If you’re itching to get out of the house after Christmas, here are some ideas for things to do in Hoover this weekend:
If you like basketball, Hoover High School is having its 2024 Big Orange Classic boys basketball tournament at the school Dec. 26-28, with 40 teams from Alabama and Georgia competing. The Hoover Bucs recently were ranked No. 25 in the ESPN Top 25 and No. 7 by MaxPreps. Tickets are available at gofan.com.
If you’re more into wrestling, the Hoover Bucs wrestling program is expecting 600 to 700 wrestlers from Alabama, Florida and Louisiana to participate in the Scott Rohrer Invitational at the Finley Center in the Hoover Metropolitan Complex on Friday and Saturday. There will be 25 boys teams and 25 girls teams, including teams from Hoover and Spain Park, Hoover coach Anthony Drew said.
The wrestling action should start at 1 p.m. Friday and go til about 8 p.m. On Saturday, wrestlers will hit the mats at 9 a.m. and go until the finals about 1 or 2 p.m., and it all should be wrapped up by 4:30 or 5 p.m., Drew said. Tickets are $15 per day or $25 for both days and can be obtained at gofan.com.
If you’re looking for something else to do, here are some ideas for other indoor entertainment (since there is a decent chance of rain this weekend).
Catch a movie at the AMC theater at Patton Creek (4450 Creekside Ave.) or The Village at Lee Branch (801 Doug Baker Blvd.). I’m not a movie critic and haven’t seen any of these, but some of the movies showing this weekend include “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” “A Complete Unknown,” “The Fire Inside,” “Wicked,” “Moana 2,” “Red One,” “Homestead,” “Gladiator II” and “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch.”
Or if you’d rather be moving around, try your hand — or your feet — at the Sky Zone Trampoline Park at 6009 Tattersall Drive in Tattersall Park. The cost is $23.99 for 90 minutes or $35.99 for all day. There also are monthly memberships starting at $23.99 a month.
WEEK IN REVIEW
If you think you may have missed out on some of the news this week, here’s a recap of some of our stories from Dec. 20-26:
Developer William Kadish made a splash in 2024 with his proposal and request for incentives for a second phase of Stadium Trace Village, making him a finalist for Hoover’s 2024 Newsmaker of the Year. Read more here.
The lineup for the 2025 Southern Voices Festival at the Hoover Public Library has been released, with romance novelist Julia Quinn as the headliner. See more about Quinn, who else will be at this year’s festival and how to get tickets.
The all-state football teams were announced this past week by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Hoover coach Chip English was named 7A Coach of the Year, and Spain Park coach Tim Vakakes was 6A Coach of the Year. See which players from Hoover and Spain Park made the rosters, as well as others on the teams.
Want to know how to dispose of your live Christmas tree? We’ve got you covered. Check out some of your options here.
The StarDome Comedy Club has been helping people laugh for decades. Tim Stephens shares how the entertainment center got its start and how founder Bruce Ayers, wife Che Che Ayers, their daughters Dena Giglio and Gina Zimmerman and son-in-law Rodney Zimmerman have turned the family business into a launching point for many nationally known comics. Read more here.
See how people’s pets got in the holiday spirit in these pet photos supplied by readers.
