There are two months in the year when festivals are the most popular in North Alabama. One is May because it’s finally warming up. September is the other because it is finally cooling down. As the temps dip down below scorching, make plans to attend some or all of these fun North Alabama festivals to celebrate the arrival of fall.
Art Sunday
More than 70 artisans and craftsmen will make their way to Scottsboro to participate in a juried show and offer their artworks and crafts for sale when the Scottsboro Three Arts Club hold their annual Art Sunday event. Along with arts and crafts, the event offers musical entertainment, children’s activities, photography contests and food and beverage vendors. This year will be the 51st annual event.
Set for Sunday, September 1 at King Caldwell Park, Art Sunday features nationally recognized artists and emerging, local creators from across northern Alabama and southern Tennessee. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to shop the work of 70-plus artists and makers between the hours of 9am-5pm. The art exhibition is held rain or shine. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students.
Oka Kapassa
A celebration of the culture and traditions of the indigenous people who once inhabited North Alabama is planned in September offering two days of educational and free family fun in downtown Tuscumbia. Oka Kapassa: Return to Coldwater is set for September 13-14, 2024, with activities taking place in and around beautiful Spring Park in downtown Tuscumbia.
The Oka Kapassa: Return to Coldwater Festival is a free family event featuring Native American heritage, entertainment and education through hands-on activities and demonstrations. Friday, September 13 is school day at the festival for area students to attend and learn about North Alabama’s Native American heritage. Approximately 1,000 students, from as far away as Walker County in Alabama and southern Middle Tennessee, typically attend.
Members of the Poarch Creek, Alabama’s only federally recognized tribe, will present a special cultural history event on Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. Additional events lined up for the evening include a program of Native American music by Arvel Bird (Paiute) and a presentation of Tuscumbia’s history as it relates to Native Americans. Two trolley tours of the Tuscumbia witness sites of the Indian Removal Period will be available at 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. These events will be held at UNA on Sixth located at 114 W. 6th Street in downtown Tuscumbia.
On Saturday, September 14, festivities get underway at 10:00 a.m. with grand entry set for 11:00 a.m. Special crafts, fancy and traditional dance demonstrations, storytelling and music are all on the agenda and festival goers will have the opportunity to shop and purchase authentic Native American artwork and crafts. There will also be some hands-on activities for festival goers of all ages.
Oka Kapassa also welcomes several well-known American Indian cooks who will prepare and cook foods that were developed by their ancestors. Juanita Gardinski and brother Billy Thompson (Choctaw) are returning to Oka Kapassa to serve delicious and authentic Native American foods such as buffalo stew and burgers, fry bread, Indian tacos, fish and roasted corn. Gardinski will also demonstrate bead work and share Choctaw culture with festivalgoers. Traveling from her tribal homeland of Ada, Okla., Gina Brown (Chickasaw) plans to cook traditional pashofa, a stew combining pork and cracked corn. Cooked in a cast iron pot over an open fire, it is left unseasoned, allowing the person eating it to season to their own taste. Lastly, Mary Newman (Eastern Cherokee) will demonstrate traditional outdoor cooking of the 1800s, preparing foods in cast iron and clay pots over a campfire.
Arvel Bird's “Celtic Indian” returns to Oka Kapassa this year. His musical brand is a reflection of his mixed-blood American Indian and Celtic heritages. With his violin, fiddle, Native flutes and Irish whistles, Arvel weaves a powerful tapestry of music and stories; it’s a performance not to be missed.
Monte Sano Art Festival
The Monte Sano Art Festival has been an enjoyed tradition in Huntsville for two decades. The 2024 festival will be September 21-22 and will feature more than 150 of the region’s finest artists in an array of wonderful media. Along with the outdoor festival exhibitors, there will be local food trucks and musicians throughout the park. The Monte Sano Art Festival is always a highlight of the arts calendar!
Hartselle Depot Days
The Depot Days Festival rolls into Hartselle September 21 bringing a day of family-friendly fun and entertainment to the historic depot and downtown area. Hosted by the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce and presented by Decatur Morgan Hospital, the free event is the city’s largest event and is a tribute to the railroad industry and its contribution to Hartselle and the North Alabama region.
Now in its 43rd year, the Depot Days Festival gets underway on September 21 at 8am with activities lasting throughout the day until 4 p.m. Activities include an art show, craft vendors, a tractor and engine show, a car, truck and motorcycle show and live music. There will also be food vendors and a variety of fun and games for children.
