What time should you get to Moody City Park on Saturday, October 3? The official listing says 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., free admission. But the 16th annual Cruisin' for a Miracle Car Show opens an hour earlier, at 8 a.m. The one set appointment of the day is at noon at the pavilion. This year's festival has a few start times, a feature it has never had, and a week of road work leading up to it. Planning around all three will tell you more about your Saturday than the flyer does.
This is the 23rd Oktoberfest hosted by the Moody Area Chamber of Commerce. The City of Moody describes it as a day that brings the community and local businesses together for crafts, children's activities, live entertainment, a car show "and much more." The festival always falls on the first Saturday in October. What's different in 2026 is what goes on inside that window.
The Saturday, Hour by Hour
Here is everything with a confirmed time for October 3, in one place:
| Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 8 a.m. | Cruisin' for a Miracle Car Show opens | Moody City Park area |
| 9 a.m. | Oktoberfest opens: crafts, food, kids' activities, music | Moody City Park |
| 12 p.m. | The Amazin' Oktoberfest Inflatable Race | Park pavilion |
| 3 p.m. | Festival and car show both close | Moody City Park |
Live music on two stages, pony rides and a pumpkin patch are all advertised, but none of them has a published schedule. The festival materials don't name bands or set times. So the table above is the full list of times you can actually plan around. Anything else on the program, you find by walking the grounds.
8 a.m.: The Car Show Fills the Park First
The car show gets its own start time because it's a separate event with its own cause. Cruisin' for a Miracle benefits the Moody Miracle League. Registration is $10 per show vehicle. No registration cutoff has been published, so plan to have your car in place by 8.
The show's size is why the early start matters. Bham Now's car show roundup for this fall says it draws more than 350 participants on average and tells entrants to arrive early to get a spot. Last year, the city's own event page counted more than 300 vehicles and more than 100 vendors at the 2025 festival. No one has published counts for 2026. But last year's numbers show that by the time the festival gates open at 9, a few hundred cars could already be parked on the grounds.
This is the main planning point for the morning. If you're showing a car, arrive at 8. If you're coming to walk the festival with a stroller, the early hour still decides how close you can park.
Noon: The Race Run by the People Who Run the Town
The city's promo for the inflatable race asks, "Who will be the last to deflate?" It lists six contestants, and every one of them is someone a Moody household is likely to know by name:
- Chief Reece Smith, Moody Police Department
- Grant Gholson, Moody firefighter
- Mike Staggs, Moody Park Director
- Lance Cisco, Moody Elementary Principal
- Avery Reeve, Moody Chamber Ambassador
- Leighanna Huckabee, City of Moody Revenue Clerk
The race starts at 12 p.m. at the pavilion in Moody City Park. The promo doesn't explain the rules or the format, and it doesn't say whether anyone else can enter, so expect to watch rather than race. Mike Staggs is one of the six, and his day job is running the park the race is held in. That ties into the second half of this post.
Noon is also the clear midpoint of a 9-to-3 day. Families with young children can use it to split the day: come late in the morning for the race and the kids' activities, then head home before the afternoon crowd peaks. People who come for the cars can see the show early and walk over to the pavilion afterward.
The Afternoon, and the Feature That's New This Year
The festival's sponsor graphic lists its draws as "crafts, food, music, activities," then adds a line the festival hasn't had before: "New this year... Beer Garden." At its September 15 meeting, where it also passed the 2026–2027 budget, the Moody City Council approved a special-events retail license for OH Sherri Pub to run the beer garden at the October 3 Oktoberfest at Moody City Park.
That's all that's confirmed. Hours, prices and ID rules for the beer garden haven't been published, so check with the Chamber or at the gate before planning your afternoon around it. Still, a festival in its 23rd year adding something new is worth noticing. It's the first change to the lineup in the 2026 materials.
