State Fair of Texas

The State Fair of Texas is a 24-day fair at Fair Park, in Dallas, with rides and a long list of fair food: corny dogs, turkey legs, Frito Pies and fried creations judged each year in the Big Tex Choice Awards. It is run by a nonprofit organisation. The 2026 fair ran from Friday 25 September, gates opening at 10 am, to Sunday 18 October, and welcomed nearly 2.1 million fairgoers. The 2027 dates had not been published when this page was checked, on 21 October 2026.

The menu of a Texas fair

The fair’s own description of its food is a list: “corny dogs, turkey legs, cotton candy, Frito Pies, Sausage-on-a-Stick, and much more”, sold by small businesses from across the state.

• The classics: corny dogs and turkey legs, eaten as you walk.
• The contest: the Big Tex Choice Awards crown new fair foods each year. Winners listed on the awards page include a Crab & Mozzarella Arancini, for Best Taste in the savoury category.

The State Fair of Texas, a fair of Texan scale

Twenty years of fried inventions

Since 2005, the fair’s concessionaires have competed each year in the Big Tex Choice Awards with new fried creations. The early contests had two prizes, Best Taste and Most Creative. The winners’ list now splits Best Taste into savoury, sweet and a drinks category, the Sipper.

From an 1886 charter to Big Tex

• 1886: the Dallas State Fair & Exposition, from which the fair traces its origin, is chartered as a private corporation on 30 January.
• 1936: the Texas Centennial Exposition draws more than 6 million people over six months.
• Big Tex: the fair’s 52-foot cowboy figure, about 16 metres tall, first appeared in the 1950s.