Bell Center holds Tailgate Challenge

It’s no secret that almost everyone in Alabama loves college football, so it makes sense that The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs uses the sport — and one of the most popular rituals surrounding it — as the theme of its largest annual fundraiser, the Tailgate Challenge.

The Bell Center will host the event — a great way for supporters of the center to celebrate the return of football and show off their team spirit — at its facility in Homewood Aug. 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Attendees will be able to taste a variety of tailgating food at various tents staffed by college fans. Celebrity judges will be on hand to judge each of the teams on most team spirit, best tasting food and best all around.    

In addition to the team rivalries, the event will feature live music and kid-friendly events and activities.

“There is great camaraderie among all of the teams and the fans,” the center’s Fund Development Director Kelly Peoples told AL.com in 2014. “Although teams do get very competitive with the awards and being the ‘best,’ everyone has fun together.”

Since 1984, The Bell Center has provided early intervention services for more than 1,000 infants and toddlers from Central Alabama at risk for developmental delay, according to the organization’s website. Children come with a variety of special needs and diagnoses, including autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, and receive help in such areas as language, cognition, self-help, motor skills and social skills.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 4-11 and are available online. For sponsorship information or to reserve a spot for a team tent, contact Peoples at 879-3417 or kpeoples@thebellcenter.org. The Bell Center is at 1700 29th Court S. For more information, go to thebellcenter.org.