Big Tex with his new duds from DickiesState Fair of Texas is held in Dallas' Fair Park starting the last Friday in September for 24 action-packed days. Fair Park is registered as a Dallas Landmark, National Historic Landmark and is home to 9 museums, 6 performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest ferris wheel in North America. *
The Texas Star conceived as a landmark for the Texas Sesquicentennial (1986). It is the tallest amusement ride in the Western Hemisphere, standing 212 feet tall. The new 8,000 square-foot greenhouse in the foreground. (Yes, Sweetie, I was playing with the color on this one.)
View of Dallas from the Texas Star. The water to the right is the lagoon with the white swan paddle boat rides.Many of the buildings in Fair Park were constructed for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936. Most of the buildings have survived and are recognized as a significant example of Art Deco architecture.*
You could easily spend the day just looking at all the art and architecture in Fair Park.
Besides the midway, livestock, food & fiber, nightly illumination fire/laser shows, celebrity chefs demonstrations, coliseums full of vendors, Texas wine vintners, birds of the world shows...
a place for local rivalries (Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma Sooners) ....
a beautiful carousel....
the largest auto show in the southwest (This is the insides of Chevy Volt) ...
and food.Mostly the fried variety. We never did find this year's Big Tex Choice winner "Fried Beer". Besides the fried alligator above, there were: Fernie's Fried Club Salad, Fried Lemonade, Fried Butter, Texas Fried Cavier (black-eyed peas), and the usual fried twinkies, pop-tarts, cheesecake and such.
There were more than 40 sculptors and 50 landscaping companies creating 100 mini-gardens throughout the 277 acre park grounds.
There were so much to see and so little time.
I have not found any information on the truth behind the claim of this sign. I guess Big Tex must get a face-lift every few decades.Big Tex sure has come a long way....
State Fair of Texas has its own blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel. Southern Living named the State Fair of Texas the Best Festival or Fair 2008 (followed by North Carolina!)
"While fair officials didn't have attendance figures, they said fair-goers spent a record $37 million on food and amusement rides. A single-day record was also set on Columbus Day, Oct. 11, when thrill-seekers spent $1 million on midway rides."* Admission is $15 per person plus parking. No telling how much that brought in.
Now that we live in the area I am hoping we will not wait 6 years to attend again.
2 comments:
you took some fantastic photos. Even though my eyes sparkled at the seahorses, I love the shot of the Texas Star in color with the rest of the photo in black and white... very professional.
Your state fair and some lovely permanent structures that we seem to be lacking in North Carolina.
Could you please please post the original Big Tex on lifeshighway facebook page. I tried linked this entry but was only given the choice of the first picture. I want to share Big Tex. He kind of scares me.
Post a Comment