Over the last several days, we’ve looked at some interesting people from Alabama’s history. Today, we’re looking at an interesting event and one that – at least in part – will be recreated this weekend.

The city of Madison in Madison County is celebrating what it calls “Christmas Capers” Saturday at 4 p.m. The quaint downtown area of this booming city will be transformed into what organizers call a “winter wonderland” during this time that will include the throwing of rubber chickens off a roof. Why you ask?

According to organizers, during the Great Depression, a Madison man by the name of Doc Hughes started a tradition of throwing live chickens off his drug store roof. The birds, which would sometimes take flight and prompt a chase, were marked with a tag that was redeemable for a prize within the store. Seems awfully close to a famous WKRP in Cincinnati episode to me.

The chickens didn’t only come with a prize – they were the prize. It was the Depression after all, and a chicken meant dinner for many. The event stopped at Holladay’s death in the 1970s but was revived in 2019 for the city’s 150th anniversary.

And, since the Madison Station Historic Preservation Society can’t throw live chickens, they’ve opted for the next best thing with Holladay’s grandson tossing rubber chickens off the top of his old drug store. Catch and chicken and win a prize. As far as I know, it’s the only chicken-throwing Christmas event in Alabama.

Where will medical marijuana be sold in Alabama?

Companies that have been awarded licenses by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission plan to dispense products in 37 locations in 21 cities across the state, according to the license applications.

The law passed by the Legislature in 2021 authorizing medical marijuana placed caps on how many licenses could be issued and how many dispensary sites licensees could have.

The law allowed up to four dispensary licensees and three sites for each. The law allowed up to five licenses for integrated companies that can have up to five dispensaries each. That adds up to a maximum of 37 allowed.

Here is where dispensaries are planned, according to the license applications:

• Montgomery, 5
• Mobile, 4
• Athens, Birmingham and Dothan, 3 each
• Cullman, Foley, and Opelika, 2 each
• Attalla, Bayou La Batre, Daphne, Decatur, Demopolis, Florence, Gadsden, Loxley, Monroeville, Oxford, Talladega, Troy, and Tuscaloosa, 1 each.

Dispensaries can only operate in cities and counties that have approved ordinances or resolutions allowing them.

Pearl called USC-Auburn tickets ‘the hottest tickets in Neville Arena history.’

While Auburn’s men’s basketball team has met up with the USC Trojans three times in program history, the Tigers have never hosted the Trojans. That all changes Sunday afternoon as USC makes its way to The Plains for a noon tipoff in what’s been a highly anticipated matchup since it was announced in June of 2022 that the two programs would be teaming up for a home-and-home series.

With all the hype comes high prices. As of Thursday, the cheapest ticket to Sunday’s game on Ticketmaster was a standing room only ticket for $153. On SeatGeek, the cheapest was a standing room only ticket for $98. On StubHub, the cheapest was a standing room only ticket for $104. On VividSeats, the cheapest ticket is $116.

Conversely, the most expensive ticket was listed on StubHub — a seat in section 111, which would run its buyer $2,747.

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