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FROM STAFF REPORTS

 CALERA– Calera Main Street’s First Friday festival is coming around again on Friday, May 5 in Downtown Calera.

The event will feature music from DJ Fuzzy, multiple food trucks, vendors, a kids zone, the Second Annual Calera Cornhole Tournament and more.

Sav Mor Food Outlet is May’s Presenting Sponsor and the tournament is produced by Killin’ Time Cornhole.

Registration is open now for social and competitive division cornhole teams. All the proceeds from the tournament will go directly to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Contestants can download Scoreholio in the App Store and select the Killin’ Time MS Cornhole Tournament to pre-register your team. Late registration and payment will be accepted onsite that night.

Ann Davis, a longtime Calera resident and wife of Bill Davis of Sav Mor Food Outlet has been involved with the MS Society for many years now. Ann struggled for several years before being properly diagnosed with MS in 2010 after many doctors, tests and misdiagnoses.

Bill and Ann have been active fundraisers through the MS Walk and other local events for the National MS Society. This is the third year Ann has collaborated with Calera Main Street and local merchant, PLANT, to give away succulents with a donation to “MS Succs!”

“The National Multiple Sclerosis Society exists because there are people like me with MS,” Davis said. “Their vision is one I can get behind – a world free of MS. Everything they do is focused on that, so people affected by MS can live their best lives as we stop MS in its tracks, restore what has been lost and end MS forever.”

With this year’s event falling on Cinco de Mayo, Calera Main Street decided to include a few special additions to the fun. Attendees will have a chance to cast their vote for Calera’s Best Salsa in the 2023 Calera Salsa Showdown. Local Mexican restaurants Zapopan, Las Mesas Mexican Grill and Mama Coco’s are among the contestants donating their most popular salsa

for a public blind tasting to vie for the title! Calera Main Street will also be selling margaritas and Mexican beer as a special fundraiser for Main Street during the festival.

The time for this month’s event is being extended by an hour to allow more time to complete the tournament. Guests are invited to arrive early for the dedication of the newly restored Coca-Cola mural in the Calera Courtyard at 4:30 p.m. Immediately following, the festival will kick off at 5:00 and run until 9:00 p.m.

Calera’s First Friday is held for the entire community and promotes the revitalization efforts of the historic district and its downtown merchants, while providing unique products, entertainment, and offerings for the people of Calera and Shelby County. The festival invites a variety of artists, designers, makers, and local producers. The six-month festival series features

live music, performances, a kid’s zone, popular food trucks and other sponsored activities with a different theme each month.

The Downtown Calera event is held monthly through August from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM in the Calera Courtyard, 1120 17 Avenue, behind the shops in the historic downtown district.

Those interested in being part of any future First Friday event can email events@downtowncalera.org for more information.