CULLMAN, Ala. – The City of Cullman and surrounding areas saw two huge weekends which hosted around 100,000 people with events at York Family Farm.
Two weeks ago, Rock the South returned after a 2020 hiatus, which the community has hosted for nearly a decade. This last weekend, “Save America Trump Rally” was hosted at the same venue.
Each event brought an excess of 40,000 people to York Family Farm the past two weekends.
One of the most common discussed accessories to big events such as these is the traffic situations presented by such a large influx of visitors.
The Cullman Police Departments and Cullman County Sheriff’s Office each held daily meetings with their agencies in order to prepare for large crowds, security and traffic control.
“Rock the South isn’t uncommon to us and the amount of traffic it brings in, so we’re used to preparing for all that it brings,” CPD police chief Kenny Culpepper said.
“A lot of the work that is done to ensure traffic flow and situations go smoothly is work done heavily behind the scenes. With as much attention as our city received these last two weeks, it’s always a good day to not see a negative national headline. We’re very proud of all the efforts done by our officers and those who poured in to help.”
Culpepper said along with the officers from the CPD, units from the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office, Hanceville PD, Alabama State Troopers, Huntsville/Florence/Madison PD’s, Cullman Fire and EMS services and Cullman County EMA came together as a working unit to secure a safe weekend.
Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry said he was proud of the long, tough hours put in by law enforcement to create security for the community during two of the busiest weekends for Cullman of the year.
“The past two weekends have seen roughly 100,000 people converge on one spot here in Cullman County,” Gentry said. “The challenge for us at the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office was getting folks to the venue in a safe and timely manner, while also accommodating the citizens that live in those areas. Hundreds of man hours were devoted to finding a workable plan to try and accomplish this. With every event, we learn a little more and try to improve from the past. We feel that these two events went about as well as they could.
The collaborative effort between our agency and the multitude of outside agencies involved was incredible. I am grateful for the outpouring of support both locally, as well as the outside agencies that lent their support.”
Gentry said he is also extremely grateful for the citizens of Cullman County who have shown tremendous support for the Sheriff’s Office and local law enforcement, as well as their patience and understanding during these hectic times.
Culpepper said the next heavily attended event will be Oktoberfest hosted primarily near the Festhalle. The event typically sees around 6,000-7,000 people.
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