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From August 25, 2005...

The place that for decades forged tons of pig iron is set to fire up again this weekend. But this time, the swine of choice will need some sauce or seasonings to satisfy all the firey competitors. I'm Greg Bass and tonight on Tapestry, we've got the culinary arts - and theatrical arts! Also, music from Larry Allen Brown. After this round-up of arts news.

Arts news

For nearly a century, smoke could be seen billowing out of Sloss Furnaces just east of Birmingham's central business district. The furnace produced hundreds of tons of pig iron per day. But the smoke subsided when the furnaces shut down in the early 1970s. Over the next few days, however, the smoke will return. Not a byproduct of pig iron, but rather, pig cooking. Marketing director Mary Head tells WBHM's Steve Chiotakis that money raised from this weekend's Stokin' the Fire Barbecue Festival will help Sloss relive the days gone by.

Interview with Mary Head of Sloss Furnaces

Mary Head is Marketing and Development Director for Birmingham's Sloss Furnaces; she spoke with WBHM's Steve Chiotakis. The Stokin' the Fire Festival runs tomorrow and Saturday and you can participate either as an amateur cook or a taste tester! More details on our website, wbhm.org.

Okay - so you run a small community theater group and you're staging a production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. You need an authentic looking 1920's bar stool, but you don't have a fortune to spend. What do you do? That's the premise theater veterans Ed and Mary Gurney started with when they conceived their new business, Playhouse Incorporated, which has its Grand Opening this weekend in downtown Birmingham. They talked with WBHM's Tanya Ott.

Interview with Ed and Mary Gurney

Ed and Mary Gurney give tours and answer questions about the Playhouse theatre co-op at the grand opening this Saturday.

What's going on in and around the Birmingham area. For additional details, go to our online version of the Community Calendar.

Community Calendar

If you know Birmingham's SouthSide you're probably familiar with Cobb Lane - a quaint, one block brick alley that's home to a restaurant and other small businesses. When musician Larry Allen Brown first arrived in Birmingham, he landed his first gig - playing four nights a week - on the Lane. His latest CD, appropriately titled "Cobb Lane" is a compilation of material that grew out of that experience. This is "The Galway Shawl". (AUDIO MONTAGE) Larry Allen Brown, performing "The Galway Shawl" off the CD "Cobb Lane". He'll perform Saturday night at Moonlight Music Cafe. Like what you hear? We've got more of his music available for download on the Tapestry section of our website, wbhm.org.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott and Michael Krall. Hunter Bell produces the musician profiles and Francesca Rosko tracks community events. We had additional reporting this week from Steve Chiotakis. I'm Greg Bass. Hope you join us again next week!

Support for Tapestry comes from the Jefferson County Commission through the Jefferson County Community Arts Funds administered by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham.