Experience the magic of Magic City Art Connection (MCAC) at their 43rd annual contemporary art festival this weekend, starting on Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26! It will feature 175 juried artists, live music, and the Imagination Festival art workshops for kids on Saturday and Sunday. You won’t want to miss Corks & Chefs, either—it’s a foodie’s dream! Read on for all the details and why you should go.

Why You Should Visit Magic City Art Connection 2026

• 175 juried, fine artists from across the state, region, and the country
• Corks & Chefs: A Taste of Birmingham (Saturday & Sunday) 
• Imagination Festival art workshops for kids (Saturday & Sunday)
• Live music and dance performances on stage (Saturday and Sunday) 
• A special exhibition at the Duncan House showcasing the work of Delrico Gibson
• A high school sculpture project with large-scale installations
• Local cultural partners, organizations, and nonprofits
• A café with food trucks and other mouthwatering favorites
• MCAC’s Umbrella Lounges

Magic City Art Connection 2026: Dates, Location, Tickets & Parking

When: Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26. Times vary daily. 

• Friday: Noon to 6 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Sunday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark (20 32nd St. N., Birmingham)

How much: 

• Kids 18 and under: FREE (Imagination Festival – Saturday & Sunday only) 
• $15 Day Ticket (includes Admission any single day OR all 3 days)*

If you buy in advance, it’s $13!

• Corks & Chefs: $75 Single Day ($65 in advance), $115 Two Day ($105 in advance)

Parking: 

• FREE parking in the Sloss Grassy Lot or on the street! 
• You can also bike to MCAC and valet at the Redemptive Cycles booth by the Fest gate.

Whether you’re an art aficionado or you’re just looking for a fun, unique way to spend your weekend (or entertain your kids), you are in for a treat. MCAC’s 43rd Spring Arts Festival will transform Sloss Furnaces into an art wonderland, with vibrant contemporary art programming fun for all ages. And what goes better with art than a nice drink and quality food?

Corks & Chefs at MCAC: Food, Drinks & Tasting Experience

This is for adult foodies who want to sample a ton of high-quality food and drink from local businesses! You get great bang for your buck, with 9 culinary tastings and tons of drink opportunities, from coffee to cocktails.

Where: Main Casting Shed at Sloss Furnaces 

When: Noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 & Sunday, April 26 

How much: $75 Single Day ($65 in advance), $115 Two Day ($105 in advance)

Taste. Sip. Repeat. That’s the motto of Corks & Chefs (C&C) as the event toasts its 29th year—the longest-running outdoor tasting event in the city! This annual spring event highlights local tastemakers with delectable culinary delights for patrons to pair with select wines, craft beer, craft beverages, spirits, cocktails, seated tasting seminars, and (of course!) a southern contemporary art fest! 

Each C&C ticket includes a 29th annual commemorative stemless wine glass, one taste at each Culinary Tasting Table, cocktail tastes from participating bars and restaurants, beverage sampling, free tasting seminars, and 3-day entry to the Magic City Art Connection. (If you’re hoping to participate in a tasting seminar, be sure to sign up at the entrance because there is limited seating!)

When I say this spring’s lineup is stellar, I mean it. Each day will feature nine culinary dishes from top-notch businesses of all types of cuisines from around the city. I’m talking Italian, Indian, Mexican, French, American… there might even be gelato. And did I mention coffee?! If you want to look at the breakdown, keep scrolling for the full list.

Wander in and out of the Casting Shed at your stomach’s bidding to explore and admire the art from the 175 artists exhibiting around Sloss. 

Imagination Festival: Hands-On Art Activities for Kids

This is the real reason you want to bring your kids—MCAC’s interactive workshops are the perfect combo of creative art making and art education! You’ll find the workshops as soon as you enter the Sloss grounds from the 1st Avenue North Viaduct Gate. Led by Birmingham artists and instructors, kids will learn how to transform flat, recycled shapes into 3D “Stabiles,” discover paper can be viewed as a sculptural medium and compose high-relief landscapes, use mist and flow to “stain” expansive textile surfaces with vibrant bleeds and organic patterns, “paint with fabric” with story quilts, and so much more. 

