1944 Alabama State Fair
The 1944 Alabama State Fair was a State Fair held in October 2–7, 1944 at the Alabama State Fairgrounds.
The fairground's livestock barns were renovated in advance of the fair, allowing for an expansion of the agricultural exhibits. Also on show were educational displays and entries into the craft work and cooking competitions. Alongside those exhibits ran a "Mile-Long Midway of America's Finest Games and Shows."
Daily entertainments at the fair included a Barnes-Carruthers stage act with a series of international dancers, an acrobatic slapstick trio, a recreation of an "air raid" through sound effects produced on the electric guitar by Bert Lynn, and a climax featuring "Miss Victory" shot from a cannon .
The evening entertainment was provided by the WSM-AM Grande Ole Opry featuring Ernest Tubb and his Troubadours, Minnie Pearl, Pee-Wee King and Golden West Cowboys, and a "marvelous cast of Hillbillies." Tuesday October 3 was highlighted by a nearly two-hour aerial stunt show presented by "'Ace' Lillard, Daredevil Supreme". Four hundred orphans from the St Thomas Home-on-Hill in East Lake were guests of the fair for that performance.
General admission was 35 cents, or 10 cents for children under 12. The Thrill Show was an additional 75-cent grandstand ticket, or 30 cents for children under 12. Grandstand tickets for the evening entertainment were $1, or 50 cents for children. Birmingham City Schools and Jefferson County Schools dismissed at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, October 3. Students were admitted free to the fair and to the grandstand show that afternoon.
References
- Tucker, Kathryn (October 2, 1944) "Fair Opens With Great Show, Rides, Balloons, Dolls, Games" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
