DINAR Grotto - Birmingham, ALA

09/25/2025

🔥 Alabama Master Masons 🔥

Headed to Grand Lodge this year? Here is your chance to step into the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm — better known as the Grotto.

The Grotto is Masonry’s playground for Master Masons. It is where fellowship, fun, and good times meet a serious purpose — supporting our Humanitarian Foundation, which provides dental care for children with special needs.

For the first time ever, all three Alabama Grottoes are joining together to host a Grand Lodge Grotto Class. It has been years since a class has been offered during Grand Lodge week — and now you can be part of this historic moment.

📅 When: Tuesday evening, November 11, 2025
📍 Where: Grand Lodge Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Montgomery

⏰ Schedule (tentative and subject to Grand Lodge communications):

Officers report by 5:30 PM

Prospective Prophets report by 5:45 PM

Work begins promptly at 6:00 PM so you can enjoy dinner afterward or travel home

The Grottoes of Alabama

🟠 Dinar Grotto (Hoover) – Meets 3rd Friday, 7:00 PM, Hoover Masonic Lodge
🔵 Al Hassan Grotto (Grand Bay and Mobile) – Meets 1st Tuesday, 7:00 PM, 9905 Grand Bay Wilmer Rd Grand Bay
🟠 Flo Bama Grotto (Atmore) – Meets 3rd Thursday, 6:00 PM, Carney Masonic Lodge Atmore

⚠️ You must sound off if you intend to join ⚠️
We must have a count in order to host this class. A full body of officers is required to open a Grotto and initiate new Prophets.

This is a once in a year opportunity to come through a class with brethren from across the entire state.

👉 Call Brother Zachary Grizzard or complete the registration form to reserve your spot:
🔗 https://forms.gle/W2ZwqY1VnDr7F1m56

Welcome Master Mason. This form is to register your interest in the Grand Lodge Grotto Class, a joint effort of Dinar Grotto (Hoover), Al Hassan Grotto (Grand Bay and Mobile), and Flo Bama Grotto (Atmore). Date: Tuesday evening, November 11, 2025 Location: Grand Lodge Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Montg...

08/27/2025

📣 Attention Alabama Master Masons 📣

Are you headed to Grand Lodge this year? Have you ever thought about joining the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, better known as the Grotto?

The Grotto is Masonry’s playground for Master Masons. It is a place where friendship, good fellowship, and fun are at the heart of everything we do while also supporting our national Humanitarian Foundation, which provides dental care for children with special needs.

This year Alabama’s three chartered Grottoes are joining together to host our Grand Lodge Grotto Class. To our knowledge this has never before been hosted and attended by all three Grottoes in Alabama at the same time. It has been years since a class has been held during Grand Lodge week, and now is your chance to be part of something special.

📅 Date: Tuesday evening, November 11, 2025

Location: Grand Lodge Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Montgomery, Alabama

Schedule (tentative and subject to change due to Grand Lodge communications):

Officers report by 5:30 PM

Prospective Prophets report by 5:45 PM

Work begins promptly at 6:00 PM so all may attend dinner afterward or travel home if commuting

The Grottoes of Alabama

🟠 Dinar Grotto (Hoover AL) – Meets 3rd Friday at 7:00 PM at Hoover Masonic Lodge

🔵 Al Hassan Grotto (Grand Bay and Mobile AL) – Meets 1st Tuesday at 7:00 PM at 9905 Grand Bay Wilmer Rd Grand Bay AL

🟠 Flo Bama Grotto (Atmore AL) – Meets 3rd Thursday at 6:00 PM at Carney Masonic Lodge Atmore AL

⚠️ You must sound off if you intend to join ⚠️
We must have a count in order to host this class. A full body of officers is required to open a Grotto and initiate new Prophets.

This is a once in a year opportunity to come through a class with brethren from across the entire state.

👉 Please call Brother Zachary Grizzard or complete the form below to reserve your spot:

Welcome Master Mason. This form is to register your interest in the Grand Lodge Grotto Class, a joint effort of Dinar Grotto (Hoover), Al Hassan Grotto (Grand Bay and Mobile), and Flo Bama Grotto (Atmore). Date: Tuesday evening, November 11, 2025 Location: Grand Lodge Ballroom, Embassy Suites, Montg...

08/26/2025

Shrine or Grotto… What’s the Difference?

When we look at the Grotto and the Shrine today, it is easy to think of them only in terms of their charities. The Shrine is known worldwide for its hospitals for children, and the Grotto is known for its Humanitarian Foundation and its Dental Care for Children with Special Needs. But it is important to remember that both began simply as outlets for fun and fellowship among Master Masons, and only later did they take on national philanthropic missions.

The Shrine, founded in 1872 in New York by William J. Florence and Dr. Walter Fleming, was first and foremost a playground for Masons. Its early days were filled with parades, feasts, music, and camaraderie. For decades it was strictly a fraternal and social order, offering Masons a chance to relax and enjoy one another’s company outside the solemnity of the Lodge. It was not until the twentieth century that the Shrine selected its great cause, the Shriners Hospitals for Children, which have since become a landmark of Masonic philanthropy.

