Just like Christmas, it only comes but once a year — when, that is, it comes at all.

Starting at 5 p.m. Saturday evening, the erstwhile annual Possum Day celebration returns to the Cullman Festhalle, serving up a southern-fried slice of silliness to benefit local charities. For the first time since 2011, Possum Day will try to divine the weather we can expect for the next several weeks, much like its more-famous Groundhog Day mentor, Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil.

While the event is hosted by the local Republican party, organizer Steve Cummings says it’s anything but a political rally, and that whole goal is to put on a family-friendly outdoor party that welcomes anyone and everyone.

Admission to Possum Day is totally free, and the event kicks off at 5 p.m. at the First Avenue Festhalle in Cullman’s Warehouse District. Bring cash if you want to participate in the Possum Queen pageant or the country strongman challenge: that’s how Possum Day raises money for its trio of local charities, and the entry fees vary by event.

For more information, search for “Possum Day 2019” on Facebook.