The sponsor list shows who is paying for the day. Besides the City of Moody, Visit St. Clair and the St. Clair County Commission, the 2026 graphic names CMIT Solutions, W.C. Wright & Son, Ashley Manor Apartments, Metro Bank, 1st Franklin Financial, WinSouth Credit Union, Moody Living Magazine, Huntington Bank, NorthPark Baptist, Revolution Roofing, Heritage South Credit Union and TCI Sales. The Chamber's 2026 vendor application took booths for crafters, nonprofits and businesses, food vendors, and activity and ride vendors. No vendor list or food truck lineup has been published, so you'll find out who's cooking when you get there.
Getting There During Paving Week
The Saturday plan above assumes you can get out of your neighborhood easily. For some Moody households, that's less certain than usual this week.
Starting October 1, pavement work begins in the Blueridge and Montebello subdivisions and on Robbie Drive. Workers will be on site from 8 a.m., contractors will direct traffic, and the city has warned of "significant" delays. Every car parked along those roads has to be moved. The city's announcement gave no completion date. That means nobody can say yet whether crews will be finished before Saturday's 8 a.m. car show. The Trussville Tribune reports that questions can go to City Engineer Keith Hager at [email protected].
Three more logistics details are worth checking before you leave the house:
- Which address to use. Published listings disagree. The state tourism listing gives Moody City Park as 670 Park Avenue. The car show listing gives Moody Park & Rec at 663 Park Ave. Bham Now lists 201 Dave Hill Dr. These may be different entrances to the same grounds. If you're towing a show car, confirm which one you need ahead of time.
- Parking. The vendor application tells vendors to unload and then move their vehicles to a designated vendor lot. No parking directions for attendees have been published.
- Weather. The vendor application says the festival will not be rescheduled if it's rained out. There is no backup date, so check the forecast Saturday morning.
If you're coming from Leeds or Pell City on I-20, ALDOT's resurfacing project from the Kelly Creek Road interchange at Exit 147 toward the Coosa River Bridge is still active. Its projected completion is spring 2027.
What Comes to the Park After the Crowd Leaves
The same park is about to change. In late August, the City of Moody shared renderings of a new playground for the city park. It will be inclusive for "children of all abilities," with Mommy & Me play features and shade awnings. The city is working with Hammill Recreation, LLC and Play & Park Structures on the project.
"We know how important places like this are for our families, and we're proud to provide a space where kids can play, parents can connect, and families can spend time together."
Construction is expected to begin in late fall to early winter. On that schedule, the build would start a few weeks after the festival. That makes October 3 the last big gathering at City Park in its current form. The city hasn't said which areas will be fenced off during construction or how long the work will take. When the inflatable race is over, you can see where things stand in person.
The fall calendar keeps going after Oktoberfest. The Chamber's October calendar lists a Moody Chamber Members Luncheon on Thursday, October 8. The City Council has also declared October 23–31 Red Ribbon Week and is encouraging the public to wear red ribbons.
A Simple Plan for Saturday
- Showing a car: Arrive by 8 a.m. with $10 for registration. Confirm your entrance address the night before.
- Bringing young kids: Arrive mid-morning, catch the noon race at the pavilion, and see pony rides and the pumpkin patch while it's less crowded.
- Coming for the afternoon: Check beer garden hours at the gate. Everything wraps up at 3 p.m.
- Living in Blueridge, Montebello or on Robbie Drive: Move any car parked along the road before crews arrive at 8 a.m. Leave extra time to get out of the neighborhood.
Admission to the festival is free. Car show registration supports the Moody Miracle League. The rest of the day is paid for by the local businesses, organizations and public agencies on the 2026 sponsor list.
Brian Camp has worked on land, building and property decisions in and around Moody for decades, and part of that work is knowing how a town's roads, parks and public spaces are changing. If you'd like to talk about a property near City Park, or how the playground project and road work might affect a lot or home you're considering, (Robert) Brian Camp is glad to talk it through with you. Let's Connect.
