CULLMAN — On Saturday, October 10, as part of Cullman’s annual Oktoberfest celebration, the Cullman Kiwanis Club will host a Wiener Dog Race. The event will begin at Depot Park around 8:30 a.m. and end around 3 p.m.
Though the race has been drawing crowds for years, this will be the first time the Kiwanis Club hosts it.
“The Oktoberfest Board approached us last year and wanted us to do this event then, but it just didn’t work out,” Kiwanis Club Board Member and Project Coordinator Melissa Henderson said. “This year we’ve worked on it and will be able to run it.”
Henderson explained that the Wiener Dog Race, so long a staple of the Cullman Oktoberfest Celebration, was sponsored and organized by a man whose business was damaged by the April 2011 tornadoes. According to Henderson, the business owner was unable to continue to sponsor the event.
To help grow the event, the Kiwanis Club has added competitions for Prettiest Dog, Best Trick, Best Costume, Most Handsome Dog, Worst Hair Day, Best Vocal and Celebrity Look Alike.
Henderson hopes the Kiwanis Club’s sponsorship of the event will help grow resident's awareness of the organization.
“I don’t think a lot of the community knows what we do,” she said.
“I hope that [from this event] the community knows more about Kiwanis Club in general and what we do.”
The funds raised from the event will go towards the club's support of community organizations including Cullman Caring for Kids and Children’s of Alabama. “And the annual scholarships,” Henderson added. “That’s a big one each year.”
Spectating for all events will be free. A $10 donation on-site will register entrants in one event. Registration for each additional event will cost $5.
“There are many events, and if one registers for all of them that would be over $100, but we have a deal that allows you to register for all the events with just a single $50 donation,” said Henderson.
Henderson said she would love to see this become an annual event.
“If all goes well and it is profitable, you know, profitable for everyone, I’d love to come back and do it again next year,” she said.”