The Depot Days Festival takes place at 110 Railroad Street SW and surrounding streets in downtown Hartselle. Hours are 8am-4pm. Admission is free. For more information on the Depot Days Festival, visit www.HartselleDepotDays.com or call the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce at 256.773.4370.
Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride
Motorcyclists from across the southeast will come together September 21, 2024, for a scenic ride across north Alabama to honor Native American Indians that once traveled through the region. The 31st annual Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride® travels from Bridgeport in the northeastern part of Alabama to the northwestern town of Waterloo, and along with the celebratory ride, there is a kick-off rally and a three-day Indian Festival for the public to take part in.
The Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride® begins at the Alabama/Tennessee state line on U. S. Highway 72 in downtown Bridgeport with riders departing at 8:00 a.m. CDT on Saturday, Sept. 21. The ride travels U. S. Highway 72 West to I-565 West arriving at Redstone Harley-Davidson (15155 Hwy 20 W in Madison) at approximately 10:30 a.m. for an official ride rest and lunch stop. At 12:00 p.m., riders will depart and head west, arriving in Waterloo at approximately 2:30 p.m.
A kick-off rally offering children’s activities, live music, a street dance, fireworks show and other free family fun for the public to enjoy is scheduled in downtown Bridgeport on Friday, Sept. 20. Bikes will arrive from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation at 3:00 p.m. and the official opening ceremony gets underway at 5:00 p.m. Music begins at 6 p.m. with Bottom Holler Band and slated to perform for the special 31st anniversary is Benny Carl and the Loose Lips Band from Nashville who will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. and again at 9:30 p.m. following the fireworks show.
The town of Waterloo will host a free Indian Festival Sept. 20-22 in remembrance of all those who walked the Trail of Tears. Presented by the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission, the three-day event offers displays from Native American artisans and vendors along with a memorial walk to honor those who experienced the forced journey scheduled at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 21 with live music following that night. Admission is free. Vendor spots are available by contacting Waterloo Town Hall (256) 764-3237 or email townofwaterlooal@gmail.com
The ride is held rain or shine. For more information including a schedule of events, visit https://www.al-tn-trailoftears.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/Trailoftearsmotorcycle.
Sizzle and Smoke
Alabama's only triple steak cookoff returns in September bringing with it exciting grilling action and good times to the River City. Hosted by Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama, Sizzle and Smoke welcomes steak connoisseurs and backyard grill meisters who gather to compete for prize money, bragging rights and a coveted golden ticket – the opportunity to compete at the 2025 SCA World Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. This year’s Sizzle and Smoke is set for Sept. 27-28, 2024, at Ingalls Harbor in Decatur, Ala.
Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama is excited to offer Alabama's only triple steak cookoff. Sizzle and Smoke, a Steak Cookoff Association (SCA)-sanctioned event, is a two-day competition where anyone can take their skills to the grill and enter the competition as long as they are members of the SCA. Membership to SCA is $40 to join and allows members to cook in as many steak events taking place anywhere in the United States.
During Sizzle and Smoke, competitors can turn in three steaks for judging. One on Friday night, Sept. 27 and two on Saturday, Sept. 28. Mosaic Mentoring will provide ribeye steaks for the competition to ensure a level playing field. Sign up is available at https://www.steakcookoffs.com/event-5517779/Registration for Friday’s competition and https://www.steakcookoffs.com/event-5517808/Registration for Saturday’s competition. (The competition steaks are included in the registration fee.) Any cook registering before Sept. 12th will have his/her name put in a drawing for an aged Jack Daniels whiskey barrel.
The winning steak will earn that competitor a payout of $1000. The second place steak receives $500, third place $400, fourth place $300, fifth place $200 and sixth through tenth place receives $100 each. The winners of all three steak turn-ins will automatically receive a golden ticket to the SCA World Championship, March 13-16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas.
The competition also offers ribs, dessert and “Anything Jack Daniel” categories, with all paying to fifth place. Kids ages four to 13 years old can participate to see who has the best pork chop and compete for a payout of up to $100 for first place, $75 for second place, $50 for third place and $25 each for fourth through tenth place. To register for the kid’s competition, call Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama at (256) 353-0157.
Meetings for the cooks are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday with awards presented at 9:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday with awards at 5:45 p.m.
