Alabama Gourd Festival

A little morning rain (and a lot of midday college football) didn’t deter locals from getting out to enjoy all the fall-themed festivals and events that beckoned throughout Cullman County on the third Saturday in October.

The Peinhardt Living History Farm opened the gates on the annual Peinhardt Farm Day, giving guests an up-close look at agricultural living circa the 1930s. Wagon rides, sorghum syrup making, quilting, saw milling, blacksmithing and many more rural skills were on display courtesy of the event’s all-volunteer staff, and clearing afternoon skies assured a crowd of visitors that lingered through the day’s 3 p.m. closing time.

At Hanceville, downtown streets closed and shocks of corn went up to greet visitors to the annual Mud Creek Arts and Crafts Festival. Local students and a handful of grown-ups in 19th-century period costume took guests on historical tours, while food and crafts vendors plied their goodies at booths that lined Commercial Street and the blocks beyond.

And at the Cullman Civic Center, the show went on for a second straight day for the annual Alabama Gourd Festival, where the “Gourds Under The Sea” theme of this year’s event brought out the creative best in skilled gourd craft artists from across the state.

Click through the photo gallery for a glimpse at all the day’s fun — and be sure to mark your calendar for next year.