occasions, follow Garage Corsage on Instagram @Garage_Corsage and click the link in the profile to view options and prices and to order.

AD SPOT: Bluff Park Community Reader

The second issue of the Bluff Park Neighborhood Reader is here, and people all over Bluff Park are talking about it! Maybe it was the interview with Bluff Park artist and Zentangle master Darla Williamson; the chat with Rev. Marge Doyle of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church; Kevin Russell’s top 5 gardening tips; or the dozens of photos of people from around the community. Want to read the entire issue? Follow the Bluff Park Neighborhood Reader on Facebook or Instagram for all the details!

Lauren Sisler story

Look to the sideline of an SEC football game, and you may see ESPN Reporter Lauren Sisler executing her signature “sideline shimmy.” It’s a dance she’s perfected over the years, performing it with athletes, mascots or just by herself. Her moves on the sideline represent the joy Sisler brings to her profession and the strength she’s developed by overcoming tragedy. 

Sisler got her start in sports broadcasting while attending Rutgers University. She found that storytelling, which served as an initial spark, has taken a far more prominent role in her career, saying, “That was something that I didn’t necessarily see early in my career, but it has become more and more visible. It has been really the primary drive for me as I’ve developed in my career as a sports reporter.” 

Sisler landed in Alabama in 2011 while working for ESPN. Though she hails originally from  Roanoke, Virginia, Alabama has become a second home. She has found a lot to appreciate in the Yellowhammer State saying, “It is very underrated in terms of the outside world’s perception.” 

She feels that Birmingham, in particular, flies under people’s radar. Straddling the line between a small city and a metropolis provides a unique living experience for all residents.  

Sisler resides in Hoover with her husband and nine-month-old son. Since neither she nor her husband are from Hoover, the topic of moving arose, but neither of them felt a move would make sense. Hoover had become home, after all. 

“It really has been just a beautiful journey of getting to place our roots here and embed ourselves in a community,” Sisler said. “We truly believe that the community is our family, and that’s very special to me. You can’t find that everywhere.” 

Connecting with others is of particular importance to Sisler. In her freshman year at Rutgers, she lost both her parents to prescription drug overdoses. Along the path to recovery, she found a passion for telling her story with the hope of helping others in similar situations.  

“It is always my hope and goal when I stand in front of them to meet them where they’re at and help them see that their story is important,” Sisler said. “Their story is powerful. They, too, can fall in love with their story. Ultimately that gives them the ability to move forward past some of the things that might be holding them back in their lives and help them to really find their purpose.”

Alongside these public speaking outings, Sisler has spent the past two and a half years  working on a book titled “Shatterproof: How I Overcame the Shame of Losing My Parents to Opioid Addiction (And Found My Sideline Shimmy).” 

The fruits of the writing process have certainly shown themselves to Sisler. Despite being twenty-one years removed from the tragedy, many aspects of it were hidden, revealed only in the act of putting pen to paper. Just as she does in her speeches, Sisler hopes that “the incredible amount of healing” she got from writing the book extends to her readers and helps them find their sideline shimmy, whatever form it may take. 

To purchase the book, visit laurensisler.com.

AD SPOT – JEFFERSON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE (use same ad as the previous podcast)

GARDENING TIPS FROM A LOCAL EXPERT

If you’re anything like me, your thumb is a little more brown than green. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

In the heart of Bluff Park, Kevin Russell tends his garden behind his house on Park Avenue. The local home gardener with a passion for nurturing life from the soil is the founder of Bluff Park Farms, a Facebook group for all garden enthusiasts. Established in 2016, this online community quickly blossomed into a thriving hub of green-thumbed individuals, all eager to exchange tips, celebrate their gardening triumphs, and seek advice. We asked Kevin to share his top gardening tips. So, get your gardening gloves on and let’s get to planting.

 1 - Advice - Finding great professional advice will save you time and money. There is a tremendous amount of great information online and talking with other gardeners will be rewarding for your garden from their experience. Find a site like Bluff Park Farms (BPF) that gives out free advice to fellow gardeners and will answer your questions. Build a detailed calendar with a to-do list for your key garden chores that includes soil conditioning, planting times, and fertilizing. 

 2 - Soil conditioning - Not all dirt is the same.  You can have your soil tested and you will know exactly what you need for your garden soil. I never have. I tend to go with lots of organics as Mother Nature provides for her forest. Composting is a big part of the garden and the better the compost you can make or find, will produce better stronger and more productive plants. 

 3 - Sunlight - Every basic garden will need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day to fully develop plants to the point of good production. Next is knowing which plants like the most light compared to those that only need 6 hours. My lettuce and parsley like 6 hours while my tomatoes and peppers love as much as they can get. I planted a few smaller trees to give me that afternoon shade for those plants that need less.

4 - Water Consistency - Always try to keep the plant at the same consistency with water when possible. They will wilt when they need it but over watering can cause diseased shallow rotting. You can buy a meter to monitor the water level in your soil.

5 - Weed Control - If you have raised beds or doing container gardening it’s not a big problem, but for larger plots as ours at Bluff Park Farms, we must take on the weeds with other methods. This year we are putting down a weed barrier to give us more time to garden instead of weeding which I do not like.  Find your way to handle the weeds before they get a chance to take over.