Next holds second annual Birmingham’s Big Night Out

BIRMINGHAM — After last year’s success, Birmingham Next will be holding another year of Birmingham’s Big Night Out at 7 p.m. April 4 at the Daxton Hotel, 298 S. Old Woodward Ave.

Much has happened since last year’s Birmingham’s Big Night Out, including the  purchase of the YMCA building as the new Next facility. Birmingham’s Big Night Out is a major fundraising event for Next and will help raise money for their transition into their new home.

“It’s just a really lovely community event that brings leaders together and residents as well as supporting Next and our future efforts to move into the Y and all that will entail as far as renovating that building,” Christine Braun, Next’s executive director, said.

Next board member Stuart Jeffares said they hope to encourage an overall sense of community through this event.

Musical guests will grace the audience with a fun night of exciting tunes. Mark Randisi, who performed last year, will return.

“We chose to bring him back again because he was so well received last year,” Braun said.

This year, they also decided to add a performance from The Unforgettables to the night.

Birmingham’s Big Night Out will consist of an overall vibe of a 1930s-40s nightclub, with strolling appetizers and desserts, and special surprises.

After the first year of any event, it is common for organizers to fine tune it for the following years. In this second edition of Birmingham’s Big Night Out, Next will be making some minor changes, such as setting the venue up with smaller and more intimate tables.

“We’re adding some special surprises that may add to the excitement,” Braun said.

Jeffares said that after last year’s event, they reached out to people who went to the event and asked them what they thought went well and what could be improved.

“We’ve worked very hard on the things that people thought could be improved and fine-tuned the program,” Jeffares said.

For instance, this year there will be more opportunities to learn about Next’s services and programs.

Something that remains the same as last year is the venue: Daxton Hotel, which Jeffares said is a major sponsor of the event.

More information on the event and tickets can be found at birminghamnext.org.