The 12 short weeks of football season make it easy for students to plan their weekends in the fall. Fridays are spent preparing for the game, Saturdays are spent at the game and Sundays are spent recovering from Friday and Saturday. It’s undoubtedly most Alabama students’ favorite time of the year, but now we are faced with a new dilemma – what are we supposed to do with our weekends in the spring?
Alabama Sports:
With the defending national champion gymnastics team and a basketball team making a run for March Madness this year back in Coleman Coliseum this semester, there is no lack of action to watch on weekends. Both teams are currently in SEC action, which means making a weekend trip out of a game could be a great idea. Upcoming away weekends include men’s basketball at Kentucky on Jan. 21, and at LSU on Feb. 11, and gymnastics at Auburn on Jan. 27, and at Kentucky on Feb. 10.
Other sports that are in season right now include tennis, swimming, diving and women’s basketball. Sports worth checking out later this semester include baseball, which starts Feb. 17 in Tuscaloosa, and softball, which starts Feb. 10 in Mobile, Ala.
The Crimson Rewards Program, sponsored by Tuscaloosa Toyota, offers points for students who go to every sport’s home games. Each game is worth one point each, and rewards include a concession voucher for ten points, automatic qualification for next year’s football tickets for forty points and a chance to be entered for a Toyota Camry if you get 90 points. To register for a Crimson Rewards card, visit http://crimsonrewards.ia.ua.edu/ or visit their table at any home game. Once you have your card, visit their table at each game you go to in order to get it scanned and collect your points.
Concerts:
Another thing Tuscaloosa had to leave in the fall is shows at The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, which ended its season in November. While we won’t have many big-ticket names stopping through Tuscaloosa anytime soon, we have plenty of local bands playing around town every week to enjoy. Some of the biggest Tuscaloosa names include Callooh! Callay!, who often plays at Green Bar, and Andy Hall, who spends a lot of time at The Bear Trap.
If you’ve heard enough of local bands, and don’t mind a short drive, Alabama students only live about an hour away from a popular destination for many musicians.
The BJCC attracts all kinds of artists including Rascal Flatts, who will play Feb. 10, and Jimmy Buffet, who will play Feb. 25. It also brings in Broadway shows such as Wicked, which will have three performances in February. If these shows aren’t for you or out of your price range, smaller bars and clubs such as Zydeco or The Alabama Theatre in Birmingham also attract smaller but still well known bands.
Alabama Festivals:
While there won’t be a festival to attend every weekend, the spring semester offers a few festivals around the state that are worth checking out. Festivals this spring include:
The Orange Beach Seafood Festival – Orange Beach, Ala. – Feb. 25
The Druid City Arts Festival – Tuscaloosa, Ala. – March 19
The Fairhope Outdoor Craft Show – Fairhope, Ala. – March 16-18
The Hangout Festival – Gulf Shores, Ala. – May 18-20
Movies:
If you don’t want to waste your gas going out of town for sports or concerts, one option right down the road is the Cobb Hollywood 16 & IMAX. With so many anticipated movies coming out in 2012, it may be time visit the theater. Popular movies out now include “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” and upcoming releases include “Underworld Awakening” (Jan. 20) and “The Grey” (Jan. 27).
If you want a new look at things while at the movies, try the IMAX option, which opened last year or the D-Box seats, which matches the action of the movie to the movement of the seat.
