Rock the South officials presents checks to area organizations and charities Saturday night. The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce received $10,000, while $5,000 each was given to Brooks Place, Cullman Regional Foundation, Childhaven and The Link of Cullman County. Cullman Parks and Recreation, which is preparing to open the new Connected Playground at Ingle Park, received more than $109,000.

Rain and heat aside, Rock the South appears likely to have set another record for attendance.

Several officials working at the event said Saturday’s audience was the largest they have ever encountered at the 7-year-old music festival. Friday evening the crowd filled in after the rain cleared out and was likely as large. The official size of the audience will be confirmed later.

“The crowd size was larger than ever, but everything was so well organized. I thought everything was smooth,” said Nathan Anderson, director of the Cullman Parks and Recreation Department.

Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper and Fire Chief Brian Bradberry also said the crowd swelled to new proportions Saturday, but from their perspectives the planning kept the event moving along at a good pace.

Arrests were also down from the previous year, Culpepper said. There were eight arrests Friday and 15 on Saturday.

“We always look at some of the incidents after the show and compare to the year before. For the city there were overall 32 arrests, while last year it was well over 50,” he said. “For such a large crowd over two days we had few problems on either day.”

Several police officers from Guntersville were on hand to assist and to gain experience in working with a large crowd.

“There is a large event planned in Guntersville this summer that will last three days and their chief and four officers were here to see what we do and to help,” Culpepper said. “We’ll be sending officers to Guntersville top help them out, too.”

Bradberry said most of the incidents involving firefighters and medical personnel were heat related.

“We treated 104 people on-site and most of it was heat-related,” Bradberry said. “We transported another 30 to the hospital. It was just hot and a lot of people were there all day. We’ve had more cases in the past, but I can’t say enough about all the people from different agencies that were on hand to help people. Everyone did an outstanding job.”

With headliners Thomas Rhett, the Marshall Tucker Band, Hank Williams Jr. and Eric Church packing Heritage Park with visitors from 44 states and five countries, the fields remained in good condition after the shows, Anderson said.

“The Rock the South team had a great plan in place to protect certain areas. We were in good shape after Saturday night,” Anderson said.

Rock the South founder Shane Quick said a plan was already in place to bring new sod in for the soccer field after the concert. A bid is expected to be approved this week by the Cullman City Council to move forward with the work.

Rock the South also kept with its founding tradition of awarding money to community organizations during Saturday’s show.

The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce received $10,000, while $5,000 each was given to Brooks Place, Cullman Regional Foundation, Childhaven and The Link of Cullman County. Cullman Parks and Recreation, which is preparing to open the new Connected Playground at Ingle Park, receive more than $109,000.

“Cullman Regional is honored to have been selected as a benefactor from this year’s Rock the South event. Many wonderful organizations in our community have benefited from this event over the years, and Cullman Regional is grateful to be added to that list,” James Clements, Cullman Regional CEO said. “The Cullman Regional Foundation is currently raising funds toward the purchase of new cardiac monitors for the Cullman EMS Ambulance Service. This contribution will be used to assist us in purchasing this important equipment.”

Rock the South’s donation to the Chamber of Commerce will go toward the organization’s five-year plan, Converging For Success.

“Rock the South is a great supporter of this community. We’re not only thankful for their contribution of hosting the event in Cullman County, but for their investment in the Chamber’s long-term strategy to improve our communities,” said Chamber President & CEO Leah Bolin.

At The Link (linkingcullman.org), founder and Executive Director Dawn Owens said the contribution will help with the organization’s efforts to help those in recovery obtain work.

“It’s so amazing to get a check from Rock the South,” Owens said. “Shane (Quick) has a huge heart for those in recovery, so we’re putting the money toward our job training program.”

The program, Pure Joy Goods (purejoygoods.com), offers a job to those in recovery by turning used pallets into custom art. Most of the clients come from Restoring Women Outreach, a Cullman based 12-Step yearlong program for women struggling with addiction.

Amanda Shavers-Davis contributed to this story.