Thousands of gourds will be popping up in Cullman Oct. 20. No, they won’t be brought in by an auspicious gardener, but hauled in by van and U-Haul and pickup truck. And these gourds are really something special.

Some of them sport funny faces while others are scary. There are some gourds at the Alabama Gourd Festival in Cullman that will make you scratch your head wondering what in the world they are. Mostly, though, the gourds come in fantastic shapes and sizes, with painted or stained faces or emblems, American Indian art, animals of all descriptions, from curvy necked geese and giraffes to whiskery cats and mournful hounddogs.

Of course there will be lots of vendors and each of them has a style of their own. Every booth in the McGukin Civic Center has been sold out for months in anticipation of this event.

According to Show Chair Pam Montgomery, who is also treasurer of the Alabama Gourd Society, vendor spaces have been sold out early for the past four years in a row, “We have a waiting list for potential vendors,” said Montgomery.

“Thousands sounds right,” said Membership Secretary of Alabama Gourd Society Shirley McEwen, referring to the number of gourds at last year’s show. “We have 10 raw gourd vendors (outside) and 40 booths (inside) which are either crafted gourds or supply vendors.”

People come from several states to attend the Alabama Gourd Festival, which started right here in Cullman, 13 years ago, in September 2000.

The Gourd Festival now boasts repeat visitors who travel from Ohio and North Carolina. There are vendors from 10 states. One vendor comes all the way from California to show her gourds here.

According to Montgomery, last year’s attendance was approximately 1,500.

The painted gourds are judged each year. Last years Best of Show was a fish bowl gourd, by Judy Burkett of Flintville, Tenn. Prizes are awarded in four other categories, including Master’s Division, People’s Choice, and the President’s Award.

 According to the official web site (www.alabamagourdsociety.org) the objective of the Alabama Gourd Society is to promote the culture and crafting of gourds; to provide informational and educational service to its members and the public in general; and to provide an annual gourd festival for the promotion of gourds and gourd crafting.

To help promote the culture of crafting with gourds, there will be classes on Saturday and Sunday. Classes include painting, carving, sculpting, woodburning, pyro carving, and many others.

“We have local artist, Judy Burkett, teaching the new Zentangle technique on gourds, she is a certified Zentangle teacher,” said Montgomery. “We also have instructors from South Carolina, Kentucky and North Carolina, as well as our talented Alabama instructors.” Dianna Williams from Kentucky will teach a sculpting Santa head class starting with an egg gourd as the base. “You can use this technique to sculpt fairies and other doll heads,” Montgomery explained.

Award winning Birmingham artist, Mary Segreto, will be on hand to teach a class on how to use Apoxie Sculpt and Celtic Knotwork on gourds.

“We have Master Carver Reggie Eakin from South Carolina teaching a carving class,” Montgomery said.

There will be free demonstrations every hour throughout both days with artists sharing different techniques, and a free Kids’ Patch, where children can decorate their own little gourd necklace to take home with them.

SIDEBAR

Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the McGukin Civic Center

Admission: $3/adults; age 12 and younger are free if accompanied by an adult

Anyone can enter the ribbon competition and bring gourds to enter. There is no charge for entering the competition, but entries must be entered either Friday between noon and 6 p.m. or before judging time 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Gourds entered in the competition must be left until closing time on Sunday at 4 p.m. There are 7 Divisions and 79 classifications in the competition. There is a Master Division with a bio of the artist; Novice Category; (open to anyone who has never entered a gourd competition); 2 classifications of Youth Division (ages 7-10 and 11-15) and others. 

Class Schedule (additional information is available on the website, along with photos of class projects)

SATURDAY MORNING  

1. Leaf Zentangle Bowl, Judy Burkett CZT $45

2. Pyro Carving, Beth Coheley $30

3. Sculpting Santa Head, Dianna Williams $50

4. Gourd Birdhouse, Aloha LeRouge $35

5. Lone Rider, Sherry Briscoe $40

SATURDAY AFTERNOON  

1. Southwestern Patina Bowl, Joan Reynolds $35

2. Ocean Sun, Rising Turtle, Reggie Eakin $40

3. Sculpting Santa Head, Dianna Williams $50

4. Celtic Knotwork, Mary Segreto $40

5. Native American Shield with Rawhide Weave, Sherry Briscoe $50

SUNDAY   

1. Alcohol Ink Bowl with Triangle Rim, Neva Beasley $30

2. Pyro Carving, Beth Coheley $30

3. Zentangle Necklace, Judy Burkett CZT $25

4. Apoxie Sculpted Corsage, Mary Segreto $43

5. String Art Revisited, Sherry Briscoe $50