Howdy Folks!

October 9, 2018











Howdy Folks!

It was going to take something extraordinary to get me to skip out on attending the final day of the ACL Festival and after perusing the scheduled performers and seeing that I had already seen most of the acts that I wanted to see previously, some as recently as earlier this year, I made the difficult decision to take the opportunity that I might not otherwise have and drive a few hours to attend the Texas State Fair in Dallas.







I am a huge fan of state fairs, having had the opportunity to visit a number of state fairs over the years including the Kentucky State Fair, Florida State Fair, Illinois State Fair, Ohio State Fair and of course my sentimental favorite the Indiana State Fair- where I have been many, many times. The chance to visit what is generally recognized as the largest and most attended state fairs in the country was one that I did not want to let pass me by and if I had to miss a day at ACL, well so be it.









The state fair of Texas has a long and somewhat sketchy history, starting in 1886 and held annually. Sadly, racism was pretty prevalent during much of its history as African-Americans were not allowed to attend the fair other than a single day for many years up through the 1960s and one year the fair even hosted a KKK day at the fair. Thankfully the fair today seems to be as diverse as the city of Dallas and all Texans seem to enjoy and feel pride in what it has become, but the hateful past can’t just be ignored or wished away.











The fair as it is today is a twenty-four day celebration of all things Texas. The fairgrounds surround the Cotton Bowl stadium and one of the highlights of the fair week is the annual Red River rivalry football game between Oklahoma and Texas and which was held the day before I attended with Texas pulling out the victory this year.













Everything they say, is bigger in Texas and the state fair is no exception, from the huge Big Tex cowboy statue that dominates the landscape, to one of North America’s tallest and largest Ferris Wheels, The Texas Star and more, everything seems huge here. The midway is colossal and full of all manner of rides and crazy games and there are large pavilions dedicated to agriculture, manufacturing and commerce.











There is even a huge full scale auto show that goes on in conjunction with the fair. Of course there is all manner of livestock and the relevant competitions with farmers from throughout the state on hand to present their animals. There are also cooler more modern seeming accommodations including a lovely wine garden and a separate beer garden serving many of the state’s finest craft brews.











Food is always one of the main attractions of any fair and the food here is no exception. The Texas State Fair claims to be the first place you could buy an original Corny Dog. Fletcher’s original state fair corny dogs were first sold in 1942 and have been an iconic staple of this and most state fairs ever since. Who would imagine that huge lines would form just to purchase what looks like a pretty standard corn dog, but the fried treats attract a mighty following. I had a couple, and did not really notice much difference from any other corn dog that I had ever had, but Texans swear by them.











They aren’t the only fried food on the menu, just about anything that can be, is offered fried, from bubblegum to cotton candy to sweet tea. I did not try any of the weird concoctions but it seems there is a market for just about any food so long as it is fried. The rest of the food was really nothing all that special, certainly not nearly as many or as quality as the offerings at the Indiana State Fair. I did not even see a single booth selling elephant ears or fried dough, which is a staple at most state fairs.











The fair was certainly massive and had all that you would expect from a cool state fair, but as good as it was, it certainly was not the best one that I have ever attended, really not even close as both Indiana and Ohio clearly have much better fairs than this one. I still have to get to the Minnesota State Fair at some point, probably the next one on my to-do list.











I am still happy that I went and checked this fair off my list, it was worth missing the ACL Fest for a day and was a lot of fun with a lot going on and tons of stuff to do. Since I was already in Dallas and the weather was comfortable and cooperative, I planned a couple of other Dallas stops, including the Dallas Zoo and the infamous Dealey Plaza.







https://bigtex.com/