State Fair of Texas

The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair reports annual audited attendance of generally more than two million visitors based on ticket scanning. The State Fair of Texas is considered one of the best in America as well as Dallas' signature event despite its troubled history regarding, among other things, its relationship with the surrounding predominantly African-American community.

Attractions

The State Fair of Texas's opening day ceremonies are highlighted by the annual Friday parade rolling through downtown Dallas. In 2019, the parade moved to Fair Park. The fair also has a nightly parade called the Starlight Parade and a nightly light show called Illumination Sensation around the park's esplanade. However, the start of the fair is largely viewed negatively by the residential, as the blight it creates is so severe that it depresses the real estate value of neighboring homes, which are already in a depressed neighborhood. In addition, nearby businesses lose money while the fair is in operation.
Traditionally, the centerpiece of the fair has been the annual college football game between Oklahoma and Texas, nicknamed the Red River Rivalry and played in the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park. Also, the State Fair Classic, featuring Grambling State University and Prairie View A&M University, is played at the Cotton Bowl during the fair. In 2010, Baylor and Texas Tech played their game during the fair for the first time. During the opening weekend of the 2013 fair, Army and Louisiana Tech played in the only Heart of Dallas Classic at the Cotton Bowl; it was abandoned thereafter. The Texas State Fair Football Showdown took place on the third weekend of the 2018 and 2019 fair and featured Southern and Texas Southern. In 2020, the Southern versus Texas Southern game moved to Arlington, Texas.
The State Fair of Texas is the only fair in the United States to include a full auto show, dating back to 1913. However, the Texas Museum of Automotive History was forced to pull out as a tenant, blaming the fair for forcing it to close down during the annual event.
The State Fair formerly featured "Birds of the World" where several birds would fly overhead. It was removed from the Fair lineup in 2014, only to return in 2019. The $5-million Texas Skyway is a gondola ride which only operates 24 days a year, transporting visitors around the fairgrounds. There is also a BMX bike show as well as dog and pig races. For children, puppet shows, Children's Medical Center Barnyard, and Story Time also take place inside the fair.
In recent years, the fair has emphasized its reputation as an event featuring unique, albeit high-fat, foods. It has been known for years for Fletcher's brand corny dogs. Recent years have seen the introduction of new unusual deep-fried items, including deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried s'mores, deep-fried pork ribs, fried cheesecake; deep-fried butter, fried avocados, fried alligators, deep-fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches, and most recently a batter-based fried Coke. New foods in 2008 included chicken fried bacon and fried banana splits. For the 2012 fair, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas added the deep-fried Samoa cookie in honor of the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts of the US and the Girl Scout 100th Anniversary Experience at the Texas Hall of State at the fair. People travel from all around the world to attend the State Fair of Texas, including former talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
In 2025, new beverage offerings included several bubble tea-inspired drinks, such as milk tea with boba pearls and the Poppin' Boba Rita frozen margarita with boba pearls, reflecting the growing popularity of boba-style drinks at fairs and festivals. That year, the fair also announced that the flume attraction commonly known as the Log Ride would close after the 2025 season, making 2025 its final year of operation.

History

The first state fair in Texas was established by the Mechanical and Blood Stock Association of Texas. The first fair convened in Houston on the north bank of Buffalo Bayou in 1870. The MBSAT hosted another state fair at the same location in 1871. Beginning in 1872, the fair moved to a new location south of Houston in an area more recently known as "Midtown", until the last state fair held by the MBSAT in 1878. After its last fair, the MBSAT declared bankruptcy, and no other organization in Houston emerged to restart the state fair in Houston.
In its modern incarnation, the State Fair of Texas was charted as a private corporation by local businessmen. It was an immediate success and attracted thousands of people. However, in 1904 a series of events led to a financial crisis and not enough income was available to keep the fair running. Therefore, the businessmen sold it to the city of Dallas with the agreement that 24 days during the fall would be set aside annually for the fair and exhibition.
On February 10, 1942, a fire-alarm blaze raged unchecked for an hour in the automobile building at the State Fair park causing damage estimated at several hundred thousand dollars. One fireman was hospitalized after being overcome with smoke and a half dozen others were given treatment at the scene. Roy Rupard, secretary of the State Fair association, said the loss was covered by insurance.
Big Tex, a tall cowboy statue, has been its symbol 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. After a fire on October 19, 2012, destroyed the original Big Tex, he was rebuilt and reintroduced for the 2013 fair. Big Tex is claimed to be the world's tallest cowboy.
Its Texas Star Ferris wheel was the largest in North America when it debuted in October 1985, just months before the Texas Sesquicentennial. It has since been dwarfed by Ferris wheels in Las Vegas and Orlando.
DART's Fair Park Station and MLK Jr. Station opened in 2009 to serve Fair Park and the State Fair. In addition to regular service on the Green Line, the Red Line and Blue Line also run "special event" trains to Fair Park Station for major fair events.
In 2017, Foundation for Community Empowerment commissioned a major report laying a major portion of blame against how the State Fair of Texas has hindered development at and around Fair Park.

