Just when you think your last news update should be sufficient for a while, all sorts of newsy happenings make that baby obsolete. Here�s what�s fresh (for the moment) in Birmingham:

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

It�s one thing to hear the Barber Motorsports Park described, but altogether another to lay eyes on it. Beautiful, magnificent, thrilling, artistic, pure, challenging---all these and a dozen more descriptions come to mind once you�ve actually seen the museum and racing park.

The brainchild of brilliantly successful Birmingham businessman George Barber, the park was designed from the outset to be the finest road racing course in the world. It is that and so much more.

�This facility will be regarded as the �Augusta of Motorsports�,� Barber said. �My intentions are to make sure that anyone who visits this facility will leave breathless and in awe of what they experience while here.�

Nestled in the rolling hills just outside Birmingham, the Barber racing track is a 2.3-mile safe yet aggressive circuit. The 45-foot-wide track consists of 16 turns, fully paved tiered paddock and 80 feet of elevation change. That�s all well and good for the racers of course, but Barber also demanded the circuit be friendly to spectators and welcoming to families. So perfectly manicured and sculpted landscape with wooded surroundings invites spectators to pick a spot and set out a blanket or folding chairs.

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum could well have been just a small complement to the racing track. Instead it holds court on its own, presenting the largest collection of its kind in the world. With more than 800 vintage motorcycles and cars displayed on four floors, this is a showplace of the awesome variety.

The 141,000-square-foot museum is also proving to be one of the most popular venues of choice for conventions booking Birmingham. Landscaping around the museum makes a lush setting for outdoor social functions, and professional event planners make your social planning easy.

Barber Motorsports Park is the new home of the Porsche Driving Experience, high performance drivers education designed to enhance the driving skills of automotive enthusiasts.

The park had its first public race in May with the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Barber Motorsports 250. The American Motorcyclist Association Pro Racing Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship is set for September. Many more high profile car and motorcycle races are in the Barber future.

At Hotels: Awards, Name Changes

Folks who�ve stayed with the Wynfrey Hotel at Riverchase Galleria know what a pleasure it is to be a guest there. With the announcement of new awards, many others know now too. Successful Meetings magazine recently tapped the Wynfrey to receive its Pinnacle Award for the fifth consecutive year. For the 16th year, the American Automobile Association has given the Wynfrey its coveted Four Diamond Award. As if that weren�t enough, the hotel�s Winston�s restaurant was one of four local dining rooms named to a list of Top 10 eateries in Alabama by 10bestrestaurants.com.

Just down the highway, the former Sheraton South is now flying the Hilton flag. The 205-room hotel is now part of the upscale international hotel chain and is conveniently located near several popular shopping areas. The hotel continues to be one of Birmingham�s most active lodging facilities for business travelers. The Hilton has refurbished its public meeting spaces and most of its guest rooms. The hotel has 4,300 square feet of meeting space and a ballroom which seats 600. A business center is also available for guests, along with a full-service restaurant and lounge.

New at the Attractions

On occasion it becomes necessary, especially with certain writers, to challenge their belief that meeting planners and tour operators are interested only in hotel and meeting facility news. This simply is not true. If your delegates and tour guests have a lovely hotel but nothing for them or the family to do, the results can be disappointing.

No disappointment here. Beyond Barber Motorsports Park are other new happenings at area attractions.

The Birmingham Zoo has recently opened a new Children�s Zoo, just the beginning of an extensive zoo expansion. Set to open in phases, the $10 million project is designed to teach visitors about the diversity of wildlife and natural resources in Alabama.

In this first phase, visitors can now get a fish-eye view of an Alabama stream, raised five feet above ground. They also can ride a custom-built endangered species carousel and splash in dancing waters. More fun is found at �Rural Alabama� where children---and adults---can get up-close with cows, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, horses and more. A demonstration beehive is also in the barn.

The Birmingham Zoo sits on 120 acres of land, which also include exhibits of Komodo dragons, red pandas, Indo-Chinese tigers, giraffes, greater kudu and the wacky, always entertaining sea lions.

