It’s not easy to evoke a small-town feel among a city with a population that has grown to around 90,000 in 30 years. In fact, Hoover now stands toe-to-toe with Birmingham itself within the central Alabama metropolitan area. With such rapid growth, many happy residents, and its status as a retail and car buying destination, Hoover has a lot to celebrate, and it intends to do so on Sunday, May 2nd.

Celebrate Hoover Day is a reunion-style day at Veteran’s Park off Valleydale Road (in front of Spain Park High School) where  There will be plenty of family-friendly activities going on throughout the event from 1:30 to 5:30.

Honestly, I’m amazed more BirminghamMoms don’t take advantage of these events. You just cannot beat these community-style venues for family entertainment.

• Meet vendors with products and services you may not have known about (and no pressure, as you’re not in a store or getting an estimate – you’re just casually gathering information).
• The kids get to play around like they were at a state fair, with inflatables, a foam zone, craft area and games. You’d pay good money to do this kind of stuff on vacation. On this day it’s all free!
• Get some things off your to-do list: Document destruction by Cintas and e-cycling by Technical Knock-out. Clear out kitchen desk and bring your old docs and CDs to Celebrate Hoover Day – free up some space!
• Does the hub need convincing? Tell him there’s a car show and he and junior can look at all that shiny chrome while you check out the vendor tent.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a resident; this party is open. No doubt you have shopped at Costco, the Galleria, or Lee Branch and that makes you an honorary guest. If you are a resident, you should make a special effort to see your community pulling together to celebrate its bigger city success with small town fun.