ALABAMA ENTERTAINMENT

Latest news and reviews of movies, music, dining, arts and other events in Alabama

Photos by Catherine Cotton / Press-RegisterCharles Barbier's "Flight."

Three years ago our region was struck by a cataclysmic storm that destroyed much of the New Orleans we all knew and loved, along with other familiar places nearby such as Waveland, Biloxi and Bay St. Louis. The hurricane called Katrina left a region traumatized and still scrambling to put the pieces back together.

The arts community was broken and scattered, but many artists took refuge and some of them returned in the aftermath to resume their work and make sense of it all. Not surprisingly, much of their work focused on the disaster that altered their lives and the Gulf Coast landscape.

On Saturday night, WZYP and Railroad Bazaar are hosting a Battle of the Bands at the Von Braun Center's South Hall II and we here at Go: Your good Times magazine decided to enter a band.

We do have some talented musicians. Go Writer Jon Busdeker plays the drums from time to time, schools writer Steve "The Matador" Campbell dabbles with the guitar and advertising executive Christie Vail learned how to play the flute "at band camp."

So, we decided to rehearse a bit at Railroad Bazaar on University Drive. You can see for yourself, it's Go Writer Chris Welch, advertising exec Lacy Pruitt, Vail, "The Matador" and two willing guys from Railroad Bazaar, Gabe and Joseph.

And, you know what, we don't sound have bad.

Well, at least until we started singing.

So, check us out and see if we don't sound a little like Lynyrd Skynyrd ... on acid.

True, the upscale restaurant near Spring Hill, will be the setting for Monday's benefit for the Mobile Botanical Gardens.

Bill Starling / Press-RegisterChef Wesley True works in the kitchen at his restaurant, True, in Mobile.

But he said he was toying with the notion of serving such tasty offerings as smoked scallops with corn soup along with grass-fed hanger steak.

FYFFE -- The town of Fyffe has turned a string of UFO sightings from nine years ago into an annual weekend festival.

The town attracted international attention and developed a mini-industry when hundreds turned up to search the night sky for flying saucers in early 1989.

Now the city of less than 1,000 is holding its fourth Unforgettable Family Outing or UFO Days on Friday and Saturday.

Fyffe Mayor Larry Lingerfelt said the festival has grown every year and the town decided to embrace their reputation as the UFO capital of Alabama.

This year, there will be helicopter rides for the first time at the free festival along with music, hot-air balloon rides and live music.

Well-known Mobile Chef Michael Ivy is putting the finishing touches on his new downtown eatery, Michael's Downtown.

No date is set for the opening, but Ivy is hoping to be up and running very soon. The restaurant, located at 101 N. Conception St., will seat about 35. The menu will change daily, he said.

Ivy was owner of Michael's Midtown Cafe, which closed in 2000 after he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. He underwent a liver transplant last year and said he's in good health these days.

Trussville's Justin Wood came home with $250,000 for winning ABC's 'I Survived a Japanese Game Show'

ABCFinalists Meaghan Cooper, Jusin Wood, and Donnell Pitman get ready to compete under the watchful eye of Rome Kanda and Judge Bob on "I Survived a Japanese Game Show."

"They said if you're physically fit and proud of your hometown and have a big personality, try out for the show," he says. "I was under the impression that it was a reality show in Los Angeles."

But the 24-year-old Trussville man couldn't have been more wrong. ABC flew the contestants to Tokyo, where they competed on "I Survived a Japanese Game Show."

Well, I'm living proof that anybody can do a triathlon.

On Saturday, I survived my first triathlon, the HiWAAY Sprint Triathlon. And, it was a blast. A tired blast, that is.

I finished 392nd out of 471 or so runners with a time of 1 hour, 11 minutes. I think I ran 29 or so minutes for the 3-mile run (first), 31 minutes for the 6-mile bike (that includes a 5-minute hug from mom afterward, ha) and 11 minutes for my 400 meter swim.