The Grotto, founded in 1889 by LeRoy Fairchild and a group of Master Masons in Hamilton, New York, had a similar beginning. These brothers wanted to form a group where the serious obligations of Masonry could be balanced with cheerfulness and good humor. They met for fellowship and fun, and soon other groups sprang up across the country. For its first several decades, the Grotto was focused entirely on good fellowship, friendship, and fun. Then in 1949, at its Supreme Council session in Long Beach, California, the Grotto established the Humanitarian Foundation and took up the cause of cerebral palsy research. Later, in 1970, the Grotto embraced the Dental Care for Children with Special Needs program, which remains its principal work to this day.

Both organizations remind us that fellowship comes first. They began as places where Masons could laugh, gather, and enjoy each other’s company, and only later did they realize that their joy could be multiplied by turning outward in service to others. The Shrine found its mission in the care of sick and injured children. The Grotto found its mission in giving children with special needs the ability to smile.

Both exist for Master Masons in good standing. Both keep alive the bonds of brotherhood. Both prove that fun and fellowship are not opposed to service, but rather are the soil in which true service grows.

Here at Dinar Grotto, we honor that history. We are proud to share in the laughter of our brothers, and even prouder to share in the work of putting smiles on the faces of children who need them most.

08/25/2025

🕯️ In the Grotto We Believe Everyone Deserves a Smile

The Grotto was never meant to be just another organization. It was born from something real. A feeling that the serious and often solemn work of Masonry needed a place for joy, for laughter, and for brotherhood shared in a different spirit. A place where men could lay down their burdens and lift one another up.

In the summer of 1889, a group of Master Masons began meeting informally in Hamilton, New York. They wanted more than minutes and motions. They wanted warmth, fellowship, and a little bit of fun. Leading that group was a Brother named LeRoy Fairchild, a man who believed that Masonry could be even more powerful when it was mixed with good cheer and a generous heart.

From that small gathering came something lasting.
The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm.

The name was whimsical, even mysterious. But the purpose was clear. It was a space where Master Masons could enjoy each other’s company, share laughter, build friendships, and extend compassion to those in need. The guiding principle was and still is Good Fellowship.

That principle led the Grotto to something deeper. In 1949, the Supreme Council chose United Cerebral Palsy as the first national charity supported by the Prophets. That work continued for many years, and it was just the beginning.

In 1970, the Grotto took on a new mission. One that touched the lives of thousands of children. That mission became the Dental Care for Children with Special Needs program.

This program exists because many children with developmental or physical challenges cannot safely receive dental treatment in a regular office. Children with autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, seizure disorders, or organ transplants often require anesthesia just to get a cleaning or a filling. Most insurance does not cover that cost. And many families are left without options.

That is where the Grotto steps in.

Through the Humanitarian Foundation, Grottoes raise funds to help cover the cost of anesthesia and hospital time. We do not pay for fillings or extractions. We pay for access. We make it possible for children to receive care with comfort, dignity, and safety.

These are not distant causes. These are real children. Children who smile because a Grotto made sure they could.

To help support this work, the Grotto created the Enchanted Lantern Society. For a donation of fifty dollars, anyone can sponsor a lantern. That donation helps a child get the care they need. The lantern is more than a pin. It is a symbol of light in the darkness. A quiet promise that someone cared enough to give a child a better day.

Local Grottoes also support causes in their own communities. From veterans programs and food drives to scholarships and emergency aid, the Grotto is always ready to serve. Not with speeches or applause, but with real action and open hands.

This is who we are.

We are Masons who enjoy laughter, friendship, parades, and good meals. But we are also men of purpose. Our joy is not empty. Our fellowship is not shallow. And our smiles are not just for each other—they are for the children, the families, and the neighbors who need them most.

In the Grotto, we believe everyone deserves a smile.
And we are working every day to make that belief real.






📸 Photo courtesy of Oola Khan Grotto and the Humanitarian Foundation

08/25/2025

What is the Grotto?

The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm is a Masonic body that was founded in 1889 to bring something fresh and different to the Masonic experience. It is often simply called “the Grotto,” and it was created by Master Masons who believed there should be a place where brothers could gather for fellowship, laughter, and good works beyond the walls of the lodge.

While the Grotto is not a Masonic degree, it is only open to Master Masons in good standing. The Order was built as a “playground” for Masons. It encourages good cheer, light-hearted fun, and a relaxed environment that still upholds the core values of Masonry.

Brothers who join the Grotto find a space where they can be themselves, let off steam, and laugh with friends. It is a social outlet that blends humor, mysticism, and real charity. The motto is simple but powerful: “Good Fellowship.” That principle guides everything we do.

Whether it is through parades, events, or supporting children in need, Grotto members believe in service that comes from the heart and brotherhood that feels like family. It is not just another appendant body. It is something special.