Mobile-area actress Sherri Eakin, a Fairhope resident and horror film veteran, is preparing for the release of Hayride 2 after gaining national attention in the slasher franchise that began filming in Alabama years ago.
Eakin landed the lead role of Amanda after attending acting workshops across the Southeast where she first met co-star Richard Tyson. She had never auditioned for film or television but earned the part through a casting call posted online. Director Terron Parsons gave her the opportunity. It was an incredible opportunity for a new actor and I am so grateful to director Terron Parsons for giving me a chance, Eakin said.
Must-See Moments in Hayride 2
Eakin acknowledged the intense scenes in the sequel but was careful not to spoil the plot for fans awaiting its release. We had so much fun shooting the first film, and a lot of the scenes remind me of our shooting days there and the great time we were having running around the woods and making new friends, she said. She singled out the character Pitchfork, calling him impossible to top as the chainsaw-wielding villain.
What Comes Next
Several other projects are also on the horizon for Eakin. She plays Cassie Daniels in the upcoming horror feature Freshwater, starring Zoe Bell, about a group of friends who have a horrifying experience at a lake house vacation. She also stars alongside Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows in the comedy Nigel and Oscar vs Sasquatch, a road-trip story about two brothers hunting the legendary creature.
Hayride 2 recently gained a slot at the Fairhope Film Festival. Eakin, who has been invited to speak at a film festival in Mississippi the same weekend, said she may still attend the local screening in Fairhope if her schedule permits.
Baldwin County sits directly east of Mobile County across Mobile Bay and is the largest county in Alabama by land area. It encompasses the Eastern Shore communities of Daphne, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, and Foley and stretches south to the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach along the Gulf of Mexico.
Long among the fastest-growing counties in the state, Baldwin blends suburban development near the bay with tourism-driven coastal economies. Its proximity to Mobile and its position on the Eastern Shore make it a recurring subject of regional news covering growth, infrastructure, schools, and the balance between development and coastal preservation.
Alabama is a state in the southeastern United States bordered by Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi. Often called the Heart of Dixie, it spans Appalachian foothills in the north and flat coastal plains in the south. Its largest cities include Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, and Mobile.
Alabama’s history encompasses Indigenous roots, Spanish and French colonial settlement, a cotton-plantation economy, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, followed by a shift toward manufacturing, aerospace, and technology. Local news across the state frequently reflects this mix of tradition and change.
Mobile is the county seat of Mobile County in southwest Alabama and the state’s only saltwater port. Situated where the Mobile River meets Mobile Bay near the northern Gulf of Mexico, the city has long served as a commercial and cultural gateway between Alabama and the wider Gulf Coast. Founded in 1702 as Fort Louis de la Louisiane and ruled in turn by France, Britain, and Spain before joining the United States in 1813, Mobile carries a layered heritage distinct from the rest of the state.
Today Mobile anchors a metropolitan area spanning Mobile County and neighboring Baldwin County, and it remains a center for shipping, aerospace, healthcare, and higher education in the region. Its downtown and waterfront have seen sustained revitalization, while historic neighborhoods preserve architecture from its colonial and antebellum past. The city’s identity is shaped as much by its working port and industrial base as by its festivals and food culture, making it a frequent focal point for news about growth and change in southern Alabama.
Mobile lays claim to a long tradition of outdoor festivals and public celebration, most famously its Carnival or Mardi Gras season, which predates the better-known celebrations of New Orleans. Throughout the year the region hosts music festivals, food and arts events, and waterfront gatherings that draw visitors from across the Gulf Coast.
Such events are economic and cultural anchors for the area, supporting hospitality, tourism, and local artists while fostering a sense of community identity. Organizing them involves coordination among city government, business sponsors, public-safety agencies, and volunteers, and they frequently appear in local news coverage of the region’s cultural life.
For many residents, these gatherings are also a point of civic pride and a way to mark the seasons. The mix of nationally known and local performers common to regional festivals reflects the area’s dual character as both a close-knit community and a stop on broader touring circuits.
The economy of the Mobile region is diversified across shipping and logistics, aerospace and shipbuilding, healthcare, tourism, and manufacturing. The Port of Mobile is one of the nation’s busiest seaports and a cornerstone of the local and state economy.
Major employers in aviation and defense contribute to a skilled workforce, while economic-development organizations aim to attract investment and jobs through incentives and infrastructure improvements. Small businesses, from restaurants to professional services, form the backbone of neighborhood commerce.
The health of the regional economy is a frequent subject of public discussion and reporting. Workforce development, recruitment of industry, and the fortunes of local retailers all feed into a broader picture of how the Gulf Coast competes and adapts in a changing national economy.
Mobile Bay is a shallow estuary in southern Alabama where freshwater from the Mobile, Tensaw, and other rivers mixes with saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico. It is among the largest estuarine systems in the United States and supports commercial and recreational fishing, shipping through the Port of Mobile, and wetlands that buffer the coastline from storms.
The bay’s Eastern Shore, in Baldwin County, includes Daphne, Fairhope, and Spanish Fort, while the Western Shore lies in Mobile County. Its ecology and economy have guided settlement for centuries, and the bay figures in regional debates over development, navigation, and conservation. Events on either shore are routinely covered as part of the interconnected life of the Mobile metro area.
The Gulf of Mexico borders Alabama’s southern edge and defines much of the state’s coastal identity. Alabama’s Gulf coastline, centered on Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach, supports a tourism industry built around beaches, charter fishing, and marine recreation, while offshore waters host shipping lanes and energy interests.
The Gulf’s warm, shallow shelf and exposure to hurricanes make weather and disaster preparedness recurring concerns for communities from Mobile to Baldwin County. The marine environment also underpins commercial seafood harvests that have sustained Gulf Coast families for generations, tying the region’s economy and culture closely to the water.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice, tasked with protecting the country against terrorist threats, foreign intelligence operations, cyber attacks, and major criminal activity. Established in 1908, the bureau operates a network of field offices across the country, each responsible for federal law-enforcement matters within its region.
Field offices such as the one serving Mobile work closely with state and local agencies, reflecting the bureau’s reliance on partnerships rather than unilateral action. The director, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, sets national priorities that cascade down to individual offices handling everything from counterterrorism to public-corruption and civil-rights investigations.
Because federal agents are seldom the first to notice a threat in a community, much of the bureau’s effectiveness depends on tips and vigilance from local residents and police. That reality has made community outreach, including visits by senior leaders to field offices, a deliberate part of how the FBI maintains trust and communication with the public it serves.
Local law enforcement across South Alabama is carried out by municipal police departments, county sheriff’s offices, and state agencies that together cover a mix of urban, suburban, and rural territory. City departments handle policing within municipal limits, while sheriff’s offices provide courthouse security, jail operations, and patrol in unincorporated areas.
Cooperation among these agencies, and with federal partners, is central to tackling problems that cross jurisdictional lines, from drug trafficking to violent crime. Joint task forces that pair federal agents with local officers have become a standard mechanism for sharing information and concentrating resources on threats that no single agency could address alone.
Public-safety agencies in the region also contend with staffing, training, and community-relations challenges common to departments nationwide. How they allocate patrols, respond to calls, and engage neighborhoods is a regular subject of local oversight and news coverage, particularly where residents expect both accountability and visible protection.
Probate courts in Alabama handle matters distinct from the trial courts that hear criminal and civil cases, including wills, estates, guardianships, and involuntary commitments for mental-health treatment. In Mobile County the probate judge is an elected official with broad administrative and judicial duties.