A few big changes

Happy Friday!

I’ve got two exciting things to tell you.

1. Huntsville Explorer has a brand new logo (shown at the top of the email)

2. I am trying out a new email format that I think you’re going to love

Since I am rolling out a new logo for the newsletter, I thought I’d also try out a new format I’ve been thinking about.

Instead of just highlighting one thing going on in Huntsville, I’m going to highlight 5-7, depending on what’s going on each week.

The plan is to cover major/interesting news and some upcoming events, but I’m sure it’ll evolve and change over time.

Let’s get into it!

Panoply Starts Today

Huntsville’s biggest art festival is this weekend (April 26-28) at Big Spring Park.

This year’s festival will have over 100 vendors, two musical stages with 30+ artists, food trucks, kid-friendly interactives, and STEAM activities.

Here are the festival hours:

• Friday: 5-9 PM

• Saturday: 10 AM-9 PM

• Sunday: 11 AM-6 PM

This is always a fun event for the whole family! You can purchase tickets online.

Huntsville Ice Sports Center Is Getting a $1.6 Million Upgrade

The Huntsville Ice Sports Center on Leeman Ferry is getting a much-needed upgrade to the tune of $1.6 million.

The upgrade will add two new ice rinks with seating sections, a new dedicated curling rink, various building upgrades, and a new parking lot and landscaping.

There is currently no timeline for when the upgrades will begin or finish.

Lowe Mill Announces Concert on the Docks Dates and Artists for May

Lowe Mill has announced the return of its Concert on the Docks this May. This is a free event, but you will have to pay $10 for parking.

Here are the dates and lineup of local artists:

• May 3: The Wanda band Opening for Lillie Mae & Family

• May 10: The Nerve

• May 17: EC Frazier Opening for The Otis Band

• May 24: Lisa’s Joy Opening for Camacho

• May 31: Dweeby! Opening for Them Damn Dogs

Huntsville Has A New Football Team, the Alabama Beavers

In a mysterious post that has yet to be acknowledged by the City of Huntsville, it looks like Huntsville is getting a new football team.

The Alabama Beavers are part of a new football league called the International Football Alliance. This week, the team announced on Facebook that they will be playing their 2025 season at Joe Davis Stadium.

Sadly, this is all the information that’s available right now, but we will be watching this story to see how it unfolds.

Blink-182 and Gwen Stefani to Headline Huntsville Music Festival

Over the last few weeks, the City of Huntsville has been teasing a new 2-day music festival that will be held at John Hunt Park September 28-29.

We recently learned that it will be called the South Star Music Festival, and this week, we found out that Gwen Stefani and Blink-182 will be the headliners.

Gwen Stefani will perform on Saturday, September 28, followed by Blink-182 on Sunday, September 29.

Here’s the full lineup for each day.

September 28:

• Headliner: Gwen Stefani

• Shinedown

• Jane’s Addiction

• Jimmy Eat World

• TLC

• Juvenile & the 400 Degreez Band

• Gin Blossoms

• Candlebox

• Dexter and the Moonrocks

• Winona Fighter

September 29:

• Headliner: Blink-182

• Beck

• Sublime

• Goo Goo Dolls

• Ludacris

• Big Boi

• Pete Yorn

• Vanessa Carlton

• Bully

• Billy Allen and the Pollies

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.

Friends of the Library $0.25 Book Sale

The Downtown Huntsville Library is hosting its $0.25 book sale. The sale will only be open exclusively to Friends of the Library on Friday from 12-3 PM.

The sale will be open to the public from 9 AM - 3 PM on Saturday.

That’s a wrap for this week’s newsletter!

What did you think of the new format? I’d really love to get your opinion. If you liked it, hit reply and say, "I love the new format!” If you don’t reply, I’m going to assume you prefer the old format.

Talk soon,
Andrew Smith