Downtown, at the amazing McWane Center, an interactive science museum and IMAX� Theater, big plans are underway for several upcoming blockbuster shows. The first of these, Titanic: The Artifacts Exhibit, opens in September and will run through April 2004, featuring more than 300 relics from the wrecked ship.

Birmingham will be the first city in the Southeast to host the show. Other traveling exhibits on the McWane schedule include Tutankhamun: Wonderful Things from the Pharaoh�s Tomb, set to run October 2004 through April 2005, and then Einstein, arriving September 2005.

Book those meetings and tours now to coincide with great exhibits.

And finally�Visionland is back. After a summer of restructuring and selecting new owners, the theme park returned, opening Memorial Day with new rides and a new attitude. Among the additions is Splash Beach Water Park, with a 600,000-gallon wave pool that generates four-foot-high waves and has a sand beach. An eight-story-high free fall drop out speed ride rounds out the new Water Park at Visionland.

And do not forget that the Rampage is up and running. Not for the weak of heart, the Rampage is ranked among the top ten world�s best wooden roller coasters.

And Speaking of Rankings�

Virtually all golfers in this country have heard the good words about Alabama�s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail---beautiful, affordable, challenging. Now a recent edition of Money magazine tells the world. The publication ranks the RTJ Golf Trail as one of the top eight �world-class� vacation spots around the globe.

�Unlike many a public course, these are stunningly beautiful and well-maintained,� reports the magazine.

Thank you.

In other area entertainment, Film Festival Today ranks Birmingham�s young and growing Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival as seventh among �10 Fantastic Film Festival Vacations.�

Writer Chris Gore, who compiled the list, says, �Films are screened at a variety of venues, the most impressive being the historic Alabama Theatre, which seats 2,500. Rave parties are held at the studio, along with an impressive array of panels. Not to be missed.� He continues his praise for the city and the event: �The biggest perk at Sidewalk is the best BBQ food you may ever taste, along with the friendliest people on the planet.�

Golly.

AGolfPlus columnist puts Birmingham�s Senior Tour at the tip-top, number one, head of his list of the best stops on the Senior Tour. He calls the Bruno�s Memorial Classic, played at Birmingham�s Greystone Golf and Country Club, a �wildly successful tournament. Huge crowds, endless perks, heavy media coverage.�

Yeah.

And according to Family Tree Magazine, the Birmingham Public Library is one of the ten best public libraries for genealogy in the nation. The library was ranked second among all libraries offering family history research material. �Genealogy is America�s fastest growing hobby,� says David A. Fryxell, editor-in-chief of Family Tree, �And these libraries are providing exceptional resources for both beginners and experienced researchers.�

Come on down and learn more about Great Aunt Magruder.

Old Supermarket Now New Party Venue

First it was warehouse chic. Now grocery store chic has moved onto the social function scene. Recently opened in the historic Park Lane Supermarket is the new Park Lane by Kathy G. Between its time as a supermarket and now as a party place, the venue was an upscale restaurant. As things would have it, it was simply too large for a restaurant space, so innovative owners congregated and bought the building for social functions and dinner parties. Park Lane provides space for 400 people for a reception and 265 for a seated dinner.

CIRA Circa 2003

When out-of-towners ask for a restaurant recommendation, rarely does a local person suggest a chain. Not that there�s anything wrong with chain restaurants, many offer excellent fare. But so often the experience of dining at a local independent restaurant is among the highlights of a trip. Since the increased visibility of the Council for Independent Restaurants of America (CIRA), Birmingham�s menu of restaurants is more vibrant and abundant than ever before.

According to Birmingham�s most famous chef Frank Stitt, the community has become more sophisticated and culturally tuned in. Visitors are often surprised to find the ambitious ideas used to prepare this incredible food, created with knowledge and care and love. Since the 1980s, Birmingham has evolved into a food-savvy city. Fresh ingredients are abundant because of farming all around the state. To serve a wonderful meal, says Stitt, is �allowing a beautiful moment in a person�s day.�

To learn more about CIRA and those beautiful moments, visit the Web site of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.sweetbirmingham.com. Go to About Birmingham and click on Other Birmingham Info.

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Media Contact: Vickie Ashford +1 205-458-8000 vashford@birminghamal.org