Winston County Alabama 9-1-1 Festival

Most American towns celebrate a harvest, a founder, or a famous hometown product. Haleyville celebrates a telephone call. Each year in early June, downtown Haleyville in Winston County fills with parade entries, show vehicles, vendor booths and concert crowds for the 9-1-1 Festival, an event built around a genuine piece of national history. On February 16, 1968, the first 911 emergency call in the United States was placed in this town, and the festival keeps that distinction at the centre of a lively summer weekend. Tourism sources bill the gathering interchangeably as the 911 Festival and the 9-1-1 Festival, and both names point to the same celebration of first responders, community pride and one short phone call that changed emergency response forever.

About the 9-1-1 Festival

The festival is a recurring early-June event staged in downtown Haleyville, and its published organisation rests with two bodies recorded together in chamber, city and tourism layers: the Haleyville Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Haleyville. Those two names appear as published, and they are worth keeping whole, because they reflect how the weekend is presented to visitors — a civic celebration backed by both the business community and the town itself.

Haleyville is the largest city in Winston County, though it is not the county seat; that role belongs to Double Springs. The city also reaches across the county line into Marion County, which gives the festival a natural draw from two counties at once. None of that geography changes the heart of the event, however. Everything about the weekend points back to the emergency number itself: the parade gives space to alumni and to first responders, the concerts anchor the evenings, and the whole gathering doubles as a public thank-you to the dispatchers, officers, firefighters and medics who answer when residents dial those three digits.

Admission has been published as free in the tourism and chamber layers covering recent editions, which fits the character of the event. This is a downtown street festival rather than a gated showground production, and its programme mixes heritage with entertainment in roughly equal measure.

Quick Facts

Item	Details
Event name	Billed as both the 911 Festival and the 9-1-1 Festival
Host town	Haleyville, Winston County, Alabama
County seat note	Double Springs is the county seat; Haleyville is the county’s largest city
Organisers	Haleyville Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Haleyville
Setting	Downtown Haleyville; the 2026 listing gives 911 21st Street, Haleyville, AL 35565
Timing pattern	Early June, across a Friday and Saturday
Recent editions	June 5–6, 2015; June 2017; June 6–7, 2025; June 5–6, 2026
Admission	Free, as published for recent editions
Heritage centre	First 911 call in the United States, placed in Haleyville on February 16, 1968
Programme staples	Parade, vehicle and tractor shows, vendors, kids’ zone and headline concerts

History

The story begins long before the festival itself, in the mayor’s office in Haleyville on February 16, 1968. At 2 p.m. that day, Rankin Fite picked up a bright red telephone and dialled the new emergency number, reaching Tom Bevill at the Haleyville police station. That brief exchange is recorded as the first 911 call in the United States, and it gave this modest northwest Alabama town a permanent place in the history of public safety. The bright red telephone used for the call is now displayed in Haleyville City Hall, where it serves as the town’s most unusual civic treasure.

For a useful comparison, see the Wilcox County Alabama Triple “B” Reunion Festival for another county festival.

For decades the call was simply a point of local pride, retold whenever Haleyville’s name came up in discussions of emergency services. Turning that pride into a festival took longer. A local news layer covering the 2015 edition described the event as having been “launched about 15 years ago,” and that wording is best left exactly as that layer put it: it gives a rough sense of the festival’s age without fixing a precise beginning, and no exact starting year is claimed here.

What can be traced clearly is the festival’s recent run of editions. In 2015 the event ran on June 5–6 with Restless Heart as headliner, giving the weekend a nationally known country act at the top of the bill. A June edition followed in 2017, with Diamond Rio among the billed acts. By 2025 the festival was still drawing headline talent: a regional tourism association release dated April 28, 2025 recorded the June 6–7, 2025 edition headlined by Parmalee. The 2026 edition was listed for June 5–6, with Friday hours of 3 p.m. to midnight and Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a regional tourism roundup of June festivals named Aaron Tippin, the Lonesome River Band and Confederate Railroad for the Friday of that edition. Read together, those layers show a festival that has settled into a dependable early-June rhythm while continuing to book acts with genuine national profiles.

