Category: Community Event

It’s a fun and productive way to give back to the community for Sylacauga’s Meat Depot, and the beneficiaries are the high school athletic programs at B.B. Comer and Sylacauga High Schools. Now through July 29th, grab Powerade at 5 for $5 and help support local students, especially student athletes.

Hey, the students themselves know what this means. Student athletes have been showing up, spending a good bit of the little time they have left before school starts back.

Check out the boxes for our local schools near the door. Pick one, or pick both. Donate some Powerade. All the donations will be delivered to the schools to help the students start the school year strong!

As a total volunteer organization, the Childersburg Rescue Squad depends on donations and two major fund raisers to cover their expenses. They have announced plans for one of those fund-raisers, “Ride to the Rescue” on Saturday October 11, 2025.

The “Ride to the Rescue” event is a significant fundraising effort for the Childersburg Rescue Squad, aiming to support their missions both locally and beyond. The event includes a bike ride/race with two circuits: a 32-mile and a 64-mile route, starting at the B.J. Meeks Sports Complex in Childersburg.

The event also features a free concert the night before the race, a car-ruck-and-bike show, as well as BBQ plates for sale. The event is a testament to the squad’s commitment to community support and their efforts to enhance the lives of those in need.

When a call for help comes, the Squad answers. So far this year, the Childersburg Rescue Squad responded to: a lost person on Cheaha Mountain; a lost person in Munford; recovered a drowning victim in Morgan County and another one in Lake Lanier, GA; assisted with the tornado in Winterboro.

More recently, they rescued two elderly gentlemen stranded on Elliot Island during a heavy thunderstorm when their boat broke down. ALEA was unable to send help, and the St. Clair E-911 didn’t have anyone, so the Childersburg Rescue Squad responded. When a hurricane ravaged east coast states, the Squad spent two days immediately after the hurricane in Irwin, TN, building a landing zone so choppers could deliver supplies to a totally isolated area.

Seeing the total devastation in Irwin, the Childersburg Rescue Squad spearheaded a Christmas toy dive. Squads from all around Alabama filled a 55-foot tractor trailer and another smaller truck, delivering “Christmas” to over 6,000 children in the Irwin area.

Besides your attendance during their big October event, they are looking for sponsors, too. There are two sponsorship packages – $150 and $250 – that include signage during the event that will draw thousands of locals, as well as visitors from across the southeast.

Make checks payable to the Childersburg Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 204, Childersburg, AL 35044. Please send along your business card with your logo and name for the signs. Because you never know when it will be your family that needs their quick response.

The monthly series of 3rd Thursday Block Parties continues this week in downtown Childersburg.

It’s a fun, family-friendly event to show off a growing number of downtown Childersburg businesses, along with a great line-up of fantastic vendors from throughout the region, and that line-up is growing as well!

It’s an example of how showing appreciation for what we have, helps the growth of retail business, restaurants, pop-up vendors, and food trucks. Come on out & enjoy it all with family, friends, and neighbors!

SAFE Family Services invites you to join them for a special celebration in the Sam Wright Sylacauga Grows Community Garden on Thursday, July 17th, “Honoring growth, health, and family.

The event features Dr. Therron Hutton, Founder and Director of the Mulberry Clinic. Dr. Hutton is renown for his discussions on how food and lifestyle impacts overall health, his experiences helping patients with health problems.

It’s a family-friendly event, scheduled as a floating style event from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. There are several specific question and answer discussions:

Farm to Table Food as Education – 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Food is Medicine – 4:00 p.m.

There will be plenty of family-friendly activities throughout the event, including sharing of garden snacks. The Sylacauga Grows Garden is located at 72 Betsy Ross Lane in Sylacauga.

The 2025 Back to School Sales Tax Holiday is set for Friday through Sunday, July 18th through the 20th. Shop locally as all jurisdictions in the region are participating in Alabama’s annual back to school sales tax holiday. The following items will be exempt from all sales tax:

Clothing: All apparel suitable for general use is exempt unless it otherwise appears on the taxable list. Clothing items must cost $100 or less per article of clothing to be exempt.

Computers and Computer Software: A single purchase with a sales price of $750 or less will be exempt. Items exempt include computers, computer software, and school computer supplies.

School Supplies: Any items of $50 or less per item commonly used by a student in a course of study will be exempt. Supplies may include art supplies, reference maps and globes, textbooks on an official school book list with a sales price of more than $30 but less than $50, and books with a sales price of $30 or less per book.

These items are NOT exempt during the Sales Tax Holiday Weekend:

Clothing accessories such as handbags, jewelry, sunglasses and umbrellas.

Protective equipment such as breathing masks, hard hats, helmets and safety belts.

