The folks at the American Village have been busy. Over the summer, they have set about creating a &8220;new&8221; American Village with expanded facilities, new buildings, and enhanced programs. Transportation enhancements include sidewalks, roads, and pathways have also been completed or are well underway.

Perhaps the most obvious change to the Village is the addition of the Southern Living Showcase House.

One of only three such showcase houses in America, the home is a three story recreation of the first White House made possible in large part by Southern Living Magazine and James B. and Sylvia S. Braswell.

Visitors will be amazed at the beauty and remarkable detail found in the home while they get a sense of how one can &8220;live with history&8221; in a modern home.

The Southern Living Showcase House will be open until December 2007 with thousands of visitors expected from across the nation.

The culmination of all this work will occur this Saturday and Sunday, October 14th and 15th as the Village celebrates its Grand Reopening.

In addition to opening of the Showcase House, other grand opening festivities include tours of the American Village, musical performances, crafts, Colonial games on the Village Green; reenactments of the Battle of Yorktown, and firing of a Revolutionary War Cannon.

Certainly, progress at the American Village cannot simply be measured by buildings and bricks.

No, progress at this Shelby County treasure is best measured by looking into the eyes of the children who visit there, realizing that they have been forever changed by the experience.

Still, the changing face of the American Village does give us a glimpse of what is on the horizon for the Village; such is certainly to include more buildings, many bricks and countless children departing better prepared to be productive citizens.

Grand Reopening details:

The American Village

Located in Montevallo

Open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday, October 15.

Grand Re-Opening Weekend Admission: Adults $10 includes both Tours of the House and the Village; Students, $5 (discounted admission this weekend only); Children 4 and under, free.