ULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman County Fair Parade will return to downtown Cullman Saturday, Sept. 26, continuing a community tradition documented in local records for at least six decades.
The parade will begin at 2 p.m. and travel north along U.S. Highway 31, also known as Second Avenue, from Seventh Street Southwest to Arnold Street Northwest.
Motorists should expect temporary road closures along the parade route, although specific 2026 closure times have not yet been announced.
Unlike recent years when the parade was held on the Saturday immediately preceding the fair, this year’s procession will take place 19 days before the Cullman County Fair opens Oct. 15.
How to enter the parade
Registration will open at the Cullman County Fair office at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, and close at noon Wednesday, Sept. 23.
The regular entry fee is $25. Entries exceeding 40 feet in total length, including the tow vehicle, will be charged an additional $15.
The official application may be downloaded at www.cullmanfair.org/entry-forms. Applicants should complete the form and take it with the required entry fee to the fair office at 1501 Sportsman Lake Road NW.
Participation is open to Cullman County schools, businesses, churches, clubs and recognized local organizations.
Unaffiliated groups or individuals with special talents, including dancing, precision marching or dressage, may also apply.
All entries are subject to approval by the parade marshal and must be appropriate for a family-oriented community event. Entries will generally be grouped with the city, town or community listed on the application.
Participants will receive an entry number card as proof of payment. The card must be brought to parade-day check-in, which begins after 11 a.m. at the lower-level entrance of the Cullman City Public Parking Deck on Fourth Avenue Southwest at U.S. Highway 278.
An entry number does not represent a participant’s position in the procession. Exact lineup positions will be assigned on parade day at the discretion of the parade marshal.
Safety and parade rules
Participants must maintain a slow, steady walking pace and remain approximately two car lengths behind the entry ahead of them. Vehicles and floats should not stop along the route except when necessary for safety.
Nothing may be thrown from a vehicle or float. Candy and other approved items may be handed directly to spectators only by people walking alongside the entry.
The rule is intended to prevent children from running into the street to retrieve items.
Coca-Cola holds exclusive rights involving banners and signs used in fair activities. Signs advertising competing beverage products will not be permitted.
A tradition spanning generations
The Cullman Lions Club has operated the Cullman County Fair since 1954.
While the parade’s precise inaugural year was not identified in the available records reviewed by The Tribune, the City of Cullman’s historical photo collection includes an image labeled “1966 Fair Parade Old Cars,” confirming that the tradition was established at least 60 years ago.
Although the faces and entries have changed, the parade’s basic character has remained remarkably consistent.
Tribune archives chronicle decades of marching bands, honor guards, emergency vehicles, floats, horses, pageant winners, fair queen contestants, churches and civic organizations moving north through downtown Cullman.
The parade continued even during the COVID-19 restrictions of 2020. When participants were prohibited from throwing or distributing candy, the City of Cullman and The Cullman Tribune organized the inaugural Candy Brigade to hand children prepackaged bags before the parade reached them.
In 2024, then-Cullman Lions Club President Chris Brooks told The Tribune, “This is a big deal for us to start off with the parade and get the community fired up.”
That purpose remains unchanged. The parade offers communities throughout Cullman County an opportunity to represent their schools, organizations and hometowns while signaling that fair season is approaching.
The 2026 Cullman County Fair will run Oct. 15-24 at the Cullman County Fairgrounds, located at 1501 Sportsman Lake Road NW.
For parade registration information, visit www.cullmanfair.org/fair-parade, email cullmanfair0@gmail.com or call the fair office at 256-734-0661 or 256-734-0339.
