The Lakeside Life Blog
Lewis Smith Lake Alabama | Smith Lake Alabama
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6/12/2023 0 Comments 4th of July Events on Smith Lake  Photo: Fireworks 2020, Albright Family Smith Lake NOTE: THIS BLOG WILL BE UPDATED ANNUALLY - SO AS SOON AS DATES BEGIN TO FIRM UP FOR A GIVEN YEAR, CHECK BACK IN! Get ready to have some fun this year on Smith Lake for the 4th of July. Most folks are planning a very long weekend due to the holiday falling on Tuesday. Many expect an influx of friends and family to entertain all weekend. There is plenty to do all around the large tri-county lake area. Every Independence Day on Smith Lake is special, rain or shine. We're always praying for summer storms to hold back for the weekend's events. If it's perfect weather, you'll see fireworks big and small all around the lake the entire holiday weekend. Just enjoy viewing small celebrations from the water as you boat home carefully and slowly along the lake area after a long day of fun in the sun. If there is prolonged inclement weather in the evenings, most of the main annual events will either reschedule or cancel. There are several big fireworks shows that have been reported so far, see the list below this blog.
Check back to this list to see if any dates are rescheduled due to weather. If a favorite event near you cancels, watch to see if they revise plans, try out another event nearby on another day, or just thoroughly enjoy your own private celebration including plenty of red-white-and-blue decor (check our Amazon store for ideas in Home Decor). Be sure to stock up on sparklers & fireworks, outdoor games, floats and towables, watersports equipment, backyard grill-out items, boating essentials, a charcuterie board for s'mores, and a homemade ice cream churn and all the toppings. Stock up on ALL the favorites of summertime. Then simply kick back and enjoy the fun, laughter, experiences, and daily wind-downs by the fire pit - MAKE MEMORIES! Also, visit the Smith Lake #spotsonsmith checklist on the map by Sue Clements to see some of our favorite spots on the lake while out boating. No matter how you celebrate, the weekend is truly a favorite for all who spend it on Smith Lake. Check out our LOCAL INFO listings for everything from restaurants to shopping and so much more. Our Cullman, Walker & Winston County areas welcome you with wide open arms, and would love to have you spend some time shopping locally for your weekend of entertaining. Have questions? Reach out! Be sure to "@" mention us on social media OR send in photos of the events you attend. Let us know if you want us to post the photos on social media or if you’d like to be in the blog or magazine. Join the our Facebook Group "Smith Lake Community" to keep up with what's going on around the lake in case impromptu events pop up. Be safe, have a blessed holiday and enjoy! (Please let us know well ahead of any other events that need to be added to the list for the entire weekend and remember to keep us updated as time nears based on weather or other factors. Thank you!) (You can find other local area events on our CALENDAR page. Please let us know of any other events to add. Latest update to this blog: 7/1/23. Fireworks Shows/Events
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 Did you know March is National Craft Month? We have many talented crafters right here in the Smith Lake area, not to mention all over the State of Alabama. Spring craft shows will be in full swing soon. We hope you find time to get out and enjoy a few festivals this season. You will LOVE what they have to offer, unique custom products made lovingly by hand, and with a talented artistic eye for detail. Hard to come by in an age of mass production. In fact, one particular local festival will have MANY regional crafters in attendance very soon - The 34th Annual Bloomin' Festival on the grounds of gorgeous St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman, AL. Mark the dates, April 21-22, 2018, and plan to attend. It's a must-do in our area. You can get more information about the festival on their Facebook page: @bloominfestival We also want to take a moment to shout out at least a FEW of our Smith Lake area crafters as well. There are many - but these are a few in particular that we have noticed on social media just recently. We have found they are extremely talented in their niche, and fortunately for us, they are accessible and convenient - right here in the area - lakeside!  2016 Alaska vacation - Connor, Audrey, Jill & John Strickland Meet John & Jill Strickland - Cullman area residents - Jill is a wife & mother, a crafter and so much more. Not only can Jill sew all kinds of beautiful custom items, but she and her husband John also build small wooden furniture such as adirondack chairs, benches, picnic tables, swings and bedswings. John enjoys the wood work, and he puts a lot of hours and love into each piece he creates. They have a special personal reason behind much of their work, it is a loving grief therapy for this incredible family. Look for an upcoming article in The Lakeside Life magazine about the Stricklands, their little growing company, and their family journey. Proceeds from their work benefit the WSCC Future Foundation Scholarship Fund in the name of John Connor Strickland. Contact them now, and they can help create you a one-of-a-kind piece that you'll treasure for many years to come. You can find them on Instagram: @johnwjill - please look them up very soon!  Meet Sandra Heaven "Heaven & Earth Pottery" & Diane Sharron "Creations in Clay" #brushycreekpotter - These two lovely ladies are residents of the Arley community, and they are volunteer pottery teachers at Meek High School & Middle School. Sandra has been an art instructor most of her life, having taught art classes at Wallace State for over 25 years. A few years ago, not long after moving to Smith Lake from Mississippi, Diane signed up for a class as a student with Sandra, and became a quick study. The two ladies formed a bond and a pottery partnership.  