Photo Credit: Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Labor Day is closer than you think. The good news is that Birmingham still has plenty going on before summer officially closes up shop — and a few things on this list you’ve probably been meaning to get to since June. Here’s what’s still worth making happen.
The Sidewalk Film Festival
If you haven’t been to Sidewalk yet this year, August 24 through 30 is your window. Birmingham’s celebrated independent film festival returns for its 28th year, screening hundreds of films across multiple downtown venues including the beautifully restored Alabama Theatre. MovieMaker Magazine has repeatedly named it one of the Top 25 festivals in the world, and TIME called it one of the Top 10 “for the rest of us.” Passes are affordable, the footprint is walkable, and the atmosphere is genuinely one of the best things Birmingham does all year. Block off a day — or three.
A Morning at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens
The gardens are at their most lush in late summer and genuinely one of the most underutilized free experiences in the city. The Japanese Garden in particular is worth a long, slow walk. Go before 9 a.m. when it’s still cool, bring coffee, and take your time. You’ve probably said you were going to do this since April.
Dinner on a Great Patio — While You Still Can
The window between bearable and genuinely pleasant outdoor dining is narrow in Birmingham, and it’s closing. The evenings in late August start to soften just enough to make a patio dinner feel like a reward rather than a test of endurance. The Garage, OvenBird, Vino, Juniper — pick one you haven’t been to yet this summer and go this week.
A Birmingham Barons Game
Regions Field is one of the best minor league ballpark experiences in the South and somehow still underappreciated by locals. An evening game in August — cold beer, good food, the downtown skyline behind the outfield — is one of those Birmingham experiences that always delivers. Tickets are affordable and easy to get. There’s no good reason to keep skipping it.
Oak Mountain for a Morning
The top outdoor excursion in Birmingham according to the Best of Birmingham Reader’s Poll — and it earns it. Over 50 miles of trails, lake access, and enough space to feel genuinely removed from the city. Go early, bring water, and make a half day of it before the afternoon heat arrives. The BMX track, the lake swimming area, and the hiking trails all hold up through August.
A Night Out Downtown You’ve Been Postponing
The 2nd Avenue North corridor — Bayonet, Salud, Golden Age Wine Garden — has become one of the best progressive dinner stretches in the city, and summer is the right time to actually do it. Start early, take your time moving between spots, and make a proper evening of it. It’s the kind of night that’s easy to keep meaning to plan and equally easy to actually pull off.
A Day Trip to the Gulf
Gulf Shores took the top spot for Best Weekend Getaway in the Reader’s Poll, and August is one of the last realistic windows before the season shifts. The water is warm, the crowds thin slightly after the first week of the month, and a quick overnight or day trip down I-65 is genuinely one of the better ways to close out a summer. It’s three and a half hours. You have time.
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Summer in Birmingham always feels like it ends faster than it should. The best approach is the obvious one — stop waiting and go do the things you’ve been meaning to do.
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