Moss Rock Festival takes over The Preserve

Eleven years ago, the city of Hoover welcomed the Moss Rock Festival. Since then, the event has been a hit for all surrounding communities and has seen thousands of visitors throughout each weekend.

Held at The Preserve from Oct. 5 to Oct. 6, the festival was able to take some of its inspiration from the harmonious coexistence of the neighborhood with the Moss Rock Preserve. “That sort of helped us come up with the footprint of the festival,” said Alex Kunzman, co-director of the event. “[The residents] really seem to love the themes,” he added, which include art and design, smart living and nature. 

This year, the beer garden celebrated it’s 5th year and showcased breweries from both in- and out-of-state, and The Sweetery offered sweet treat samples from local bake shops.

Visitors were also treated to a smart living marketplace which featured two “tiny houses” that guests were welcomed into, a lineup of live music, a plethora of food trucks and a variety of artists. To strengthen the connection with the outdoors, all artists were either inspired by nature, depicted nature or used natural materials in their work. 

“We’ve really grown the nature area,” said Kunzman, mentioning that this year the event had expanded even more. Guests were invited to take part in yoga trekking, fly-fishing demonstrations, a rock wall and a rope course for the kids. Younger visitors were also encouraged to participate in workshops that fused nature with art.

“[The festival has] just grown by leaps and bounds,” said event co-director Alex Kunzman. “The community has been so receptive of what we’re creating here.”