BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC)- An area of Birmingham devoted to remembering the city's role in the civil rights movement is being recognized this year as Alabama's 2012 tourist attraction of the year.

The Alabama Department of Tourism named the Birmingham Civil Right District as the 2012 attraction of the year. The district includes 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The department says the Civil Rights District served as a "ground zero" during the 1963 civil rights campaign.

The tourism department says Kelly Ingram Park was a common gathering spot for civil rights demonstrators in the early 1960s. Statues in the park commemorate a time when police officers turned fire hoses and police dogs on civil rights marchers, including children.

Another famous civil rights landmark, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, was the site of a 1963 bombing set off by Ku Klux Klan members that killed four young girls.

Fred Spicer, Executive Director of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, joined Mike Dubberly today with a look at how the Year of Alabama Food mixes with films and the gardens.

As the state's most visited free attraction, Birmingham Botanical Gardens is eager to take part, presenting a new summer documentary series all about food: the good, the bad and the ugly. The Documentary Film Series will begin on June 24 with "The Weight of the Nation" and continue on six Sundays over the following eight weeks, concluding with "Dirt!" on August 19.

Admission to the educational films is free, with each beginning at 2 p.m. in the Linn-Henley Lecture Hall. No registration is required.

After some films, experts will host a community discussion about their content. For a complete list of dates and films, visit bbgardens.org/filmseries.
 

Bring a chair, the family, and spread your blanket out for a day of local barbecue and blues at the 3rd Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival.

International Blues Contest award winner Grady Champion will be one of the headliners for the festival which will be held Saturday, June 2 at DeBardeleben Park in downtown historic Bessemer. 

Also performing on the main stage will be Earl "Guitar" Williams, Robert Harris, and B.J. Miller, who are all from Alabama. Youngsters can enjoy the Children's Corner that will feature inflatable games, face painting and an assortment of field day games.