Adding to the fun this year, Real Steel will be hosting their annual charity car show on Saturday, Sept. 28th. In addition to the competition and car show, there will be food trucks and a steak sandwich sale hosted by Mosaic Mentoring for the public along with raffle prizes and a silent auction.
All activities are held at Ingalls Harbor located at 802 Wilson St NW, in Decatur, Ala. Admission is free.
Red Bay Founder's Fest
The North Alabama town of Red Bay presents its annual Founder’s Fest Saturday, September 28, 2024, and everyone is invited to celebrate the town’s heritage with a day of free family fun. Founder’s Fest is situated under the shade trees of Bay Tree Park offering an escape to September’s warm temperatures as festivalgoers enjoy arts and crafts, contests, sidewalk sales and live music.
Founder’s Fest gets underway at 8:00 a.m. with the King and Queen’s Train Ride of the winners of the previously held beauty pageant. At 9 a.m., live music cranks up and festival goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnic blankets and enjoy the sounds. A contest to see who has the best fried pie entries with the best tasting, most unusual and best of show taking home a cash prize, and there will be quilt, coloring and photography contests for participants to take part in.
Additional activities include arts and crafts and an antique car-truck-motorcycle-tractor show. The Red Bay Museum will be open for tours and Weatherford Library will host a book sale and will have entries for the quilt, photo and coloring contests on display. Many merchants will offer sidewalk sales, specials and door prizes throughout the day. A variety of festival food will be available, and another crowd favorite are the giveaways to be presented. Prizes will be awarded to the largest family, longest distance traveled to the event, and youngest and oldest attendees.
Bay Tree Park is located between 2nd and 3rd streets, along 4th Avenue SE in downtown Red Bay. Festival hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. For more information on the festival or to register as a vendor, contact Jennifer Garrett at Red Bay City Hall at (256) 356-4473 ext. 3. For the latest updates, follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RedBayAlabama/.
Mule Day
Mule Day, a two-day event centered on mules and their role in rural farming, hits the streets of downtown Winfield September 27-28, bringing with it free family fun. Vendors of all kinds, local merchant sales, live music, fireworks show, 5K run, rodeo, car show and antique tractors, mule judging, cornhole tournament, disc golf tournament and a parade are all on the agenda as the North Alabama town celebrates its agricultural heritage.
Mule Day kicks off on Friday evening, September 27 at 6pm when shoppers are invited to shop with local merchants and among 300 vendors during the Mule Night Madness. There will also be live music, a spectacular firework show that can be viewed while shopping downtown and runners can take part in a midnight 5K run. Onsite registration for the 5K is from 10:30-11:30pm at the Winfield City Hall or may be completed in advance online at https://runsignup.com/.
On Saturday, September 28, the festivities get underway at 7am. As festivalgoers wander through the town, approximately 300 arts and crafts and flea market vendors will be selling their wares. Starting at 8am, antique vehicles will be on display in the grove at Winfield Middle School, and not to be missed at 11am is the highlight of the annual event - the downtown parade of mules, horses, jacks and jennies.
Admission to Mule Day is free (unless otherwise noted). Free shuttle service will be offered on Saturday. For more information, visit http://www.winfieldcity.org/ or call the Winfield Chamber of Commerce at (205) 487-4265.
Eva Frontier Days
A greased pig, frogs and a parade take centerstage when the town of Eva comes together in September for the town’s annual Frontier Days festival. Set for September 28 Eva Frontier Days feature a greased pig chase, a frog jumping contest, a parade, antique tractors, a hayride and much more, providing several days of family-friendly entertainment for all ages.
The Eva Frontier Days Beauty Pageant gets the weeklong celebration going on Saturday, September 28 at 10am at Charlie's Vineyard at Frost Farm located at 1684 Frost Road. A hayride is set for 6:30pm, Tuesday, September 24. Cost is $1 per person and includes a free hotdog and drink at the end of the ride. Eva Baptist Church will host an old-fashioned hymnbook singing on Thursday, September 26 at 7pm. The agenda for Friday, September 23 consists of music on the square at 6pm. Slated to perform under the entertainment tent is Another Town and admission is free.
The big day gets underway on Saturday, September 28 beginning at 9am with an arts and craft show, food vendors and an antique tractor and car show. Additional activities include live entertainment by The Pylant Family, Dry Creek Bluegrass, Abby Huffnagle and Wildcat Ridge, a parade at 11am and a pig-calling contest at 3pm. The day wraps up at the ball fields with the frog-jumping contest at 4pm followed by the greased pig chase at 5pm.