Timeline

The State Fair of Texas opened its gates for the first time on October 26, 1886. Approximately 14,000 people attended the opening day.
On November 7, 1886, the Fair closed, having attracted over 100,000 people its first year.
The State Fair of Texas had a history of racial discrimination dating back to the 1880s. The first designated day for African Americans to attend the fair was held in 1889 and was called "Colored People's Day". Educator Norman Washington Harllee organized exhibits and planned events and speakers including Booker T. Washington in 1900. In 1910, "Colored People's Day" was discontinued. It reappeared in 1936 as "Negro Achievement Day", set to coincide with the Texas Centennial Exposition. Despite the fact that African Americans were not allowed to participate in entertainment or eat at restaurants and concession stands on other days during the run, Fair officials touted "Negro Achievement Day" as a way to recognize the accomplishments and progress of the Negro race in Texas and the United States. The Hall of Negro Life was the only building demolished after the Texas Centennial ended.
In 1913, the Fair introduced the first Automobile Building, where 175 vehicles were exhibited.
The Fair was canceled in 1918 due to the US Army taking control of Fair Park to establish an aviation boot camp known as Camp Dick. It resumed the next year.
In 1921, Boston College beat Baylor in the first game ever played between teams from the Southwest and Northeast.
In 1921, Texas and Vanderbilt started a series, which was played at the Fair every year from 1921 to 1928 with the exception of 1924.
In 1923, the Fair hosted Ku Klux Klan day. Thousands of new Klan members were sworn in at the fairgrounds. More than 150,000 people were at the Fair that day.
In 1925, the first State Fair Classic was played.
In 1929, Texas and Oklahoma played their Red River Rivalry at the Fair for the first time.
In 1930, construction of a new Fair Park Stadium began.
In 1932, Texas and Oklahoma played their Red River Rivalry at the new Fair Park Stadium for the first time.
In 1937, the first Cotton Bowl Classic was played in Fair Park.
World War II cancelled fairs from 1942 to 1944. In September 1945, the Fair resumed and was held for the next 75 consecutive years.
Big Tex made his first appearance in 1952.
In 1955, a seat filled with members of the Memphis High School marching band broke free from the top of a 92-foot Sky Wheel, killing a 15-year-old girl. Also that year, a Denton, Texas, high-school senior, Doris Mae Dukes, was named Miss Bronze Texas from among 15 Texas high-school and college contestants during the Fair's "Negro Achievement Day". The award was presented by a Neiman Marcus official.
In 1956, the Trailblazer monorail began operation at Fair Park. It was the first commercially-operated monorail system in the United States.
Elvis Presley performed in the Cotton Bowl during the Fair in 1956.

