DALLAS — “Howdy, folks!”
The Southern sentiment echoed throughout the State Fair of Texas’ opening day.
For the next three weeks, thousands of attendees will flood Fair Park for the annual event, which runs through Oct. 20.
With a bright, colorful new logo, information booths provided visitor guides and buttons commemorating the fair’s opening day. Since around 2013, the state fair has given attendees custom, exclusive pins to celebrate the grandeur opening.
For Alvarado, Texas, residents Alicia Gonzalez and Ashley Mowles, coming out and obtaining a button has become a tradition.
Pig races, magic shows, a chainsaw carver and the State Fair Rodeo are featured at the fair alongside classic rides like the Texas Star Ferris Wheel, Sparkletts Log Flume and the Dentzel Carousel.
Fairgoers can find food and entertainment in the State Fair Midway with over 70 rides, various vendors and the Kidway area.
While corndogs keep bringing Mowles back to the fair, Gonzalez said after attending the fair together for nearly eight years the pair now get to bring their husbands.
North Texas residents Robin and Ray McBlain have made attending the state fair a yearly tradition since the '60s.
“It’s an important Texas tradition, and it’s tradition for our family,” she said.
She said they look forward to the award-winning food and seeing the arts and crafts each year.
Usually, they don’t come on opening day, but since they had a friend visiting from Sweden, they wanted to make the day special. Ray McBlain said they plan to return with their kids and grandkids to uphold the tradition.
Robin McBlain said she was most looking forward to having Fletcher’s Original Corny Dog, seeing Big Tex and bringing her Swedish friend to be a part of their annual tradition.
“It’s just an annual family thing we do every year,” Robin said. “And the year that it was closed because of [COVID-19], we even came and did the drive-thru.”
Big Tex, official greeter and icon of the State Fair of Texas, annually sports his famous cowboy attire and size 96 boots.
With nothing but love for the mascot, Irving, Texas, resident Carlos Martinez proudly sports his nearly 10-year-old Big Tex calf tattoo while visiting.
“I just love Texas,” Martinez said. “I love the fair. Everything about the fair.”
While he admittedly doesn’t usually make it to opening day, he said he’s been buying season passes and attending as frequently as possible for the last 12 to 15 years.
Like many fairgoers, Martinez’s favorite part of attending is the plethora of food.
With a menu so extensive it’d likely take people days to try everything, foodies can look forward to items on the Big Tex Choice Awards and classic snack favorites.
Since she was five, Grace Gilas has helped her dad with their state fair cotton candy business.
Her dad began working at the shop when he was 15 and decided to co-own the business. Following in her dad’s footsteps, Gilas began working in the family business and running her own stand at 15.
The shop sells bags, cones and buckets of the classic pink cotton candy throughout nine stands at the fairgrounds.
Working with her family brings her back each year. Gilas said everyone who runs a stand is related to her somehow.
“It’s kinda been timeless. This cotton candy business has been here for over 50 years, and, I mean, nothing’s changed,” she said. “Everyone always gets a bag before they leave.”
@amandaLaldridge @hjgarcia0
