Festival goers sit in front of City Hall in Irondale, Alabama, on I Love Irondale Day, July 18, 2026.
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Every summer, the I Love Irondale Day festival celebrates the small neighboring town of Birmingham, Alabama, best known as the home of the coffee shop 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?
The people in the comments have and hated It.
Some criticized the AI, calling it “absolute garbage for the environment” and the festival an “AI slop event.” Another person said the post sounded like a pep rally for something that has become a bogeyman in the South: data centers.
While two city council members told NPR there are no immediate plans for a data center in Irondale, near Bessemer, Alabama is gearing up for a multibillion-dollar data center — and residents have fought against it.
Amid the backlash, Stewart released a new video: The renaming was just “a play on words,” he said, and the festival won’t 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, particularly in parts of the South and Midwest, which are experiencing the largest construction boom. Local officials often describe them as a source of new jobs and tax dollars – although once construction is completed, it’s not clear whether they will create many permanent jobs.
Still, public disdain for data centers is widespread. A March Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans oppose building centers where they live. They worry about noise pollution and how power- and water-hungry data centers would impact their utility bills and the environment.
“My fear is all of this,” said Kathleen Haberstroh, who attended the city festival on Saturday when it was held 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 and community.”
Then again, he actually loves Irondale. “I don’t want to sound cheesy and say it has a certain magic to it, but it’s right by the train tracks. There’s the Whistle Stop Café,” he said. “You have that sunset. I mean, there’s something beautiful about it.”
Amelia Fielder also praised the city where she has lived for 26 years. However, she is not against the idea of AI in Irondale and would welcome a data center neighbor as she believes it would bring jobs.
She also said that this year’s festival is the biggest yet and she has no problem with the short renaming after AI. “Everything else is AI,” Fielder said. “Why not?”
Councilman Aaron Sims, spotted at the festival, said he doesn’t expect to see huge data centers popping up in Irondale.
“We don’t have 150 acres that are just sitting there for a large hyperscale facility,” he said. However, he said the council was creating new rules in case a developer was interested in building a smaller data center.
As for why he was trying to rename the festival, Sims said, “I think the mayor just realized that the AI is here. The technology is here. We want our citizens to be educated about the future. This is the sneak peek today.”
Even though AI no longer appears in the name, the festival still had something of a tech theme. Dancers on stilts – dressed as robots – moved to a Spanish version of “Achy Breaky Heart.”
A dancer on stilts is dressed as a robot – but not a “robot” – at I Love Irondale Day on July 22, 2026.
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There was a screen that asked festival-goers to answer questions to teach a chatbot about Irondale — but it didn’t work.
The big tech hit of the festival was the drone show finale. Dewar Gaines watched with his son as drones gathered in the sky to form the Statue of Liberty and the American flag and spell out “I Love Irondale.”
Gaines, who owns a dog food factory in Irondale, has heard firsthand how noisy data centers can be and doesn’t want one built near him.
However, he relies on AI to do his work. “I guess I’m a hypocrite about this,” Gaines said. “Because it’s the most powerful tool I have.”
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/23/nx-s1-5896481/data-center-backlash-ai-love-irondale-day
