Schools get ready for a street party

Teachers, students and neighbors will take to the street for the second annual Glenwood Road Block Party on Saturday for a celebration designed to highlight the arts at Keppel Elementary, Toll Middle and Hoover High schools.

Glenwood Road between Concord Street and Virginia Avenue will be closed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the festivities. Admission is $2.

The event will include live music, art, a ceramics sale, activity booths, a rock-climbing wall, water-balloon race, food and drink and an auction, organizers said.

“This is a wonderful event to celebrate the visual and performing arts across our K-12 Hoover cluster community,” said Keppel Principal Mary Mason. “Keppel also has a wonderful silent auction to raise money for our school.”

Students from Daily High School will also oversee the creation of a mosaic mural that will be installed on the quad at Hoover High School. The goal, school officials said, is to expand the mural during the block party each year.

The arts celebration was first conceived by Hoover High Principal Jennifer Earl.

“I came up with the idea last year with the goal of celebrating the arts in this community,” Earl said. “I wanted it to be in the street because I wanted the community to see the amazing, exceptional things that these kids are doing.”

The inaugural event attracted a few thousand people, Earl said, and she is hoping for a similarly sized crowd this year.

“The planning has gone very smoothly,” Earl said. “It is a collaborative event.”