Moss Rock Festival Returns to Hoover Met Complex for 21st Year

The Moss Rock Festival will return to the Hoover Metropolitan Complex for its 21st year on Saturday, November 7, and Sunday, November 8. The event, described by organizers as an eco-creative weekend, serves as a long-standing November tradition in Hoover. Gates open at 10 a.m. on both days, with Saturday hours ending at 5 p.m. and Sunday hours ending at 4 p.m. The complex is located at 5500 Stadium Trace Parkway, and parking is free.

Chase Bank serves as the presenting sponsor for the 2026 edition, a partnership that festival organizers announced in September. The festival is operated by the Foundation for Arts and Cultural Connections, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that also operates under the name Find Art Birmingham. Since its founding, the event has centered on three themes: nature, art and design, and "smart living," a term organizers use to describe sustainable products and ideas for daily life. The 20th anniversary edition last year drew more than 100 artists working in mediums including clay, fiber, painting, printmaking, jewelry, furniture, photography, wood, metal, glass, and mixed media.

Tuscaloosa mixed-media painter Penny Dobson is the featured artist for 2026. Her work anchors the festival poster and will be displayed in a dedicated exhibition. Dobson, a retired art teacher, paints animals, birds, and flowers in oils on repurposed vintage objects. Her substrates include antique alarm clocks, dresser mirrors, and a canvas constructed from parts of a 19th-century reed organ. She incorporates seed beads, gold leaf, and handmade papers into her pieces. Instead of signing the front of her work, she affixes a penny minted in the 1970s, the decade of her birth. Her poster piece, titled "Songbird," depicts a goldfinch painted on a violin. In an artist statement on the festival website, Dobson said, "I just have never liked signing the front of my work."

A new initiative called Take Root: A Tree Legacy Project joins the festival this year. Collin Williams, a professor of art and director of new media at the University of Montvallo, will lead a printmaking workshop and exhibition. Through a partnership with Cool Green Trees and the Jefferson County Greenways Commission, the public authority that operates Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain Park, and Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, visitors can enter a drawing for a tree sapling. They can also pick up pollinator seed packets at the Take Root booth.

Familiar features of the festival are scheduled to return. These include the Nature and Smart Living Market, the Sweetery, live music and dance on the Crescent Stage, food trucks at the Festival Cafe, and hands-on art workshops for children at WonderKid Studios. bDot Architecture will also present a design exhibition alongside Dobson's work.

The Planet Project, the festival's school outreach program, has an insect theme for 2026. Students build large-scale sculptures from recycled materials for the challenge titled "Small Wonders | Big Impact: Insects Above, Below and All Around." The finished pieces will be displayed on the festival grounds.

The Moss Rock Beer Garden marks its 15th year. This tented and open-air craft tasting event runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on both days. Admission includes a commemorative 13-ounce Belgian glass, samples from Alabama and other breweries, special brews from local homebrewers, wine, beer floats, and snacks. The day's college football games will be shown on Mr. Mancave's multiscreen display wall.

Festival admission is $13 in advance and $15 at the gate, with a single ticket covering both days. Kids and students 18 and younger enter free. Beer garden tickets cost $40 in advance, with orders due by November 6, and $45 at the gate. Both ticket types include entry to the festival for the weekend. Advance buyers are guaranteed the 2026 glass design, while gate buyers receive it only while supplies last.

The full artist gallery, Crescent Stage lineup, and ticket information are available at mossrockfestival.com.