Alabama National Fair kicks off with officials monitoring weekend storm threat

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA)- The Alabama National Fair kicked off it’s ’11 Best Days of Fall’ Thursday night, welcoming hundreds people through the gates for opening night.

This year’s fair includes more than 52 rides, exhibits, shows, and of course, dozens of food vendors.

Thursday marked WAKA Action 8 Day, with admission half price with a $5 discount on wristbands.

Fair staff also had one eye on alerts, as Hurricane Isaias draws closer to the Gulf Coast. It’s track is expected to bring it very close to Montgomery, with its impacts including high winds, rain, potential flash flooding, and the risk of tornadoes.

Local leaders say the fair is expected to continue this weekend, despite the threat.

Fair officials tell Action 8 they are making some adjustments to keep people safe.

“Saturday, we have changed our opening time till 11 o’clock to give this time to move on and we’ll see where we’re at at 11 o’clock,” says Randy Stephenson, the Executive Director of the Alabama National Fair.  “So, Saturday that’s the only big change we’ve made so far is we’re going to delay our opening until 11 o’clock and we will keep monitoring the weather the whole time.”

” I would suggest that you listen to the weather and make preparations and if the weather is clear, and enjoy yourself if not find shelter,” says Nelda Jackson.

“First time of the year on the Gulf, I think they should take it pretty serious because I’ve been following it on my phone and seen that I’ve seen that the Millar Bars are dropping pretty quick and the winds are picking up pretty quick so I will be concerned if I was on the gulf,” says Kevin Vance.

To get more information about this year’s fair, visit here.