AILSA CHANG, HOST:

An Alabama town festival rebranded this month around an AI theme. NPR’s Stephan Bisaha reports on the backlash.

STEPHAN BISAHA, BYLINE: There are a few ways to describe Irondale, Alabama – like Birmingham’s smaller neighbor, home to the cafe that inspired the ’90’s Southern dramedy “Fried Green Tomatoes.” And Irondale resident John Horton calls his town a hidden gem.

JOHN HORTON: I don’t want to sound corny and say there’s a certain magic to it, but it’s right by the railroad tracks. You got Whistle Stop Cafe. You have that sunset. I mean, that – it’s – there’s something beautiful about it.

BISAHA: Horton’s taking in the sights and barbecue smells at Irondale’s annual summer festival. But this year, the festival got a new name. A few weeks ago, the mayor announced on his Facebook page that I Love Irondale Day will be called AI Love Irondale Day. Get it? People in the comments did and hated it. Some of them trashed AI, calling it absolutely garbage for the environment, and called the festival an AI slop event. Another person said the post sounded like a pep rally for what’s become a boogeyman in the South – data centers. John Horton knows the feeling.

HORTON: Boo (laughter). Yeah. Yeah. No, I don’t like data centers.

BISAHA: Data centers powering AI are popping up all over the South and causing worries about what they’ll do to utility bills and the environment. These centers need a lot of power and water.

HORTON: I just think it’s a waste of space, resources, community.

BISAHA: Nearby Bessemer, Alabama, is prepping for a multibillion-dollar data center, and residents have been fighting against it. Irondale Mayor James Stewart did not comment when I reached out to his office, but a week before the festival, he posted a video online backtracking on the AI Love Irondale name.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAMES STEWART: It was a play on words. However, because people misinterpreted the title – it’s not about AI. It’s not about data centers – we decided to give it its old name, I Love Irondale Day.

BISAHA: One city council member I ran into at the festival said he does not expect data centers to ever come to Irondale, but the council is creating new rules in case one does. And even with AI no longer in the name, the festival did have a tech theme. John Horton got a kick watching human dancers on stilts, dressed as robots.

HORTON: Dancing to “Achy Breaky Heart” in Spanish, and I thought that was incredible. I loved that part.

BISAHA: The only sign of actual AI at the festival is a screen set up with a chatbot. Festivalgoers were supposed to teach the AI about Irondale, but the bot was not working.

Now, not everyone had a problem with the festival briefly being named after AI.

AMELIA FIELDER: Fine for me (laughter). Everything else is AI. Why not (laughter)?

BISAHA: Amelia Fielder has lived in Irondale for 26 years. And she, for one, would welcome a data center neighbor.

FIELDER: I wouldn’t think it would be a bad thing. I think it’ll bring jobs.

BISAHA: The festival’s big tech hit is the drone show finale.

DEWAR GAINES: Oh, look, Quint. Look. There they are, right there. Look at the drones.

BISAHA: Dewar Gaines is watching with his son.

GAINES: That’s cool. Quint, you see the drones, buddy?

BISAHA: Gaines owns a dog treat factory in Irondale, and he does use AI for work.

GAINES: I don’t want a data center where I live, but I use AI at scale. So I guess I’m a hypocrite in that regard.

BISAHA: He knows how loud data centers can be and doesn’t want that near Irondale. But he does say AI is the most powerful tool he has.

Stephan Bisaha, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Sign up and be the first to hear about new Tiny Desk concerts and behind the scenes glimpses

Every summer, the I Love Irondale Day festival celebrates the small city neighboring Birmingham, Alabama, most famous as the home of the cafe that inspired the 90s dramedy Fried Green Tomatoes.

But earlier this month, Mayor James D. Stewart announced on his Facebook page that the festival would be renamed AI Love Irondale Day. Get it?

People in the comments did and hated it.

Some trashed AI, calling it “absolutely garbage for the environment” and the festival an “AI slop event.” Another person said the post sounded like a pep rally for what’s become a boogeyman in the South: data centers.

While two city councilmembers told NPR there are no immediate plans for a data center in Irondale, nearby Bessemer, Alabama is prepping for a multibillion-dollar data center — and residents have been fighting against it.

In the face of the backlash, Stewart posted a new video: The rebranding was just “a play on words,” he said, and the festival would not be about AI or data centers. Still, he said, the festival would return to its original name: I Love Irondale.

(Stewart’s office did not respond to a request for comment.)

Data centers are a hot topic, especially in parts of the South and the Midwest that are seeing the biggest construction boom. Local officials often herald them as a source of new jobs and tax dollars — although once construction is finished, it’s not clear if they’ll create many permanent jobs.

Yet public disdain for data centers is widespread. A Gallup poll from March found that 70% of Americans are opposed to the centers being built where they live. They worry about noise pollution, and about how power-and-water-hungry data centers would affect their utility bills and the environment.

“My fear is all of the above,” said Kathleen Haberstroh, who attended the city’s festival on Saturday, when it went ahead under its original name. “It just feels predatory.”

“I don’t like data centers,” said resident John Horton. He called them “a waste of space, resources, community.”

On the other hand, he does indeed love Irondale. “I don’t want to sound corny and say there’s a certain magic to it, but it’s right by the railroad tracks. You’ve got Whistle Stop Cafe,” he said. “You have that sunset. I mean there’s something beautiful about it.”

Amelia Fielder also praised the city she’s lived in for 26 years. However, she’s not opposed to the idea of AI in Irondale and would welcome a data center neighbor, believing it would bring jobs.

She also said this year’s festival was the biggest yet, and she didn’t have an issue with its brief renaming after AI. “Everything else is AI,” said Fielder. “Why not?” 

City councilmember Aaron Sims, spotted at the festival, said he does not expect any huge data centers to come to Irondale.

“We don’t have 150 acres just sitting out there for a big hyperscale facility,” he said. But, he said, the council is creating new rules in case a developer is interested in building a smaller data center.

On the reason for the attempt to rename the festival, Sims said, “I think the mayor just realized that, you know, AI is here. Tech is here. We want our citizens educated on the future. This is the little taste today.”

Even with AI no longer in the name, the festival did have something of a tech theme. Dancers on stilts — dressed as robots — moved to a Spanish version of “Achy Breaky Heart.”

There was a screen set up where festival-goers were supposed to answer questions to teach a chatbot about Irondale — but it was not working.

The festival’s big tech hit was the drone show finale. Dewar Gaines watched with his son as drones gathered in the sky to form the Statue of Liberty, the American flag and spelled out “I Love Irondale.”

Gaines, who owns a dog treat factory in Irondale, has heard firsthand how loud data centers can be and doesn’t want one built near him.

That said, he relies on AI for work. “So I guess I’m a hypocrite in that regard,” said Gaines. “Because it’s the most powerful tool I have.”

Copyright 2026 NPR