Vintage Beauties Cruising into the River City July 12

Hundreds of vintage beauties will cruise into the River City July 12, 2014, for a day of festival fun in the heart of Point Mallard Park. The annual Greater Tennessee Valley Antique Car Show has grown to be one of the largest car shows in the region attracting collectors, fans, and spectators from across the southeastern United States and beyond. Along with antique cars and trucks, the event features a huge Swap Meet, live entertainment and arts and crafts.

As spectators admire the antiques and mingle with the owners, live music by Alaina Wiley and Elvis impersonator Michael Dean and arts and crafts provide extra entertainment. The Swap Meet, popular with collectors and classic automotive enthusiasts, features old parts and memorabilia and will be open throughout the day.

Registration is $25 per vehicle and the first 500 entries will receive a dash plague. This year’s prizes for exhibitors include a cash prize of $500 up for grabs every 15 minutes starting at 12:15 p.m. until 2:15 p.m., four $1,000 drawings at the conclusion of the show, a Chevrolet 350 engine and four sets of Chrome Wheels from Minor Tire.

The car show gets underway at 7 a.m. with registration and typically wraps up around 3 p.m. Admission is free for spectators. Sponsors are Lynn Layton Chevrolet, Family Security Credit Union, and Minor Tire and Wheel, and event organizers extend a special thank you to Decatur Parks and Recreation for allowing the Antique Car Show to be held at Point Mallard Park.  

For more information, call Doug Poole at 256.773.9652 or Charles Adams at 256.350.3383.

Smoke on the Mountain

BSP will present America's most beloved gospel bluegrass musical "Smoke On the Mountain" on the Spirit of America Stage at Point Mallard in Decatur on July 24, 25 & 26 at 7:00 pm. Admission is free, though donations will be gratefully accepted. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Drinks a...nd snacks will be available for purchase.
"Smoke On the Mountain" is set at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in the North Carolina foothills of the Smoky Mountains, in 1938. The Sanders Family is a gospel singing group, appearing at a Saturday night "sing" for the first time after a 5 year hiatus.
And sing they do! The show features 23 of your favorite bluegrass gospel songs, with the family playing the instruments (daughter June does not sing; she "signs" for the deaf, providing a visual comic feast). Add some soul-searching (and often hilarious) witnessing on the part of the family members, and you have an evening's heart-warming entertainment the whole family will love.
Make your plans to attend this production. It's one you'll not want tomiss!

Free Corn on the Cob and Cooking Demonstrations by Chef Jake Reed at the Morgan County-Decatur Farmers Market July 12

The Morgan County-Decatur Farmers Market is pleased to announce Saturday, July 12, 2014, is Corn Day. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., free samples of freshly boiled corn on the cob, along with butter, seasonings, and soft drinks, will be available for festivalgoers. In addition to an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables for sale, Chef Jake Reed of Albany Bistro will be demonstrating and sharing cooking tips using fresh, local corn.

Whether you like it grilled, boiled, creamed, or roasted, plenty of freshly harvested corn will be available for purchase. The season for corn is only a few weeks, but the summer vegetable is excellent for freezing for year round consumption. Along with corn, there will be home-baked goods, flowering plants, and other fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables for sale.

Albany Bistro Chef Jake Reed will be preparing corn soufflé using fresh corn from the Farmers Market. The first demonstration is set for 10 a.m. with the second one following at 11 a.m. Free samples will be provided following each demonstration.

From 9 a.m. to noon, a Master Gardener will be on hand to answer gardening questions. The expert can help in identifying plants, providing information on soil testing, offering plant recommendations and assisting with pest management issues.

The Morgan County-Decatur Farmers Market, located at 211 First Avenue SE in Decatur, also celebrates Tomato Sandwich Day on July 26^th, and Watermelon Day on August 16^th. 

For more information on Corn Day, call Manager Burl Slaton at 256.476.5595. For more information on the Morgan County-Decatur Farmers Market, visit them online on Facebook or at www.decaturfarmersmarket.org.

Junior Hockey Arrives in Decatur in August

A new junior hockey team is set to hit the ice this fall in Decatur. The Point Mallard Ducks, Alabama’s first and only junior “A” hockey team, will compete in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), one of six USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior leagues. The team will play and practice in the Point Mallard Ice Complex located in the heart of Point Mallard Park in Decatur.

