Normal Palooza, Walker County State Fair are among upcoming festivals

If you’re marking names off the Christmas gift list, you’ll find a lot of clever ideas just a two-hour drive down I-59 to Birmingham, Ala.

The 35th annual Christmas Village Festival is this weekend in the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. Hundreds of vendors will sell food products, jewelry, home accent pieces, children’s clothing and more holiday decorations than even Santa can handle. It’s two floors of holiday happiness that make a perfect girlfriends’ get-away.

* Closer to home, more than 50 regional artists will be exhibiting at Normal Palooza, the annual street party thrown by Normal Park Museum Magnet School’s PTA. The fundraiser is held at the upper school, 1009 Mississippi Ave., rain or shine. Admission is free and open to the public, with a nominal charge for children’s activities tickets.

“There is music and entertainment the whole day,” says spokeswoman Jennifer Crutchfield. “Butch Ross is performing and Nick Lutsko and the Gimmix are the headlining entertainment.”

The “big popout kids activity,” says Crutchfield, is a “huge inflatable slide called the Kraken.” There will also be a petting zoo, food trucks and marketplace.

* There are almost more activities scheduled than three days can hold at this weekend’s Walker County State Fair, which opens tonight, Nov. 3. Tonight’s admission for Family Night with rides only is free, although there is a rides charge of $1 per ticket or $20 for an unlimited-rides wristband. The remaining three days’ admission is $5 (cash only) for everyone age 6 and older, plus the additional charge for rides.

This is the fair’s third year at Mountain Cove Farms in Chickamauga, Ga. Visitors will find traditional blue-ribbon-vying contests and livestock shows as well as live music, craft and food vendors, children’s activities and an antique car and tractor show.

It’s not too late to submit an entry in either or all the baking, canning, quilting, fruits, vegetables, handcrafts or photography categories. Jenna Stevens, fair committee member, says entries will be accepted until 8 o’clock tonight at the fairgrounds.

The Walker County 4-H Club is sponsoring a decorated pumpkin contest and all entries must be themed to a child’s book. North Georgia Master Gardeners are sponsoring a flower show with nine categories for amateurs. These entries will be displayed all weekend.

The Mountain Cove 5K and Fun Run kicks off Saturday’s events at 8 a.m. Future Farmers of America is holding a rabbit show from 2 to 6 on Saturday. The Miss Fairest of the Fair Pageant for ages 17-24 is Saturday at 7 p.m. followed by a fireworks show at 9 o’clock.

A church service at Manor House will be held Sunday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m. before the fairgrounds open at 1 o’clock.

* The Ocoee Grape Escape, a regional wine festival returns for a fourth year, this time in a single location.

“We’re doing things a little different this year,” says Polk County Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Akins. “Instead of hosting the Ocoee Grape Escape at all three area wineries, the event will be held at one location. We hope this gives folks more of an opportunity to visit with producers and take part in the demonstrations.”

Savannah Oaks Winery in Delano, Tenn., will host the event, which features award-winning wines paired with hors d’oeuvres, a grape stomp and local food producers such as Rafting Goat Cheese and Sweetwater Valley Farm. The UT game will air on the big screen, and programs will detail the history of Ocoee and Caney Creek Village.

Local artists will demonstrate their crafts, including watercolor painter Marie Spaeder Haas from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

The event also kicks off the Ocoee Wine Trail, a self-guided tour of all three wineries in the Ocoee region (the others are Morris Vineyards in Charleston and Ocoee Winery in Cleveland).

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.