The State Fair of Texas

This past weekend I took a trip up to Dallas with some friends to enjoy the festivities of the Red River Rivalry (the annual UT v. OU football game held at the Cotton Bowl) and the Texas State Fair. The weather was great, the longhorns won (barely), and the food at the fair was as perfectly greasy and unhealthy as always.

My crew at the UT v. OU football game.

The Red River Rivalry has been going on since 1900, and is held in "neutral ground" at the Cotton Bowl football stadium in Dallas. It's always a big event for co-eds from the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma; students take buses from their college town, overrun the hotels of downtown Dallas, and the winning fans take over a bars near SMU for celebratory drinks after the game This year the game was a little scary- the last quarter was too close for comfort, but the Longhorns pulled through, winning 16-13.

View of the Cotton Bowl from the top of the "Texas Star" ferris wheel.

If you've never been to the State Fair of Texas, believe me, it is a site to behold. When I was growing up we would get free fair tickets and a day off in early October just to visit the fair, if that gives you any idea of how huge it is for North Texas. Big Tex, a 52 foot cowboy donning size 70 boots and a 74-gallon hat, is the emcee of the event, and welcomes visitors in a booming voice to enjoy the festivities.

There are plenty of exhibits and shops to enjoy at the fair, including livestock shows and competitions, free concerts, antique car shows, a huge petting zoo, carnival games in Midway, over 300 shops and vendor booths, ethnic and cultural dance groups, and the largest ferris wheel in North America called the Texas Star. But perhaps the one thing more iconic than Big Tex is the food- they have fried everything. Fried butter, fried coke, fried snickers, fried pizza, chicken fried bacon, fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and of course, the famous Fletcher's corny dogs.

Fletcher's Corny Dogs are the original corn dog, invented by brothers Carl and Niel Fletcher of Mesquite, Texas in 1942. They have been sold at the fair ever since, and always have the longest line of all the food stands. When I was in high school, my dance team did fundraisers at the corny dog stands, and though the hard work and hot peanut oil made me swear off the crunchy treat for a while, I still love them.