🎄✨ Frohe Weihnachten from Cullman! The November–January Community Matters Christkindlmarkt Edition is here — packed with holiday traditions, Christmas events, hometown stories, German winter recipes and plenty of reasons to gather close this season.
📕 Prefer paper? Pick up a FREE physical copy at The Cullman Tribune office or at partner businesses around town.
🚚 Want it delivered? Get Community Matters mailed to your door FREE with a Cullman Tribune subscription — available at Tribune.store. It makes a great gift!
Here’s what’s inside:
🎄 Where Christmas Comes Home — From a spinning silver tree and church carols to an award-winning market, trace Cullman’s holiday story through Tribune archives and the rise of the Cullman Christkindlmarkt, now the Alabama Tourism Department’s 2026 Event of the Year. The market returns to Depot Park Nov. 19–Dec. 23, with the parade, tree lighting and a new Christmas drone show Friday, Nov. 20.
✨ Christmas in Cullman — Get ready for Winter Wonderland’s 24th season at Sportsman Lake Park, Christmas at the Grotto as Little Jerusalem glows for its eighth year and St. Bernard Prep’s “Christmas in the Byre” concert Dec. 8.
🥨 From Cullman’s German Kitchens: A Winter Table — Warm up with potato-leek soup, bread dumplings, slow-cooked pork roast, stuffed cabbage rolls, creamy mushrooms, baked apples, Pfeffernüsse and Nussecken.
🌟 Local Heroes — Meet Susie Preiss, who just marked 37 years at the Busy Bee Cafe, and Cullman High theatre director Wayne Cook, who takes center stage in our Creative Spotlight.
🛍️ Small Business Spotlight — Discover Hollis Family Sweet Dips, Wulf Energy, a clean energy drink from two Cullman veteran pilots, and The Bullpen, Tamara Gourley’s new home for local baseball and softball players.
🍰 Local Flavor — Learn how a childhood nickname and a lifelong love of baking became Cookie’s Cakes in Hanceville.
📍 Explore Cullman — Take a closer look at Smith Lake Park’s quirky water tower.
🐸 Local Spotlight — See how the Critter Crew turns curiosity about nature into hands-on outdoor learning for local kids.
🌱 Young Voices — Read Harmony School fifth-grader Khloie Heald’s reflections on what 4-H has meant to her.
❤️ “I Never Knew So Many People Cared” — Gauge Day shares the story of his wife Karlie’s cancer fight and the army of friends, family and church members who surprised her with a lifetime moment.
🤝 Huge thanks to our advertisers — especially our presenting sponsor, the City of Cullman — for making this free community magazine possible!
Thank you to our advertisers:
🖨️ ABS Business Services
💡 Alabama Outdoor Lighting
⚖️ Alex Chaney
🌸 Bloomin’ Festival
🏙️ City of Cullman – Presenting Sponsor
🏠 Crawlspace Cosmetics
📈 Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce
🏛️ Cullman County Commission
📊 Cullman County Economic Development
🏭 Cullman County Industrial Development
🏞️ Cullman County Parks & Rec
⚖️ Cullman County Probate Office
🚓 Cullman County Sheriff’s Office
📈 Cullman Economic Development Agency
💐 Cullman Florist
🛋️ Cullman Furniture Market
🔥 Cullman Jefferson Gas
🏟️ Cullman Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism
💈 East Side Barber Shop
🌿 Federer Fertilizer
🐾 Lee’s Veterinary Hospital
💼 Liberty Tax Service
🛞 McGriff-Best One Tire & Service
🎨 O.F. Richter and Sons
💜 Options
🇺🇸 Sen. Garlan Gudger
🎓 St. Bernard Preparatory School
⌚ Taylor’s Fine Timepieces
🩺 The Uniform Initiative
🛡️ Virgil B. Fowler Insurance Agency
🌍 Visit Cullman
🧱 Walker Brothers LTD
🎓 Wallace State Community College
Download your copy now 👉 https://www.cullmantribune.com/cullman-community-matters-magazine/
