Mapped bike routes in the Fairhope area.

Visit theSocialGroove and Friend me!
To my knowledge, this is the first local social media site for Mobile and Baldwin County, Alabama. It’s a lot like Facebook, but with local members, local topics, local flavor! It’s cool, I like it!! Please Friend me when you join up. There is a free iPad for the first member that gets 500 friends. Today I joined and have two friends…check it out and see how you like it.

Don’t miss the great music at this year’s L.A. Songwriter’s Festival! Only $10 admission each day.

September 16, 17, 18, 2010 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

7:00 – 11:00 PM

Yes, these dates are correct. The poster image at the left was a proof, dates not accurate.

See the Festival Facebook Page

I just found this very cool website today. You can use it to compare cost of living, real estate, climate, schools, crime, etc. for any city vs. Fairhope. In some cases, the statistics are quite surprising. In almost all cases, it explains why Fairhope is one of the Best Places to live!

In fact, you can use it to compare any two cities!!!

www.BestPlaces.net

Click to enlarge.

Make your own funky word map at Wordle.net!

“Marietta Johnson Memorial”

I enjoyed this blog post and video about Marietta Johnson, the Organic School, and Museum posted by Mary Lois Timbes on her blog.

“My sister-in-law, Maggie Mosteller Timbes, has created a video with herself as Marietta Johnson, the visionary educator who founded Fairhope’s School of Organic Education in 1907. Maggie is director of the museum, which is one of the oldest buildings in Fairhope, located on the School Street side of Faulkner Community College campus in Fairhope. As you’ll see from the video, it’s worth a visit!

Click image to connect to video.

The Utopian Fairhope is a collaborative effort between two Alabama film companies Feather Head Productions of Fairhope and Scovil Productions of Mobile. Andrea Holloway head of Feather Head Productions is the Executive Producer and Gary Scovil of Scovil Productions is Co-Producer. Rounding out the team is business manager Stan Zimmerman and production assistant and second cameraman Corey Lipscomb. The production crew has been filming a documentary about the quaint southern town of Fairhope Alabama.

The film is shown through the eyes of a newcomer to Fairhope, Gary Scovil, who became inspired by the unique community, Entering the town I couldnt help being struck by its beauty. The inspiration leads him to collaborate with life long Fairhope resident Andrea Holloway to make a documentary film encompassing many of the things that make Fairhope a wonderful place.

Fairhope was built upon a belief in the Arts that still continues to grow. This little town has historically been a haven for free thinkers such as artists, authors, sculptors, musicians, photographers, and the like. The film focuses on outstanding artists within the community. Set to a beautiful backdrop, these scenes are accompanied by music from multiple award-winning film score producer Brian Keane as well as artwork from local talent some of which is recognized around the world. These many beautiful scenes of the area range from sunsets on Fairhopes pier on Mobile Bay to the Eastern Shore landscape of cotton fields and pecan orchards.

“The Utopian Fairhope” was produced by Scovil Productions.

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983… From the world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: “Why did God have to select you for such a bad disease”?

To this Arthur Ashe replied: “The world over, 50 million  children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the  grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD ‘Why me?’. And today in pain I should not be asking GOD ‘Why me?’ “

I have to admit I don’t know how the Fairhope “writer-in-residence” gets picked, but someone does, in fact I expect the Fairhope Center for Writing Arts, Inc. knows!

We have had visiting writers from time to time,who use the cottage while they explore the area, write, and interact with the community.

Please comment if you know the whole story!

One Fairhope tradition, the Summer Antique Show, is in full-swing with 33 antique dealers traveling from all over the Southeast to display and sell their treasures at the Fairhope Civic Center.

Noteworthy was this display of antique linens. Dealers offered all kinds of quality antiques from jewelry to furniture. The show continues on Sunday afternoon from noon until 5:00pm.

See our previous blog post for a $1 off coupon on admisssion!

Click image to see larger photo.