7th Annual Magic City Mac + Cheese Festival

Community Grief Support’s Junior Board will host the 7th Annual Magic City Mac + Cheese Festival on Sunday, October 20th, 1-4 pm at Back Forty Beer Company. The festival is part-competition, part-celebration of the South’s ultimate comfort food and a FUN fundraiser for Community Grief Support (CGS).

An estimated 3,000+ participants will taste various Mac + Cheese dishes from Birmingham’s favorite restaurants, food trucks, caterers, eateries, corporate teams, and home chefs. Emceed by Janice Rogers, WBRC Fox 6’s Good Day Alabama co-anchor, the M+C Festival is a family- and pet-friendly event, featuring live music by Southern Choice, a kid’s zone, including balloon artists, face painting, and more. There will also be local “Celebrity” and “Kid” judges to decide the overall Mac + Cheese winner. The People’s Choice will also be awarded.

“The Mac + Cheese Festival has become quite an anticipated and well-attended community event, and a tradition for the past six years,” says Catherine Pittman Smith, Administrative Director of CGS. “When one thinks of comfort food, mac ‘n cheese is always the favorite. With the “comfort” CGS brings to loss survivors who are grieving after the death of a loved one, we decided that nothing conveys “comfort” better than what mac ‘n cheese brings.” This year there will be a VIP area for sponsors, with branded M+C T-shirts and nifty commemorative Mac + Cheese sporks.

Community Grief Support provides individual, couples, and family grief counseling; grief loss-specific support groups annually; and community grief education throughout the Greater Birmingham area. No one should grieve alone, and CGS offers these crucial services for adults who have lost a loved one and are struggling to cope with loss. CGS’ mission is to improve the quality of life for bereaved adults who face the challenge of rebuilding their lives without their loved ones – finding hope and healing together.

All proceeds benefit Community Grief Support’s grief services for individuals and families in need. Tickets may be purchased through CGS’ website: communitygriefsupport.org/macfest/. Early Bird tickets are available August 20 for 3 weeks only. Pre-event tickets are $20, day-of tickets – $25, Children 6-12 – $5, Children 5 & under-Free! For interested vendors or sponsors, please contact Catherine Pittman Smith at cpsmith@communitygriefsupport.org or 205.870.8667 for more information.

Community Grief Support originated in the early 1990s as a service of Ridout’s Funeral Home to help families struggling after the death of a loved one. By 1996, the program had outgrown the funeral home’s resources, which galvanized community leaders and volunteers to raise funds to establish CGS as a 501c3 nonprofit. In 2015, CGS merged with Alabama Grief Support Service, enabling CGS to increase its reach and broaden its service area. CGS provides grief counseling, loss-specific support groups, and community education programs. All groups are facilitated by counseling professionals and/or bereavement-trained volunteers. Our programs help loss survivors heal from the psychological, emotional, physical, cognitive, and spiritual effects of grief. #comfortfoodforthosewhogrieve.