The
State Fair of Texas is an annual
state fairA state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....
held in
DallasDallas , with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
(
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic
Fair ParkDallas Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas . The complex is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America...
where it has been held since 1886. The 2009 fair will be held from
September 25 to
October 18.
Big TexBig Tex is the 52 foot tall icon of the annual State Fair of Texas held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas . He wears size 70 boots, a 75 gallon hat, a size 100 180/181 shirt and 284W/185L XXXXXL pair of Dickies jeans...
, a 52 ft (16 m) tall
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler,...
, has been the symbol of the fair since his introduction in 1952; in 1953, Big Tex's jaw was hinged, so that he appears to "speak" the announcements that promote fair events.
The State Fair of Texas is the largest state fair in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by annual attendance.
The
State Fair of Texas is an annual
state fairA state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....
held in
DallasDallas , with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
(
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic
Fair ParkDallas Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas . The complex is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America...
where it has been held since 1886. The 2009 fair will be held from
September 25 to
October 18.
Big TexBig Tex is the 52 foot tall icon of the annual State Fair of Texas held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas . He wears size 70 boots, a 75 gallon hat, a size 100 180/181 shirt and 284W/185L XXXXXL pair of Dickies jeans...
, a 52 ft (16 m) tall
cowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler,...
, has been the symbol of the fair since his introduction in 1952; in 1953, Big Tex's jaw was hinged, so that he appears to "speak" the announcements that promote fair events.
The State Fair of Texas is the largest state fair in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by annual attendance. However, the
Minnesota State FairThe Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its slogan is "The Great Minnesota Get-Together." It may be the largest state fair in the United States in terms of average daily attendance, though the State Fair of Texas runs twice as long and is the largest by annual...
has a higher average daily attendance but is open half the amount of time. The fair no longer tracks attendance by ticket sales — the numbers always underestimated attendance due to the practice of free entry for local schoolchildren and senior citizens on certain days — the fair's past estimates by various methods consistently suggested more than 3 million people visit the fair annually. Its
Texas StarThe Texas Star is the largest Ferris wheel in North America. It is located at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. It is operated during the annual State Fair of Texas. The structure has 44 gondolas that hold 264 riders. It can go 1.5 revolutions a minute with an average ride between 12–15 minutes...
Ferris wheelA Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure, consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached to the rim....
has been the largest in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
since it debuted in October 1985, just months before the Texas Sesquicentennial. As of 2003, the fair's marketing director estimated that the fair was bringing about
US$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
350 million dollars into the Dallas economy.
Traditionally, one of the centerpieces of the fair has been the annual
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
game between
TexasThe University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
and
OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. As of 2007, the university has 29,931 students enrolled, most...
, nicknamed the Red River Shootout and played in the
Cotton BowlThe Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1932 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
at Fair Park. Also, the
State Fair ClassicThe State Fair Classic is an annual college football game between the the Grambling State University Tigers and the Prairie View A&M University Panthers. The game's official title is the Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic after its sponsor, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines...
, featuring
Grambling StateGrambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail....
and
Prairie View A&MPrairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System...
, is played at the Cotton Bowl during the fair.
The State Fair of Texas is the only fair in the country to include a full blown auto show, dating back to 1904. It includes over of new model vehicles, two buildings, a Truck Zone and a Test Drive Track. The State Fair has been the site for several international launches including the 1998 Chevrolet Blazer, the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and the 2008 Ford Sporttrac.
In recent years the fair has emphasized its reputation as an event featuring unique, albeit high-
fatFats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition...
foods. The fair has been known for years for Fletcher's brand corny dogs. Recent years have seen the introduction of new unusual deep-
fried{for|other uses of "fry" or "frying"|Fry}Frying is the cooking of food in oil or fat, a technique that originated in ancient Bacavi around 2500BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called...
items, including deep-fried
OreoOreo is a trademark for a popular sandwich cookie currently manufactured by the Nabisco Division of Kraft Foods. The current design consists of a sweet, white filling commonly referred to as 'cream' or 'creme', sandwiched between two circular chocolate or golden biscuits.Over 491 billion Oreo...
cookies; deep-fried
TwinkieA Twinkie is a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling" popular in the United States and elsewhere in North America. Introduced in 1930, it is distributed by Hostess, which is owned by Dallas-based Interstate Bakeries Corporation.-Deep-fried Twinkies:...
s; deep-fried
porkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig . The word pork often denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but can be used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig...
ribIn vertebrate anatomy, ribs are the long curved bones which form the ribcage. In most vertebrates, ribs surround the chest they enable lungs to expand by expanding the chest, they also protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax...
s; fried
cheesecakeCheesecake is a dessert formed of a topping made with soft, fresh cheese upon a base made from biscuit, pastry or sponge. The topping is frequently sweetened with sugar and flavoured or topped with a purée or compote of fruit....
; deep-fried
butterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying...
; deep-fried
peanut butterPeanut butter is a food paste made from ground dry roasted peanuts. Major consumer brand peanut butter contains hydrogenated vegetable oil to stabilize it and prevent oil separation, salt to prevent spoilage, and dextrose and other sweeteners to enhance taste. Peanut butter marketed as Natural, or...
