July 2023 | Volume 14 | Issue 4
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CAPTURING MOUNTAIN BROOK’S
beauty
The 2023 All-South Metro baseball and softball teams feature several Spartans.
See page B4
Otey’s Fest
Artist paints images along Jemison Trail 14th annual Otey’s Fest Shindig returns this month.
See page B12
INSIDE Sponsors........... A4 City......................A6 Business........... A10 Schoolhouse.... A14
Sports.................B4 Events.................B11 Opinion............. B14 Calendar........... B15
By LEAH INGRAM EAGLE
A
fter becoming friends while attending Vanderbilt University, Erika Huddleston and Mountain Brook resident Mary Halsey Maddox’s careers diverged, but their friendship remained.
Maddox has lived in the city for 26 years and works as a physician at Children’s of Alabama, while also working remotely for Huddleston as her studio assistant. After Vanderbilt, Huddleston attended Parsons School of Design in New York, where she worked for six years, before obtaining her master’s of landscape architecture at the University of
Texas at Austin. Huddleston recently spent several weeks in Mountain Brook working on paintings of Jemison Trail, after Maddox invited her to pay a visit to the city to paint the wooded area along Shades Creek.
See ARTIST | page A19
Texas artist Erika Huddleston paints along the Jemison Trail in Mountain Brook. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Fireworks, festivities and freedom Local activities abound for July 4 celebrations
facebook.com/villageliving
BY LEAH INGRAM EAGLE
Fireworks light up the night sky over Vulcan Park during the annual Thunder on the Mountain fireworks display in July 2021. Photo by Erin Nelson.
It’s almost time for summer’s biggest holiday. What better way to celebrate than enjoying one of the many events happening in and around the area? There are several Independence Day events taking place around the metro Birmingham area that begin as early as July 1, so there are a variety of options from which to choose.
THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN
While the city of Mountain Brook doesn’t have any specific Independence Day events, Mountain Brook’s close proximity to Vulcan provides residents with one of the biggest fireworks shows around, Thunder on the Mountain.
See JULY 4 | page A18