Sandra Heaven They enjoy different styles, Sandra primarily enjoys turning clay pieces on the pottery wheel, and Diane enjoys free form clay design. All of their pieces are so unique and detailed. The glazes are painstakingly hand mixed - there's an art just in the chemistry of these mixes. They can obtain glazes from traditional colors & types to deep, rich, rustic tones and styles of "dipping" - the possibilities are endless with these artists. It seems there is nothing they can’t do with the glazes that help take the pieces to that next level of beauty. All pieces are lovingly designed with the artists' fine eye for detail - incredibly beautiful! In addition to the classes they offer for the Arley school system, they also offer private group lessons as well.  Diane Sharron Obviously you can request custom pieces, but even better - sign up for a class very soon - no better therapy in the world than "arting" - AND you get to take your very own handiwork home. Their shop is located on the school grounds, and they offer very reasonable rates, with class times that are sure to match your schedule. Contact them any time - Sandra Heaven @ 205-384-4332 www.heavenandearthpottery.com and Diane Sharron @ 601-260-9697 or on Instagram: @dianesharron - be sure to watch for a future article in the magazine on this local studio, you'll be amazed other awesome things these ladies do for our community!  Christine Williamson Christine Williamson - a spicy Cajun transplant in our midst - originally from New Orleans, but now, luckily for all of us, she made her way to this area and is now a part of our Smith Lake family. She still has family in New Orleans, and it will always be “home" as well, but home is where the heart is, and she's definitely got a soft spot now for the lake community. Christine is an incredible seamstress, we think that she could execute nearly any item you can imagine involving sewing. She is currently completing her new sewing studio as we write this. She'll finally have a designated space all her own so her creativity has room to breathe. We can't wait for our studio visit soon, she's very close to moving in all her supplies right now, and getting everything nicely organized.  As she awaits the completion of the new studio, she is excited to plan new projects for the future, and has already taken on some custom quilt designs. She obviously makes quilts for sale, and builds commissioned quilts, but also sews custom items like tote bags, coasters, ornaments and stockings. Custom orders are always welcome! Her artistic goal is to combine function and beauty, she is always looking for vintage and unique fabrics, and will advise you what can be done with your own materials upon consultation. Make plans to go visit Christine as soon as you can. Find her on Instagram and Facebook: @upclearcreek - or try email cometw@gmail.com  Bryan & Carol McFee hiking in the William Bankhead National Forest McFee's Wodshop is the creation of Bryan and Carol McFee in Crane Hill, AL. They are both wood turners. Carol is a "spindle" turner. She makes bud vases, handles for bottle openers, ice cream scoops, pizza cutters, back scratchers, and similar items. The vases are all sizes, and we recently did a giveaway for a matched pair that were hard to let go. They were small, dainty and so beautifully detailed. We fell in love. Bryan primarily turns bowls. GORGEOUS bowls with veins of surprising colors in the wood grain, each one unique and precariously turned and polished to perfection. He also makes coffee tables and end tables. He takes special orders if it is something that he feels he can "do justice to." They use only local hardwoods that they harvest themselves. Most of the trees that they use are dead, dying, or already on the ground. Occasionally they will remove a tree when asked to. As the trees die, decay sets in. In wood turner parlance this is called spalting. It creates the beautiful colors and lines that are so prominent in their work. Bryan jokes "We throw the wood out in the front yard until it starts to grow mushrooms, then we know that the wood is ready!" This does sometimes create problems if the decay goes too far. Then it gets "punky". This means that it is too rotten to work with. It is always a fine line between "just right" and "too far gone." They love for people to drop by and visit them in their shop. In true southern fashion, they have a lot of extra chairs for company. They are a beautiful couple, you will love every second of time you get with them. Check them out on Facebook today: @McFees Woodshop and you may contact Bryan by email: bryanmcfee0425@gmail.com or phone: 205-541-0658. Again, please look up ALL of these fine artisans on social media, and make sure you tell them you were sent by The Lakeside Life Team. We love our local crafters and artists - all of them - far and wide throughout Alabama! If you know of someone we haven't met yet, please send them our way by emailing us at thelakesidelife@gmail.com or send us a PM/DM on Facebook or Instagram: @thelakesidelife .
Also, be on the watch for more information on these fine Smith Lake people in future content from The Lakeside Life Team. It's fun for us to learn more about the talented folks in our midst - but take it a step further - reach out to them for some custom unique pieces that will become treasured family heirlooms in years to come. See ya lakeside! The Lakeside Life Team 11/1/2017 0 Comments Our Digital Version is here! If you've been ready to get your hands on a copy of The Lakeside Life, but haven't been successful ... you are in LUCK!
Our digital versions are now live! You can access digital magazines in the future by using the link below. Enjoy! The Lakeside Life 10/1/2017 0 Comments Events on Smith: October With Fall kicking into gear, the Smith Lake area takes a different turn, and settles into a slower pace, but still offers so many exciting things around the lake! Check out the areas events below:
If you have events you'd like for us to feature, please email us at thelakesidelife@gmail.com. 9/11/2017 0 Comments Events: Smith in September
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