Fairground fire in Montgomery won’t stop fair this fall

A fire at the fairgrounds one month ago destroyed all of the equipment and tools used to set up for the Alabama National Fair.

Organizers held a press conference Tuesday morning about the status of the fair this fall.

A Saturday night fire at the Fairgrounds destroyed $700,000 worth of equipment and tools last month.

“And including our building an our maintenance shop what we work out of and create things with, and things of that nature. It’s all gone,” said Fair Executive Director Randy Stephenson.

“It was nobody’s fault or anything of that nature, it was an electrical fire. That’s what was determined by our fire chiefs and insurance people who came out.”

Fair officials held a press conference Tuesday — to inform the community about the devastating loss.

“We’re going to survive this, we’re going to get through it. We got great leadership on our Fair Board and our Kiwanis Club,” said Stephenson.

“And I promise you come October we’re going to have one of the best fair’s we’ve ever had. We’re going to rebuilt it bigger and stronger than it’s ever been.”

The Alabama National Fair and Agricultural Expo — has been a staple in Montgomery for decades.
And officials are determined to continue using the tradition — to make a difference in the community.

“We presented $325,000 dollars worth of awards to about 40 non-profits in Montgomery in the River Region area — just days before this fire,” said Fair President Doug Singleton.

“The whole purpose of the fair is giving back to the community,” said Stephenson.

“It’s the Kiwanis Club’s #1 goal when they started it over 70 years ago.”

Fair officials say the Alabama National Fair has donated around $10 million dollars to River Region non-profit agencies over the years.