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Previews
Texas State Fair opens today
For a while there, it al
most felt like the Texas
Sesquicentenniel was
over.
We heartily celebrated
all of the really significant
anniversaries in Texas’ il
lustrious 150th birthday
celebration earlier this
year and then wearily
said, “Get thee behind us
sesquL.susqua... what
ever you’re called. We’ve
had it up to here with
you.’’
And just when you
thought it was out of
mind, some pesky sesqui
centenniel Joe Bob, who
actually revels in all that
sesquicentenniel trivia,
doesn’t hesitate to remind
us all that this year’s State
Fair of Texas offers its big
gest, best and longest-
running extravaganza —
and one final sesquicen
tenniel stab.
In this, the year of the
giant Texas birthday cele
bration, the best is yet to
come. The State Fair of
Texas is nigh.
The fair, located in Fair
Park in Dallas, is one of
those experiences that
says to all who attend, “E-
verything’s bigger and
better in Texas.”
Officially designated
“Texas 150,” the fair is a
celebration of the state’s
sesquicentenniel and the
fair’s own centenniel.
The gates officially
open today and festivities
will continue for 31
straight days until October
26. The fair grounds are
open daily from 7 a.m. to
11:30 p.m. and exhibit
buildings are open from
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Adults get in for $5,
children ages 5 to 11 get
in for $2, children under 5
get in free at all times and
senior citizens get in free
on Tuesdays. There are
$l-off weekday admission
discounts.
The fair just underwent
$18 million worth of reno
vation and restoration in
order to showcase a di
verse slate of activities.
There’ll be exhibits,
crafts, cooking, fireworks,
animals, a flea market, a
miniature horse show, a
quarter horse show, con
certs, plays, wandering
impromptu acts, rides, a
Music lovers can sched
ule their trip to the fair to
coincide with these dates:
Sept. 28 — T. Graham
Brown; Sept. 29 — Steve
Wariner; Oct. 3 and 10 —
the Mac Band; Oct. 4 —
Keith Stegall; Oct. 5 —
Jim Collins; Oct. 11 — the
Maines Brothers Band;
Big Tex welcomes visitors to the Texas State
Fair. With size 70 shoes and a 75-gallon hat,
the 52-foot tall statue made its debut in 1952.
The theme for this year s fair is “Texas 150,” a
celebration of the state's sesquicentennial
and the fairs centennial.
car show, games, diving,
football, pig races, ice
skating, parades, beauty
queens, dancers, profes
sional wrestling and gym
nastics. And even that
isn’t all.
At 7 p.m. each night
there will be a parade fea
turing parade-type staples
such as marching bands
and beauty queens. A
fireworks display will fol
low at 7:50 p.m.
Oct. 12 — Little Joe and
La Familia; Oct. 13 —
Stallion; Oct. 17 — Ulti
mate Force; Oct. 18 —
Frenchie Burke; Oct. 19
— Exile; Oct. 20 —Randy
Travis; Oct. 24 —Jewel
Akens and the Boys; Oct.
25 — Chance; Oct. 26 —
Sweethearts of the Ro
deo. Most concerts are
scheduled for 6 p.m. and
8:30 p.m.
A major exhibit attrac
tion this year will be the
Texas Pavilion. It will
house some of Texas’
most precious historical
documents.
The “In the Name of
Liberty” display in the pa
vilion will contain copies
of the Texas Declaration
of Independence, Col.
William B. Travis’ letter
from the Alamo, the U. S.
Declaration of Indepen
dence and the Magna
Charta.
The pavilion will also
be loaded with other his
toric documents, photo
graphs and artifacts.
The China Pavilion will
house products for sale by
artisans from the People’s
Republic of China. Taking
up 17,000 square feet,
the China Pavilion will
contain a replica of the
Great Wall of China.
And yes, they brought
those Incredible Acrobats
of China. You know, the
ones who can do one-
handed handstands while
juggling, rotating a hoop
and twirling a plate.
The acrobats will per
form eight times daily in
the Centennial Building.
Admission is $3 for adults
and $2 for children.
If you have a passion
for theater, the national
touring company of the
Broadway hit musical,
“Cats” will be performing
in the Music Hall from
Sept. 30 to Oct. 19.
Tickets for “Cats”
range from $6 if you’re a
theater lover of modest
means, to $40 if you’re
lucky enough to have that
kind of money. You can
get tickets for these shows
through Rainbow Ticket-
master outlets
Of course, no state fair
would be complete if
there weren’t the heated
livestock and homecrafts
competitions.
And if you think you
look a lot like that tow
ering cowboy, Big Tex,
you can enter that compe
tition as well.
The fair is even catering
to professional pig racing
fans. Decked out in cus
tom racing silks, the pigs
will be going for glory as
they squeal around
“Porkchop Downs.”
Oct. 11 is the only
weekend that you might
really want to consider
avoiding the fair, unless
you’re an experienced
veteran of the annual
Texas - Oklahoma foot
ball weekend, or you en
joy sitting in traffic for
hours. Enough said?
There’s always been a
certain flair to the State
Fair of Texas.
From its very begin
nings in 1886, when the
fair actually split into two
rival fairs only to see them
both lose money, the
need to be “Texanic” in
scale has been the guiding
goal.
By the time the Texas
Centenniel rolled around
in 1936, the fair had to be
rebuilt to live up to the ex
pectations of a demand
ing public. Not unlike this
year’s fair, millions of dol
lars were spent. Definitely
unlike this year’s fair,
there were nude dancers
on the Midway in 1936.
The 1936 fair lasted
178 days, and drew 6.35
million people. And imag
ine what $25 million in
1936 dollars was com
pared to the $18 million
worth of improvements of
this year’s fair. They went
all out fifty years ago.
And then there is the
bizarre.
The 1887 fair had one
of the more unusual ex
hibits to appear not just at
a state fair, but anywhere
— a replica of the Wash
ington Monument made
entirely of human teeth
and Texas-raised camels.
Honest.
— by Tony Cornett