CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman has bratwurst, lederhosen and German oom-pah music at its annual Oktoberfest celebration, and it may now add the one ingredient that”s been missing for more than three decades: beer.
Residents in the north Alabama city of 14,000 voted Tuesday to legalize alcohol sales 77 years after the end of Prohibition, opening the door for organizers of its “dry” Oktoberfest to add barley, hops and malt to the mix.
There”s no guarantee, however, that anyone will belly up to the bar in a beer tent.
Leaders of the private foundation that stages the event must vote whether to allow the sale of alcohol, and that”s likely to be a “huge decision” when committee members begin considering the question as early as this month, said Julie Burks, who works at the county museum in Cullman and volunteers with Oktoberfest.
“We have a lot of people who come here because we don”t serve alcohol,” Burks said Wednesday.
By a 3,155-2,921 vote, residents in Cullman voted Tuesday to allow alcohol sales. Drinkers in the town, located about 50 miles north of Birmingham, currently have to drive more than 25 miles to buy a beer since surrounding Cullman County also is dry.
A local pastor, Ken Allen, said he expects Oktoberfest attendance to drop if organizers allow alcohol sales.
“There are a lot of people who just don”t want to be around it,” he said.
Voters in four other north Alabama cities – Rogersville, Priceville, Hartselle and Boaz – narrowly rejected ballot measures to go wet. The margin of defeat was only one vote in both Priceville and Rogersville, where the Rev. Scott Moore said opponents of alcohol had an ace in the hole.
“I told my wife if we win by one vote, that means God cast a vote in this decision,” Moore said.
In Priceville, where there were 17 provisional ballots, the final outcome won”t be decided until council members canvass the returns next week.
Cullman residents had previously rejected legalizing alcohol sales six times, most recently in 2004.
Mary Adams, spokeswoman for the pro-alcohol Coalition for a Better Cullman, said the vote showed residents are uniting to move the town forward.
“We”re very thankful for the voters who voted for the economic development of the city of Cullman,” she said. “This is wonderful.”
Even if Oktoberfest goes wet, the festival will likely continue selling its nonalcoholic Oktoberzest, a fizzy drink that”s available instead of beer.
“It”s a favorite with the kids,” said Burks.
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