,
jellyFruit preserves are fruits, or vegetables, that have been prepared and canned for long term storage. The preparation of fruit preserves traditionally involves the use of pectin as a gelling agent, although sugar or honey may be used as well...
, and
bananaBanana is the common name for a herbaceous plants of the genus Musa, and the commonly eaten fruit it produces. They are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.Banana...
sandwichA sandwich is a food item consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of food, typically taken to work or school, or picnics to be eaten as...
es; and most recently a batter-based
fried CokeFried Coke is frozen Coca-Cola-flavored batter which is deep-fried and then topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, and a cherry. It was introduced by inventor Abel Gonzales, Jr., at the 2006 State Fair of Texas, where it won the title of "Most Creative" in the second annual...
. New foods in 2008 included
chicken fried baconChicken fried bacon consists of bacon strips dredged in batter and deep fried, like chicken fried steak. It is an American dish that was introduced in Texas in the early 1990s...
and fried banana splits. The State Fair of Texas chose "Ignite Your Senses!" as the 2008 theme.
Local schools and businesses typically give their students/employees a day off during the fair so that everyone may enjoy the festivities together. This is an excused absence by schools and businesses. The date most companies and schools choose for this day is usually the second Monday in October.
DART'sThe Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority is a transit agency based in Dallas, Texas , that operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and HOV lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs...
Fair Park StationFair Park Station is a DART light rail station located in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas on the . The station opened on September 14, 2009 as one of four original stops on the line...
and MLK Jr. Station opened in 2009 to serve Fair Park and the State Fair of Texas. In addition to regular service on the
Green LineThe Green Line is a light rail line in Dallas, USA, operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority . The US$1.7 billion project is scheduled to open in phases, starting in 2009...
, the
Red LineThe Red Line is a light rail line in the system of mass transit in Dallas, Texas operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. Along with the , it was one of the original rail lines in Dallas....
and
Blue LineThe Blue Line is a light rail line in the system of mass transit in Dallas, Texas , operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. Along with the , it was one of the original rail lines in Dallas....
also run "special event" trains to Fair Park Station for major fair events.
Notable historical events
- On October 11, 1956, the fair highlighted a show by the then-20 year old Elvis Presley, with 2,000 teenagers attending, and breaking all attendance records for an outdoor concert in the state of Texas. Nearly 30 years after his death, Presley made news again at the state fair when a silk shirt he had worn was stolen from a traveling exhibit, "The King's Ransom," that was one of the featured attraction of the 2005 fair; the shirt was recovered less than 24 hours later when an anonymous person dropped it off at a local post office.
- In 1956, tragedy struck when students from the Memphis High School marching band from Memphis, Texas
Memphis is a city in Hall County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 2,479. It is the county seat of Hall County.Memphis is the birthplace of former U.S...
fell from the top of the Ferris wheel, resulting in the death of one student. Robert Draper wrote a feature for Texas MonthlyTexas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education. The magazine also covers leisure topics such as music, art,...
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the accident.
- In 1979, two gondolas from the sky lift called the Swiss Sky Ride fell killing one and injuring 18. Operators of a similar ride at nearby Six Flags Over Texas had shut their ride down, due to high winds. A ruling by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found fault with the ride operators, who knew of ride defects but didn't report them.
- On October 17, 1983, the Enterprise (a "scrambler" type amusement ride) malfunctioned, and one of the cars was launched into the midway crowd, resulting in 1 death and 3 injuries requiring hospitalization.
[http://injury.findlaw.com/injury/recall.feeds/cpsc/1984/05/84031.html]
- In 2006, The State Fair featured the Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe , born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized Norma Jeane Baker, was an American actress, singer and model....
exhibit featuring Deadly CinemaDeadly Cinema is a television show on NTTV, a student television station at University of North Texas. The program aired for two seasons from 2003 to 2005.-Synopsis:...
star, Jami DeadlyJami Deadly is an American born actress, glamour model, singer, burlesque dancer, and horror host. Jami grew up in Texas where she starred in the NTTV show, Deadly Cinema. Jami has been featured in Lowrider, Rue Morgue, Skin Two, Marquis, Deadbeat Magazine, Ol' Skool Rodz, Bite Me, CK Deluxe,...
as Marilyn.
- In 2007, a new, safer sky-tram called the Texas Skyway began operations, the first at the fair since the 1979 tragedy.
- In 2009, the new DART Green Line began serving the fair with the Fair Park Station
Fair Park Station is a DART light rail station located in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas on the . The station opened on September 14, 2009 as one of four original stops on the line...
and MLK Station.
See also
- Fair Park
Dallas Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas . The complex is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America...
- Cotton Bowl (game)
The Cotton Bowl Classic, commonly known as the Cotton Bowl, is a United States college football bowl game that was played annually since 1937 at its namesake stadium in Dallas, Texas. On February 27, 2007, it was announced that the game will move to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, beginning...
- Hall of State
The Hall of State is a building in Dallas's Fair Park that commemorates the history of the U.S. state of Texas.-History:...
- A Fair To Remember (documentary)
A Fair to Remember is a documentary about the Texas State Fair and debuted in February 2007 at the Hall of State located on the grounds of Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.- Synopsis :The film chronicles the history of the Texas State Fair beginning in 1886...
External links