File:Texas Star - Texas State Fair.JPG|thumb|Texas Star Ferris wheel at night

In 1960, the Dallas Texans and the Dallas Cowboys played their first seasons in the Cotton Bowl.
In 1964, the monorail closed and was replaced by the Swiss Sky Ride, a 64-car aerial ride that traveled over a 3,800-foot path, the longest ever built.
In 1966, the State Fair commissioned a report on the redevelopment of the Fair, which concluded that the land around Fair Park should be "bought up and turned into a paved, lighted, fenced parking lot" that would "eliminate the problem from sight". "If the poor Negroes in their shacks cannot be seen, all the guilt feelings... will disappear, or at least be removed from primary consideration". As a result, numerous homes were taken through eminent domain condemnation, and the mostly poor African-American owners were underpaid for their property.
In 1979, a Sky Ride accident occurred during the last day of the Fair, prompting the removal of the attraction.
In 1983, an 18-year-old boy was killed and several bystanders were injured when a gondola fell off the Enterprise.
In 1985, the Texas Star opened as the largest ferris wheel in North America.
In 1989, The Comet Roller Coaster, a Fair Park landmark since 1947, was torn down.
Following the 2001 September 11 attacks, Dallas Police and State Fair officials announced the implementation of new security measures during the annual event.
In 2005, the Fried Peanut Butter, Jelly and Banana Sandwich was introduced at the Fair.
In 2007 the Texas Skyway aerial ride opened in Fair Park.
In 2010, the 8000-foot Greenhouse on the Midway was built to house 1000 hanging baskets, beehives, and Farmer Mike the Pumpkin Carver.
In 2010, fairgoers spent more than $37 million, which broke the Fair's record.
On October 19, 2012, Big Tex caught fire, burning it down to the skeletal frame, with only the right arm remaining.
In 2013:
* The State Fair opened a new attraction, a 500-foot observation tower called "Top o' Texas Tower", as part of a renovation of part of the Midway called "Summer Adventures at Fair Park". The "Tower" now operates only 24 days a year, despite a construction cost of over $11 million.
* The State Fair operated Summer Adventures in Fair Park, a beach-themed amusement park, from May to August. Despite a $30 million investment in Summer Adventures, the event was shuttered after just one season. Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer wrote, "The sudden collapse of a $30 million venture has to be some kind of red flag, some indication that it's time to re-examine the whole thing."
* A new Big Tex was unveiled the day before the Fair opened.
In 2014:
* In September, a blue-ribbon task force appointed by Mayor Mike Rawlings submitted a report on the rejuvenation of Fair Park. The Mayor's Task Force plan envisioned a public-private partnership led by a nonprofit organization to be charged with overarching powers to control the revitalization of Fair Park, including the State Fair of Texas. Architect/City Planner Antonio Di Mambro, with international experience in infrastructure planning and neighborhood revitalization, encouraged the mayor to use the Task Force report as a building block for constructive dialogue with residents, stakeholders and the neighborhoods around Fair Park. Following the presentation of the Task Force Plan, Mayor Mike Rawlings said, "I felt passion by all the council and park board members that they want Fair Park to be all it can be and they're interested in taking this big challenge on".
* In October, the State Fair came under fire for spending over $5 million on attorneys' fees to two insiders.
In 2015:
* In March, the State Fair pushed back on any notion of tightening up the footprint of its current operation. Dallas Morning News reporter Robert Wilonsky called the State Fair's response "rather dramatic." The article also quoted Stephen Page of the closed Texas Museum of Automotive History from 2012 as saying, "The City's requirement that tenants vacate the majority of the buildings in Fair Park during the State Fair is the principal reason for Fair Park's ongoing decline." Wilonsky also quoted a "prominent member of the Mayor's Task Force" as suggesting privately "that the State Fair's presence at Fair Park also needs to be greatly reduced."
* In May, the Park and Recreation Board voted unanimously to recommend and approve the Mayor's Task Force Plan and recommended that underground parking structures be built rather than as initially recommended by the Task Force.
* In August, the State Fair was sanctioned more than $75,000 for filing a SLAPP suit against a lawyer who had requested financial documents from the State Fair. On August 2, 2016, the Dallas Court of Appeals reversed in its entirety the judgment against the State Fair of Texas, holding that the trial court erred in, among other things, finding that the State Fair's lawsuit was a SLAPP suit.
On September 9, 2017, Charlie Daniels performed and played his famous song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" at the Fair.
On September 5, 2019, the State Fair of Texas was ordered by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas to compensate Riggs & Ray, P.C. for its appeal of the August 2, 2016, ruling.
On July 7, 2020, it was announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, the State Fair of Texas would be cancelled. This was the first cancellation since WWII, 76 years prior. The State Fair operated as a drive-through event. Photo ops were offered with a masked Big Tex.
In September 2021, the Fair resumed after a one-year hiatus.
On the evening of October 15, 2023, shots were fired at the Fair. Three people were injured as a result. The Fair delayed reopening until 2:00 pm the next day. The suspect was caught and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.