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Residents of Pelham and the surrounding area are saying goodbye to yet another successful iteration of the Oak Mountain State Fair, which ended this weekend after a three-week run on Sunday, April 14. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Residents of Pelham and the surrounding area are saying goodbye to yet another successful iteration of the Oak Mountain State Fair, which ended this weekend after a three-week run on Sunday, April 14.

Beginning first on Wednesday, March 27, visitors to the fair were able to enjoy a long list of rides, attractions and traditional carnival food staples and take in the sights and lights of one of the community’s most attended events.

“Over the entire run, we have had somewhere in the neighborhood of about 50,000 people attend the fair,” said John Ruffino, a partner at Red Mountain Entertainment.

Red Mountain Entertainment helped manage the public relations and logistical organization of the event and partnered with Kissel entertainment, who provided the Oak Mountain State Fair with rides for the second time this year.

The Clanton based company provided the Oak Mountain State Fair with a large collection and variety of rides, including youth friendly options and more adventurous options. Youth friendly rides, slides and carousels stood next to roller coasters, swaying ships, spinning cups, flying swings and gravity rides that all littered the grounds. The fair also featured what is claimed to be the world’s tallest traveling giant Ferris wheel in its lineup of attractions.

In addition to the rides and carnival games, the Oak Mountain State Fair also offered its attendants with two featured shows that drew crowds across all three weekends.

“This year, the ground attractions that we brought in were the Sea Lion Splash Show and the Dominguez Circus,” Ruffino said. “Every year we try and do something new. We’ve had monkeys riding dogs, petting zoos—we just try to mix it up a bit.”

Present at last year’s fair, the returning Sea Lion Splash Show proved to have a lasting popularity and was a crowd favorite that offered entertainment while also presenting an educational opportunity to display the animals. During off-times, the sea lions remained accessible and could be viewed swimming in their tanks and sunning themselves on the stage.

The Dominguez Circus also proved popular with the crowd as the group made up of third generation circus performers captivated audiences with skill and their trained animals. The troupe, who has appeared on America’s got Talent in the past, played shows throughout the three-week run of the fair.

Across all three weeks of the fair’s run, the only scheduled day that had to be cancelled was Wednesday, April 10, which was forced to close due to inclement weather. However, despite brief showers on Thursday, the Oak Mountain State Fair was able to close out its last week with clear days that allowed the public back for their last hurrahs.

“For us it’s just fun to connect different families and people from around the area and to bring them all together for three weekends,” Ruffino said.

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