Cullman’s monthly summertime street party is set to make a comeback this June, with organizers revealing the dates for this year’s lineup of recurring 2nd Fridays events along the historic stretch of downtown’s First Avenue.

A joint effort between the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce; the Cullman Downtown Merchants Association; and Cullman Parks, Recreation, & Sports Tourism, 2nd Fridays occupy three spots on the summer calendar this year: June 10, July 8, and Aug. 12.

Organizers are foregoing a May installment of the popular pedestrian-friendly celebration to give the May 7 Strawberry Festival a wide berth; Chamber event operations director Keith Varden said a September installment of 2nd Fridays is also a possibility, depending on weather and other seasonal considerations.

“We want to make sure that one event doesn’t overlap or detract from other scheduled events,” explained Varden. “We’ll be fully focused on promoting the Strawberry Festival in May, and then kick in with 2nd Fridays the following month. We may end up staging a September event as well, but we’re keeping that as an open date for now, in case there’s bad weather.”

New this year will be the appearance of larger musical acts in the closed-off streets, beginning in June with Birmingham-based “folk-’n’-roll” artists Winston Ramble. Varden said the goal is to attract even more out-of-town guests to Cullman — all of whom will be strolling the sidewalks of local businesses whose doors will stay open late to take advantage of the traffic. “We want the businesses to win on that night, and this is the first time that we’ve brought in a more regional type of musical talent to hopefully draw in a good crowd,” he explained.

Also new this year, thanks to ongoing road construction along nearby Second Avenue, is a slight tweak to the event’s overall footprint. Rather than extending pedestrian traffic northward into Depot Park, organizers are staking out the Festhalle Market Platz at the corner of First Avenue and Arnold Street as its northern terminus.

Varden said the First Avenue streets will be closed to traffic from the Festhalle southward to the intersection where the Busy Bee Cafe faces Fifth Street SE, adding that businesses and restaurants fronting the streets that extend eastward along the festival path will also keep their doors open later to greet guests. Though evening hours at each business will vary, 5 p.m. will mark 2nd Fridays’ official kickoff time each month, with streets remaining closed until 10 p.m.