What to Expect

The parade sets the tone for the whole weekend. Alumni entries give the procession a homecoming flavour, while first responders roll through as honoured guests rather than background figures, a fitting arrangement for a festival that exists because of emergency services. Spectators line the downtown streets, and the parade’s mix of school ties and service vehicles captures the event’s double identity in a single pass.

Vehicle displays supply much of the daytime draw. A motorcycle show brings in chrome and custom paint, a classic car show covers the polished automotive end of the hobby, and an antique tractor show nods to the farming heritage of Winston County and the surrounding countryside. Between those displays, arts and crafts vendors offer handmade goods while food vendors handle everything from festival snacks to full plates, so grazing your way through downtown becomes part of the entertainment.

Families are looked after through a dedicated kids’ zone, which gives younger visitors their own corner of the action while adults browse the shows and booths. Then, as the day cools, the headline concerts take over. The billed names across recent editions — Restless Heart in 2015, Diamond Rio among the 2017 acts, Parmalee in 2025, and the Friday lineup published for 2026 — show that the music is not an afterthought. It is the festival’s evening centrepiece, and it keeps downtown busy long after the vehicle shows wind down.

Planning Your Visit

Because the festival occupies downtown Haleyville rather than a single enclosed ground, a little orientation goes a long way. The 2026 listing places the event at 911 21st Street, Haleyville, AL 35565, an address with a number sequence no visitor is likely to forget. Arriving with that downtown anchor in mind makes it easier to find the parade route, the show areas and the concert space once you are on foot.

Timing deserves attention because the two days run differently. For the 2026 edition, Friday’s published hours ran from 3 p.m. to midnight, making Friday the long evening of the weekend and the natural choice for concertgoers, while Saturday ran from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., a shorter daytime window suited to the parade, the shows and family activities. Those hours belong to the 2026 listing specifically, so checking the current year’s schedule before travelling is a sensible habit.

Free admission for recent editions keeps the budgeting simple: the main costs of the trip are fuel, food and whatever the craft booths tempt you to carry home. Haleyville also sits within reach of the rest of Winston County, so visitors driving in from Double Springs or from the Marion County side of town can treat the festival as an easy day trip. Comfortable shoes, sun protection and a plan for the midday heat will serve you well on the downtown streets. Shade can be scarce on open pavement, so pacing the afternoon with drink breaks between booths keeps the whole party fresher for the evening.

A Sample Weekend in Haleyville

Friday afternoon makes a gentle start. Arrive as the festival opens, wander the craft and food booths while the light is still good, and let the motorcycle and classic car displays fill the early evening. Save your energy for the headline concert, since Friday runs to midnight and the music is the main event after dark.

Saturday morning rewards an early arrival. The 8 a.m. start means the parade, the antique tractor show and the kids’ zone can all fit into a single morning without rushing. Browse the vendors once more, pick up lunch from a food booth, and use the early afternoon finish as a cue to see a little of Haleyville itself — including City Hall, where the famous red telephone from the first 911 call is displayed — before heading home.

How It Compares With Other Alabama Festivals

Many Alabama festivals are organised around a crop, a river or a musical genre, and the 9-1-1 Festival borrows pieces from several of those traditions: the tractor show from agricultural fairs, the car and motorcycle displays from cruise-in culture, and the headline concerts from larger music weekends. What sets it apart is its reason for existing. No other festival in the state is built on a single telephone call, and very few anywhere celebrate an emergency service as their founding theme.

The scale is also distinctive. Rather than sprawling across a fairground, the event stays in a downtown core, which keeps the parade, the shows and the stage within walking distance of one another. Visitors get the energy of a headline concert weekend without losing the small-town feel of a community celebration run by its own chamber of commerce and city government.

