Dogs (and people) dig 2nd Fridays

Published 9:31 pm Friday, July 12, 2019

Cars, kids, dogs, and tons of cool stuff to see, do, and eat: That was July’s installment of 2nd Fridays in a nutshell, as the weather mostly held off on a humid but pleasant Friday night filled with music and friendly neighborhood chatter up and down Cullman’s First Avenue.

The monthly summertime event has grown to span seven blocks of downtown Cullman, closing local streets to traffic and opening them to pedestrians (and dogs) for an urban runway filled with diversions and unique sights. From a school bus petting zoo for kids on the festival’s south end to a motorcycle get-together near Depot Park at the northern edge, the streets offered a fun-filled gauntlet of activity.

Hosted by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Cullman Downtown Merchants Association, 2nd Fridays is now in its fourth year, having begun on a much smaller scale back in 2016 in the Warehouse District. Since then, it’s grown into a major event that requires tons of planning and coordination, whether it’s rolling in a Ferris wheel for setup across from Berkeley Bob’s Coffee House; erecting a rock climbing wall sponsored by the National Guard, or prepping one of the three live music stages that span the festival area.

There are still two more installments to go for this year’s 2nd Fridays. If you haven’t made it out to one of this year’s events, the next one kicks off on Aug. 9, and — as always — it’s completely free to attend.