A member of the NA3HL South Division, the Point Mallard Ducks will be led by GM/Team President and UAHuntsville alum Ryan McCormack and Head Coach Craig Bushey. The team, owned and operated by Total Package Hockey (TPH), will play their home games out of the Point Mallard Ice Complex. TPH is one of the largest hockey service providers in the country and develops student/athletes in the game of hockey by providing them with innovative training, access to a professional and dedicated staff, while educating them on and providing them with opportunities to realize their full potential.

“Total Package Hockey is so grateful to the Decatur Parks and Recreation Department for this opportunity to partner and grow hockey in Decatur,” said TPH President and Founder Nathan Bowen. “It provides us with a platform to promote recreation and a healthy lifestyle through the game of hockey while providing outstanding entertainment for the community to enjoy at the Point Mallard Ice Complex. These young athletes will be ingrained in the Decatur community, will give back through volunteer opportunities and will represent the city with great pride as they compete for a championship.”

The Point Mallard Ice Complex is located in Point Mallard Park in Decatur. It was completed in 2001 and includes a single 200 x 85 sheet of ice. There are four locker rooms currently available and a new locker room for the Point Mallard Ducks is under construction. There is bleacher seating for 250 and seating/standing room on the glass for an additional 200.

The ice action gets underway on Saturday, September 13, 2014, with an exhibition game against the Nashville Jr. Predators. Admission is free. The home opener is scheduled for September 27^th and plans are underway for family-friendly events and special themed nights. Tickets may be purchased at www.pointmallardducks.com or at the gate. Admission for any home game is $12/adult (ages 12-61), $9/child (ages 5-11), $9/senior (62+), $9/military (with ID) and free for children fours old and younger. Ten game and 20 game packages are also available for purchase.

“The Point Mallard Ducks in the NA3HL provides an opportunity for locally developed players to continue their hockey days without having to relocate. This new junior hockey team also provides the community in Decatur a fast paced high-energy game to attend. Point Mallard Ducks coach Craig Bushey is another example of UAH hockey Alumni serving as part of the community to make North Alabama a more diverse and unique place,” said Ralph Drensek, president of North Alabama Hockey Association.

The NA3HL South Division, which featured the Dallas Jr. Stars, Sugar Land Imperials and Topeka Capitals in 2013-14 has been expanded to six teams for the 2014-15 campaign with the addition of the Point Mallard Ducks, the Nashville Junior Predators and the Texas Brahmas.

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), comprised of 31 teams, is divided into five divisions – Central, East, Frontier, South, and West) for the 2014-15 season. The South Division teams will compete in a 48-game regular season schedule and will take part in the NA3HL Showcase, the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament and the NA3HL Silver Cup Championship Tournament with the other four divisions.

For more information, contact the Ducks office at the Point Mallard Ice Complex at 256.341.4913 or by email at ducks@totalpackagehockey.com. Additional information may be obtained from their website at www.pointmallardducks.com or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pointmallardducks or on Twitter at twitter.com/PM_Ducks.   

Ultimate Frisbee Action Coming to Decatur July 12-13

Approximately thirty teams from across the southeastern United States will make their way to Decatur this month for an Ultimate Frisbee competition. Hosted by Huntsville Ultimate Club, Huckfest will take place July 12-13, 2014, at the Jack Allen Recreation Complex. The USA Ultimate sanctioned event is expected to attract men, women, and co-ed teams from Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama.

Tournament hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 12^th and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 13^th and games will be played on the lower tier and middle tier fields. The event is open to the public with free admission and free parking. The Jack Allen Recreation Complex is located at 2616 Modaus Road SW in Decatur.  

Referred to as “ultimate”, the sport is played by two seven-player squads with a plastic disc with the object of the game to score by catching a pass in the opponent’s end zone. A player is not allowed to run while in possession of the disc, but can pivot and pass to any of the other receivers on the field. Ultimate is a transition game in which players move quickly from offense to defense on turnovers that occur with a dropped pass, an interception, a pass out of bounds, or when a player is caught holding the disc for more than ten seconds. Ultimate is governed by Spirit of the Game™, a tradition of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the players rather than referees. Ultimate is played in more than 80 countries by an estimated 7 million of men and women, girls and boys. For more information, visit www.usaultimate.org.

For more information on Huckfest, visit www.huntsvilleultimate.com and click on Huckfest.