Mud Creek Saturday just around the bend

Benjamin Bullard, The Cullman Times, Ala.
Updated ·2 min read

Oct. 6—From the first tapping of the Oktoberfest keg to the final candy crunch of Halloween, the month of October might just be the Cullman area's busiest time of year for getting outside and finding things to do.

Maybe it's the change in seasons, or the typically consistent span of sunny, late-summer weather — but whatever it is, organizers of this year's Mud Creek Arts and Crafts Festival are hoping the season works its magic over the event's 12th annual installment, set to take place next weekend.

On Saturday, Oct. 15, the streets in historic downtown Hanceville will close to traffic as the city rolls out the welcome mat for the annual crafting showcase, which charges no admission fee and features plenty of adjacent parking. The pedestrian and family-friendly outing will pack the pavement along the city's Commercial Street and Bangor Avenue intersection as street vendors, food trucks, face painting, music, and kids' games fill downtown with the sights and sounds of early autumn.

The yearly event also brings a little Oktoberfest flavor to Hanceville, as the nearby Trinity Lutheran Church (505 Commercial Street SE) hosts its customary German Lunch. For $10 per plate, guests can tour the church's 1885 sanctuary and feast on a traditional meal including bratwurst, German potato salad, sauerkraut/red cabbage, a German dessert and tea, with all proceeds going to benefit Hanceville schools.

The lunch runs from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. (or until the food runs out), while the Mud Creek Festival proper kicks off at 8 a.m. and extends until 3 p.m. just west of the church in Hanceville's picturesque downtown. This year, the annual Mud Creek Marching Festival — a juried showcase featuring high school bands from across the region — will fall a week later, striking up an Oct. 22 date on the field at Hanceville High School.

Mud Creek Saturday is usually a jam-packed day across Cullman County, and if you're in the mood to explore, this year's date holds more in store once you've left Hanceville behind. The Peinhardt Living History Farm will kick off its annual Farm Day celebration on Oct. 15, extended this year into a second day that concludes the event on Oct. 16. In recent years, the Alabama Gourd Show has also greeted crafts lovers to Cullman on the same Saturday — though without its former Cullman Civic Center home, the show is instead taking up residence at the Sparkman Civic Center in Hartselle (visit alabamagourdsociety.org online for more information on the Oct. 14 and 15 event.)

For more on the 12th annual Mud Creek Arts and Crafts Festival — including forms for interested vendors — find the event on Facebook or phone (256) 352-1214.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.