Moss Rock Festival welcomes thousands

Moss Rock Festival — held in the shadow of one of the area’s most treasured nature preserves —  celebrated its seventh year as Alabama’s premier eco-creative event Nov. 3-4 at The Preserve.

With Hoover’s 350-acre Moss Rock Preserve as its cornerstone, Moss Rock Festival featured 100 nature-inspired artists, an eco-district with green-living ideas, products and services, live music, children’s activities and local foods. More than 15,000 visitors were expected during the free two-day event.

The festival is “an explosion of sights, sounds and smells,” producer-director Eileen Kunzman said. “Everyone at Moss Rock Festival is wearing a smile. There’s something magical about it.”

“I guarantee anyone who comes will not leave untouched,” said Kunzman, an artist and teacher who, after relocating to Birmingham, started Birmingham’s downtown art festival, the Magic City Art Connection.

Kunzman and her company, Fine Art Services, have been part of Moss Rock Festival from its beginning as an event co-hosted by the city of Hoover, The Preserve and founding corporate sponsors including USS Real Estate, developer of The Preserve community. She credits the festival’s continued growth and success to corporate sponsorships — this year including Fox 6, Magic 96.5, Baptist Health Centers, Long Lewis Ford Lincoln, RealtySouth and Technical Knockout — plus an active board of directors, other volunteers, non-profit supporters including The Nature Conservancy, Friends of Moss Rock Preserve, and MyGreenBirmingham.com. She also credits growing support among artists, craftspeople and eco-conscious organizations and businesses.

For more infomration, visit MossRockFestival.com.

Click the thumbnail to the left to see our photos from the 2012 event.