IF Workshops List:

• Walter Moore – Stabile Studio: The Artist Circus  
• Natasia Rose – Layered Gardens: Bradford’s Reclaimed Botanicals  
• Mallie Sedlak –The Floating Wave: Draped Dialogues 
• Savannah Setzer – Our City, Our Threads: The Collaborative Story Quilt  
• Maggie Cortez – Textured Tones: The Rhythm of Color – Gillian Ayres  
• Bailey Hite – The Concrete Pulse: Haring inspired street art  
• Annslyn Pilkington – The Storm: Monk’s Collective Resonance  
• Makayla Greene – The Energy Reef: Amy Genser’s Organic Topographies
• Carson Elmore – Unleash the Wild Beasts! Exploring Fauvism and Paper Cutouts: Matisse  Jamari Rice – Pulsing Patterns: A Kaleidoscope of Layers  
• Rumi Kallenbach – Painting Without Rules: The Frankenthaler Experiment
• Jaden Arnold – A Thousand Folds: The Architecture of a Breeze  
• Nkh Eshé – The Tailored Tempo: Harlem Rebels and Modern Drape  
• Tyler Carlisle – Urban Repetition: The Pop Metropolis  
• Pam Paez – Rhythm & Residue: The Kandinsky’s Chaotic Web  
• Britt Allen – Ms. Yellow Walls: Community Murals and Social Justice Storytelling  Kevin Lovell Spencer – The Kinetic Forest: Patterns of Identity  
• Alexis McCrary – The Infinite Dot: The Kusama Landscape  
• Wes Lander – A Seat at her table: Communal Memories  

Corks & Chef’s Full 2026 Line Up

Here’s a look at this year’s participating restaurants and vendors:

Saturday:

• Cayo Coco Rum Bar & Restaurante (Downtown)
• Cannella Gelato (Downtown)
• daniel george restaurant (Mountain Brook Village)
• Habitat Feed and Social (Mountain Brook Village)
• La Fête (Downtown)
• Luca (Homewood)
• Taj India (Forest Park)
• Tasty Town (Homewood)
• Tre Luna Bar & Kitchen (Brocks Gap)

Sunday:

• Dalle Momo (Caterer, Pepper Place Farmer’s Market)
• El Barrio Restaurante y Bar (Downtown)
• Feast Catering & Culinary Kitchen (Crestline Village)
• Habitat Feed and Social (Mountain Brook Village)
• Locando Brasato (Mountain Brook Village)
• Nightshade Pops (Pop up dinner series, Forest Park @ The General 
• Rusty’s Bar-B-Q (Leeds)
• Rêve (Downtown, Pizitz Bldg)
• The Harrington Pub (Pepper Place sommelier) 

Beverage Features

• Booch Buddies – kombucha (Sunday) 
• Daysol Coffee Lab – coffee (Saturday) 

Cocktail Bars

• Adios 
• Bygones Cocktail Bar 
• Cayo Coco Rum Bar 
• El Tigre 
• Paper Doll POP 
• The Collins Bar 
• The Margaret 

Distributor Partners:

• Alabama Crown Distributing 
• Alabev 
• International Wines & Craft Beer 
• Republic National Distributing Company Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits 
• United Distributing  

Wine, Craft Beer, N/A & Other Beverages

Presented by Alabev:  

• Alabama Beer Company – Birmingham, AL Druid City Brewing – Tuscaloosa, AL  
• Good People Brewing Company – Birmingham, AL 
• Straight to Ale – Huntsville, AL  
• Yellowhammer Brewing Company – Huntsville, AL   

VIP TASTING SEMINARS 

Remember: There’s limited seating, so sign up at C&C Entrance.  

• “Sugar Art & Dessert Tasting” with Pastry Chef Susan Notter and Pastry Chef Jennifer Lyne, Elizabeth Moore Chocolates 
• “Cheese Tasting” with John Litzinger, The Son of a Butcher 
• “Wine Tasting” with John David Conley, Art Collector and Sommelier  
• “Spirit Tasting” with Austin Creel, Sweet Home Spirits 
• “Spirit Tasting” with Joshua Goins, Dread River Distilling Company

Don’t Miss Magic City Art Connection This Weekend

And that doesn’t even begin to cover the list of artists that will be performing live music throughout the weekend… Needless to say, year 43 of Magic City Art Connection is going to be awesome. We’ll see you there!