 | Author George Sand (aka Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant) was born on this day in 1804. She wore men’s clothing and smoked in public, pushing the early 19th century social boundaries. Novelist Ivan Turgenev said of her, "What a brave man she was, and what a good woman." |
| Whet your appetite for the holiday weekend with the Light and Water Show at DeSoto Caverns. desotocavernspark.com |
| Library flix aren’t just for kids! Join the Adult Summer Reading Program for a movie night at the Emmet O'Neal Library in |
 | Psychoanalyst Marie Bonaparte was born today in 1882. The great-grand-niece of Napoleon I of France, Marie was a Princess by title. Her interest in (and financial backing of) psychoanalysis was a great instigator in its popularity. Her wealth enabled Sigmund Freud to escape Nazi Germany and it was to her that Freud said, “The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?’” Bonaparte also conducted extensive research on female orgasms. |
| Blind Melon at Workplay. 8pm. Go to workplay.com for details. |
 | Charlotte Perkins Gilman, best known as the writer of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” was born on this day in 1860. The short story illustrated the cultural views on women’s mental and physical health in the 19th century. Gilman experienced what is now believed to be severe post-partum depression after the birth of her only child, which inspired the tale. The great-niece of influential humanists Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catharine Beecher and Isabella Beecher Hooker, Gilman believed that economic independence was the only thing that could really bring freedom to women, making them equal to men. |
 | “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Happy Independence Day. |
| Light up your holiday night with the Thunder on the Mountain Fireworks Extravaganza in Homewood. visitvulcan.com |
 | Veronica Guerin was born on this day in 1958—watch Cate Blanchett portray the Irish journalist in the heartbreaking namesake film, Veronica Guerin. Her life and death inspired fellow Dubliners to crack down on the growing drug trade and clean up the city for good. |
| Go green and go local with the Fresh Market on the Green at Ross Bridge starting at 8:00 am every first and third Saturday through September. See rossbridge.com for more information. |
 | “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” Artist Frida Kahlo was born on this day in 1907. |
 | Today is the 415th birthday of Artemisia Gentileschi, an Early Italian Baroque painter, who is now considered to be one of the most talented painters (besides Caravaggio) of the era. She was the first female painter to become a member of the Academy of Art and Design in Florence, and one of the first females to paint religious and historical themes in a time when these things were considered beyond a woman’s reach. |
| Feeling blue? Well, just indulge, because its National Blueberry Month. Grab a bowl full today! |
 | Author Ann Radcliffe was born today in 1764. Considered the pioneer of the gothic novel, her stories of heroic young girls exploring mysterious and dangerous locales became very popular and influenced the work of writers like Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. Read Austen’s Northanger Abbey for examples of imitation and parody of her work. |
| Strum up some fun with Homewood Library’s Guitar Hero Tournament for rising 6th-12th graders starting at 1:30 pm. Call Heather Miller 332.6621 with questions. |
 | Aphra Behn was born on this day in 1640. She was one of the first women to earn a living as a writer. Behn’s work was revolutionary, discussing race and female sexuality—something not touched upon by the predatory Libertine male writers of her time. Virginia Woolfe said of her, “All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn...for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.” |
 | Laugh by the light of the moon for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame’s Evening on the Moon Comedy Night. jazzhall.com |
 | Don’t flake out on this tasty tour. Make an appointment at the Golden Flake Potato Chips factory. Call 323.6161 or visit www.goldenflake.com. |
| Community Rummage Sale at Bottletree cafe. Starts at 11 am. |
| Wild Sweet Orange CD Release Party at Workplay. Starts at 9pm. Go to workplay.com for more information. |
 | Simone Veil, France’s former Minister of Health, was born on this day in 1927. Veil was a Holocaust survivor (she, her mother and sister were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau) who went on to build a good life and political career, despite losing her father, brother and mother during the Holocaust. She pushed the notable laws of making access to contraceptives easier (1974) and legalizing abortion (1975) and went on to become President of the European Parliament (1979-1982) and still continues to be socially and politically active. |
| Today is National “Embrace your Geekness Day.” Go on, hike up your pants, snort when you laugh, and enjoy it! |
 | Send your 1st through 3rd grade girls to Kowgirls Kitchen’s Dining on Euclid Avenue in Crestline Village with Dr. Seuss class from 2:00 until 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. Email wright.whitney@gmail.com or call 879.3971. |
 | Maggie L. Walker, the first female founder/president of a bank in the US, was born on this day in 1887 to a former slave and an abolitionist. She worked her entire life trying to make life better for African Americans and women—the founding of her bank was due to her idea that people should pool their money together to help each other. Her bank, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, still exists today as the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company in Richmond, VA. |
 | On this day in 1862 Ida B. Wells was born. Wells fought for equality of women and African Americans—especially the equality of African American women in the suffragist movement. 71 years before Rosa Parks, Wells refused to give up her seat on a train, and when they made her move, she sued the railway company. She won her case in the local court but lost when the railroad took it to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Her refusal to stand in the back of suffragist parades garnered her more media attention for her causes. As a further landmark for her time, Wells was one of the first married women to keep her own last name after marriage. |
 | Today is the 160th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention—the first women’s rights convention in the United States. |
| Slithering Snakes! Come check them out at the Dixie Reptile Show at the UAB Hill Center. dixiereptileshow.com/dates.htm |
 | Take a walk in the park with the pre-opening tour of Red Mountain’s new property. The park will be 18 miles of new biking and hiking trails, open fields and picnic areas-- all within 15 minutes of downtown. redmountainpark.org |
 | Amelia Earhart Day honors the birthday of the woman who took aviation and feminism to new heights. |
| Remember Joshua Radin’s gentle whispery/throaty voice from the Elizabethtown soundtrack? If not, make it your business to check him out tonight at Workplay for $15 at 8:00 pm. Visit workplay.com for ticket information. |
 | It may be too early in the year to be singing for figgy pudding, but you can get a foretaste with Dr. Arlie Powell’s Walking Tour of the Fig Orchard in Jemison at 10:30 am today. Check out petalsfromthepast.com for more information. |
| See how peach wine is made at the site of the Ozan Wine Train. For more details, check out: http://www.ozanwine.com/wines.htm. ]
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 | Marty, marty oh so smarty, how does your garden grow? Join Edwin Marty, Director of Jones Valley Urban Farm, as he discusses how to conserve water in the home while maintaining a green garden. Birmingham Public Library Brown Bag Lunch programs begin at noon in the Central Library location auditorium. bplonline.org |
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