Planning Checklist

• Confirm the current year’s dates and daily hours before travelling, since published hours belong to individual editions
• Note the downtown location at 911 21st Street when setting your navigation
• Arrive early on Saturday to catch the parade and the vehicle shows in the cooler morning
• Bring sun protection, water and comfortable walking shoes for downtown streets
• Set aside Friday evening for the headline concert if music is your priority
• Carry some cash for craft booths and food vendors
• Leave time to view the red telephone display at Haleyville City Hall
• Plan a route that accounts for Haleyville sitting partly in Marion County if you are driving in from the east

Beyond the Festival Grounds

A festival trip can easily stretch into a wider look at Winston County. Haleyville itself rewards a slow wander: civic buildings, local shops and the everyday streets of the county’s largest city give a fair picture of northwest Alabama life beyond the festival crowds. City Hall deserves its place on any itinerary, since the bright red telephone from February 16, 1968 is displayed there, connecting the weekend’s entertainment back to the moment that inspired it.

Double Springs, the county seat, makes a natural second stop for anyone curious about the county’s other civic centre, and the rural roads between the two towns show off the rolling country that the antique tractor show celebrates each year. Local eateries and small businesses feel the lift as well, since a festival weekend sends extra visitors through doors that are quieter the rest of the summer. Treating the festival as the centre of a small county tour, rather than a single stop, turns a good day out into a fuller picture of the area.

Why This Festival Matters

Plenty of towns claim a first, but Haleyville’s claim changed daily life across an entire country. Before 911 existed, reaching emergency help meant remembering separate numbers for police, fire and medical services; afterwards, three digits became the universal route to assistance. The festival matters because it keeps that story attached to a real place and real people — to Rankin Fite, who made the call, to Tom Bevill, who answered it, and to the generations of first responders the parade honours each year.

It also matters locally. The weekend brings alumni back downtown, gives vendors and performers a stage, and reminds residents that their town’s name is spoken with respect in dispatch centres far beyond Alabama. A celebration that began as local pride has become a standing tribute to everyone who picks up when the phone rings in an emergency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Haleyville hold a festival about an emergency number?

Haleyville earned its place in the story on February 16, 1968, when the first 911 call in the United States was placed from the mayor’s office there. The festival grew out of that distinction, pairing civic pride in the call with a broader tribute to the first responders who staff the system today.

Who placed the first 911 call, and who received it?

Rankin Fite placed the call at 2 p.m. from the mayor’s office in Haleyville, using a bright red telephone. Tom Bevill answered at the Haleyville police station. The red telephone itself survives and is displayed in Haleyville City Hall.

Which headline performers have appeared at recent editions?

Restless Heart headlined the June 5–6, 2015 edition, and Diamond Rio was among the billed acts in June 2017. Parmalee headlined on June 6–7, 2025, while the Friday of the 2026 edition was billed with Aaron Tippin, the Lonesome River Band and Confederate Railroad.

What kinds of shows fill the daytime programme?

Daytime crowds can browse a motorcycle show, a classic car show and an antique tractor show, alongside arts and crafts booths and food vendors. A kids’ zone keeps younger visitors occupied, and the parade features both alumni and first responders.

What to Expect From the Next Winston County Alabama 9-1-1 Festival

How often is Winston County Alabama 9-1-1 Festival held?

The festival returns each year in early June, and recent editions have consistently occupied a Friday and Saturday. Its organisers, the Haleyville Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Haleyville, have kept that early-summer slot across the 2015, 2017, 2025 and 2026 editions.

When is the next Winston County Alabama 9-1-1 Festival?

The most recent published listing covers the June 5–6, 2026 edition in downtown Haleyville, so the next running of the festival is expected to follow the established pattern on an early-June Friday and Saturday. Watch for the chamber and city announcements to confirm the exact weekend before making travel plans.

Will the dates change?

The early-June timing has held steady across every recent edition on record, which makes a major move unlikely. Small shifts in which Friday and Saturday the festival lands on are normal from year to year, and daily hours can vary between editions, so confirming the final schedule close to the event remains the wise approach.

When the parade rolls through downtown Haleyville and the first responders take their place in it, the 9-1-1 Festival becomes something more than a summer weekend. It is a town thanking the people who answer its calls, in the very place where the most famous emergency call of all was made.