Sports or recreational equipment such as ballet or tap shoes, athletic gloves, goggles or shin guards.

Furniture.

Any systems, devices, software or peripherals designed or intended primarily for recreational use. Video games of a non-educational nature.

Magazines, newspapers, periodicals or any other document printed or offered for sale in a non-bound form.

With the Independence Day holiday stretching over a full week this year, the number of family-friendly events and activities is large in the region through the coming weekend.

Before we even get to the weekend, the Talladega County Health Department opens the doors of their Sylacauga clinic on Elm Street for compehensive eye examinations. But, you will need to quickly reserve your spot by calling (256) 569-8134.

Also on Thursday, the Parks & Recreation Department presents Storytime with Friends in Sylacauga’s Noble Park at 10:00 a.m.

Friday will be a busy day in Sylacauga’s Central Park with the Sylacauga Farmers Market from 7:00 a.m. to 12 Noon. Star Spangled Sylacauga takes over the park at 5:00 p.m., culminating with a bigger than ever fireworks show after dark, with all sorts of fun activities in between.

The Rainwater Library holds a come-and-go event from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to honor retiring Library Director Susan Carpenter.

In Sylacauga, American Legion Post #45 hosts an Indoor Yard Sale on Friday & Saturday at the old National Guard Armory.

Neighboring Shelby County has several holiday celebrations. In Columbiana, it’s the two-day Liberty Day Celebration downtown Friday and Saturday. Thompson High School hosts Alabaster’s community fireworks show Saturday evening. The annual Big Kaboom highlights ChelseaFest 2025, also Saturday night.

Childersburg First Baptist hosts a Weekend of Worship event with two days of Gospel Music, Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and even more Sunday morning at 10:30. Also in Childersburg, Kymulga Grist Mill Park hosts the Small Town Jam with four musical acts performing from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

If you have even a passing interest in aviation, you’ll want to take the family to Lee Merkel Field in Sylacauga for the annual Aviation Day with pilots galore, showing off their planes, gliders, helicopters and more, sponsored by the AERO Missions cadets before they travel the world.

The inal day in a series of Talladega County Commission Clean-up Days with containers adjacent to Walco Handi-Mart on Alabama Avenue, to serve clean-up efforts throughout the Sylacauga area from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The annual “Sylacauga Aviation Day,” hosted by AERO Missions, is looking for another a big crowd to Lee Merkel Field on Saturday, June 26. There will be airplanes, gliders, and helicopters on display with several dozen pilots on hand to answer questions.

“We’re kind of blown away with the reception we received from the public last year, in spite of a bit of rain” said AERO Missions Director John Stanczak. “This what we want, to have people experience the world of aviation first-hand. We have a great group of interns in town from all over the country, and this a big part of why they are here, to learn how to use their love of flying in their coming mission work – an opportunity for them and for the public.”

AERO Missions is itself a ministry of equipping, enabling, and assisting missionaries worldwide.

“It’s in our name – AERO, which stands for Aviator Evangelists Reaching Others,” Stanczak noted.

Aviation Day is a fun and exciting day for the whole family with plenty to see and do, as well as many pilots who want to meet you on Saturday, June 28th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to experience the world of aviation firsthand. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. There will be food trucks on site and kids’ activities available, so come make a day of it.

There’s a day full of activities coming to Sylacauga’s American Legion Post #45 to celebrate Flag Day 2025 on Saturday, June 14th at 8 South Hammett Avenue.

The family fun gets started early as they open the doors on the Armory at 7:00 a.m. for the monthly Legion Flea Market that lasts until 3:00 in the afternoon.

The Legion will also host a no-entry-fee car show, starting at 8:00 a.m. and lasting all day.

At 5:00 p.m. they will hold a touching flag retirement ceremony on the lodge grounds. You can drop off worn and damaged flags for retirement at the American Legion Building and/or Radney-Smith Funeral Home on Elm Street.

A great crowd gathered for cool treats on a hot day, as Pelican’s SnoBalls held a Chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new location on West Fort Williams Street.

Owner Andy Cox said that he’s been looking to buy a building for his operation for quite a while, “It’s like everything came together for us at the first of the year to buy this building and renovate it to suit our needs, and one of the most popular additions is our drive-thru window service.”

Cox was a 26-year veteran at WalMart before striking out on his own with a Pelican’s franchise. He says it was a learning experience, “Naturally, this is a peak time of year for what we do, but it’s our customers that tell us whether we stay open during winter months. We were busy when we opened this location in February, so we’re hopeful that will translate into solid year round business. The drive thru certainly helped earlier in the year.”

Andy told us that his most popular flavors are divide between sweet and sour, “Blue Raspberry is our best sweet seller, and our customers love our Sour Tsunami, just as much as a tart treat.”