November in Tuscaloosa will have dance, music, art, and holiday events
November feels shafted between October’s perfection-weather festivals, and December’s apple-cheeked holidays. But Tuscaloosa’s got concerts, dance, interactive art, theater, symphonic music, a Diwali Festival, and the kickoff of holiday events running through the end of the year.
Here’s a preview of what’s coming up in the 30 days November hath:
NOV. 3-NOV. 5
Dance Alabama!: Performances of University of Alabama student-led and -choreographed works, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3-4, and 5:30 p.m. Nov. 5, in the Dance Theatre of the English Building on the UA campus. Tickets are $20 general; $17 for seniors, and UA faculty and staff; $14 for students. Available noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday in the Rowand-Johnson Hall ticket office, by calling 205-348-3400, or online at ua.universitytickets.com. www.theatre.ua.edu.
NOV. 4
November Art Night: 5-8 p.m., Kentuck Art Center, 503 Main Ave., Northport. Free and family-friendly monthly event featuring exhibit openings, artist receptions, live music, pop-up shops, food and more. Kentuck resident artists will open their studios for visits and demonstrations. www.kentuck.org.
Jon Pardi, Larry Fleet, Ryan Hurd: 7:30 p.m., Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Tickets $65, $55, $45, $35 and $25, plus fees, through www.ticketmaster.com, and at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater box office. For more, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.
NOV. 6
Transportation Museum Weave with Mary Smith: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway. Muscogee (Creek) artist Smith is the featured artist for the new exhibit, “Weaving Muscogee Creek Culture: The Artistry of Mary Smith.” Smith will give basket weaving demonstrations. Families can learn to make small baskets to take home, talk with the artist and learn about her journey. www.transportation.museums.ua.edu/weave-with-mary-meet-the-artist.
NOV. 12
“All Together Now”: Theatre Tuscaloosa will participate in a global event celebrating and benefitting local theater companies, 7:30 p.m., $25, Bean-Brown Theatre, Shelton State Community College. The musical revue will include songs from musicals including “Hairspray,” “Rent,” “Mamma Mia!,” “The Baker’s Wife,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Oliver,” “My Fair Lady,” “Into the Woods,” “Once on This Island,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Five Guys Named Moe,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Waitress,” ‘Fiddler on the Roof,” “Beauty and the Beast” and more. Local performers will include Nate Blakley, Ava Buchanan, Beth Stomps Feller, Royce Garrison, Lindsey Jones, Casey Kauffman, Josh Kauffman, Bradley Logan, Danielle Molina, Bethany Knight Peppers, Ray Taylor, Lisa Waldrop Shattuck and John Walker. Taylor is directing the revue. For more, see www.theatretusc.com, or call 205-391-2277.
NOV. 13
Alabama Blues Project Block Party: Noon-2 p.m., free, Walmart, 1501 Skyland Blvd. E. The Alabama Blues Project’s advanced band, known as Alabama Blues Productions will perform. Donations accepted toward the Alabama Blues Project’s mission of musical training and education. For more, call Ashley R. Wheat, 205-752-6263. www.alabamablues.org.
NOV. 14
Diwali Festival of Lights: 5 p.m., $10, Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. Diwali is a festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November). Diwali symbolizes the “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” The festival will include live entertainment, and an after-show dinner catered by Sitar of India, in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, on the same block as the Bama. Admission to both show and dinner is $10, available by calling Dibya Singh at 205-792-5476, or for purchase at Sitar of India restaurant, 220 15th St. E.
NOV. 17-19
UA MFA Dance: Dance grad students showcasing choreographed works revolving around their life experiences, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17-18, and 5:30 p.m. Nov. 19, in the Dance Theatre of the English Building on the UA campus. Tickets are $10, available noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday in the Rowand-Johnson Hall ticket office, by calling 205-348-3400, or online at ua.universitytickets.com. www.theatre.ua.edu.
NOV. 18
“The Shoemaker’s Holiday”: The Alabama Shakespeare Project, within UA’s Department of English, will perform a staged reading of Thomas Dekker’s comedy “The Shoemaker’s Holiday,” free, 7 p.m. in the Grand Gallery at Smith Hall on the UA campus. www.alabamashax.ua.edu.
NOV. 22
Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra: 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church performing William Grant Still’s “Serenade,” Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus,” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Symphony no. 25 in G minor K. 183,” and Giuseppe Tartini’s “Sinfonia Pastorale,” with concertmaster Jenny Gregoire as violin soloist. Tickets are $30. Those attending must follow University of Alabama mask mandates, compliant with those specified by the city of Tuscaloosa, state of Alabama, the CDC: all individuals must wear masks while indoors and not distanced. Livestream and recorded performances are also available, also for $30. For more, see www.tsoonline.org.
NOV. 22-JAN. 2
The 2021 Tinsel Trail: Featuring more than 190 live Christmas trees decorated by local businesses, organizations and individuals, will move to Government Plaza for 2021, because of ongoing road construction on Jack Warner Parkway. www.ttowntinsel.com.
Holidays on the Plaza: Ice-skating and Christmas-themed event, will also begin Nov. 22, also moving this year to Government Plaza. Skate passes are $15 each, which includes includes skate rental and admission to the rink. Tuesdays are family skate night with skate pass specials at $12. www.holidaysontheplaza.com.
NOV. 25
Annual Charity Thanksgiving feast at Chuck’s Fish: All meals and beverages are free, but donations will be accepted for charity. Like last year, meals will be distributed to drive-thru and walk-up customers instead of holding the feast inside the restaurant. www.chucksfish.com.