Crafted gourds in all shapes, sizes and colors are on display at the Alabama Gourd Show. (Maggie Darnell for The Cullman Tribune)
CULLMAN – The 20th annual Alabama Gourd Show continues Saturday at the Cullman Civic Center. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The show, which has been running since 1999, started at the fairgrounds, then moved to the civic center a couple of years later.
This year’s show chair, Pam Reeves, has been running the show since 2006; before that she had a booth since 2004. Reeves said she’s glad Cullman has been the host city for the Alabama Gourd Show.
“It is an honor for Cullman to host a statewide show,” she said. “It is a big deal that Cullman hosts the Gourd Show.”
Noting that vendors at the show come from many different locations, Alabama Gourd Society President Mack Gothard smiled, “One of our vendors is from California!”
Gothard spoke about the central Alabama “Patch” of the American Gourd Society, stating that meetings held are an overall learning experience since members exchange techniques between each other.
When asked, “Why Cullman?” Reeves said it started with a handful of gourd growers, now branching out to members all over the state who are members of the Alabama Gourd Society. The branches of the central Alabama Patch of the American Gourd Society always come back to Cullman once a year in the third weekend of October to host the Alabama Gourd Show, as well as hosting little events across the state “here and there.”
Reeves also gave the rundown on this year’s show Outside, you can purchase raw gourds while inside you can find vendors who sell the necessary supplies (like tools and dyes) you need to start your journey to creating gourd art, plus already-made appealing gourd art. This year, the admission to the show is free to celebrate the show’s 20th year. The only “paid” thing you can find to buy at the show are morning/afternoon classes you can sign up for and merchandise you can purchase from the vendors inside. There are also free demonstrations every hour to get the feel of what crafting gourd art is like. There’s a “kids’ patch” where children can make a gourd necklace for free to take home.
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