Local playwright, Ben Johnson is seen in this October 2013 Times file photo.

As the temperatures climb, a group of local artists and business owners are hoping to chill things down with Coolfest, the name they’ve attached to today’s pop-up street party, set to kick off Thursday afternoon.

Local artist Ben Johnson is organizing the new-to-Cullman festival, with support from Christ Lutheran Church, 412 Public House, Consign and Design, and Cullman Florist.

The free-admission pop-up party will kick off sometime around 4 p.m. (the press release playfully indicates a 4:12 start time, in keeping with the name of its hosting partner), and last at least until 7 p.m.

The event will be held in and around the businesses fronting the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 4th Street Southeast, where 412 Public House and other sponsors are located. Organizers promise a bevy of “cool” happenings, including “Cullman-grown food, ice-cold water and cool drinks, out-on-the-veranda heritage music, sleeping porch storytelling, cool art, fanning, and air-conditioning.”

The festival is designed to benefit the roster of farm heritage programs offered bythe North Alabama Agriplex, as well as ALAbundant hunger relief. 412 Public House will donate a percentage of food and drink sales, surrounded by a slate of activities aimed at drawing the crowds.

Other activities on tap at Coolfest include a free, locally-sourced picnic basket drawing at Consign and Design, sunflower painting at Cullman Florist from local artist Jack Tupper, a pop-up local produce stand and free food tasting, and dinner reservations at 412 Public House.

Christ Lutheran also will host heritage music (dulcimer and banjo with Craig Mann, as well as Sacred Harp Singing) and storytelling by Sharon Drake inside the church’s fellowship hall.