The Suburban Newspaper for Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County
OVER THE MOUNTAIN
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JOU RNAL otmj.com
th
ursd ay, oct ober 3, 2013
V ol . 23 #19 Celebrating Jewish life: LJCC’s CultureFest offers two months of activities
about town page 3
Sibyl Temple lights up to promote traffic safety
news page 14
Sally Johnson of Vestavia Hills is a charter member of the Bluff Park Art Association and helped organize the first Bluff Park Art Show 50 years ago. The photo behind Johnson is called “Circumference” and was taken outside of her art studio.
Fifty Years of Fine Art Nationally-recognized Bluff Park Show Began as School Fundraiser Story by Keysha Drexel • Photo by Lee Walls Jr.
Sally Johnson said it seems like just yesterday that she and other parents with children at Bluff Park Elementary School in Hoover banded together to raise money to build the school’s first library. But it has actually been half a century since the idea of the Bluff Park Art Show was born out of the desire to give back to the community through the love of art.
Johnson, who now lives in Vestavia Hills, is a founding member of the Bluff Park Art Association, which will host the 50th annual Bluff Park Art Show on Oct. 5.
“How did 50 years go by? It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since we started all this,” she said. “And it doesn’t seem like I should have turned 80 this year.” Named one of the state’s top events for 2013 by the Alabama Department of Tourism, the Bluff Park Art Show has grown from a way to pay for a school library to a nationally recog-
Hoover family discovers a whole new world on mission trip to Africa
life page 16
See Bluff Park Art, page 8
Women’s Health t
Strength in Numbers
Young Breast Cancer Survivors Find Support Through Network P. 10
Circling the Wagons u
Family, Friends and Faith Help Vestavia Woman Battle Breast Cancer P. 10
Fashion show raises money for Mountain Brook schools
social page 20
boo at the zoo P. 4 • Homewood Rotary Names New Leaders p. 10 • Mountain Brook approves budget p. 15 • enchanted evening p. 18