It usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. While an annual attendance of over 2 million, it is consistently recognized as one of the most highly attended and best state fairs in America as well as Dallas's signature event.
The State Fair of Texas opening day ceremonies are highlighted by the annual Friday parade rolling through downtown Dallas.
Traditionally, the centerpiece of the fair has been the annual college football game between Oklahoma and Texas, nicknamed the Red River Rivalry (historically known as both the "OU-Texas Game" or "Texas-OU Game") and played in the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park. Also, the State Fair Classic, featuring Grambling State University and Prairie View A&M University, is played at the Cotton Bowl during the fair. In 2010, Baylor and Texas Tech played their game during the fair for the first time. During the opening weekend of the 2013 fair, Army and Louisiana Tech played in the only Heart of Dallas Classic at the Cotton Bowl; it was abandoned thereafter. The new Texas State Fair Football Showdown is scheduled to take place on the third weekend of the 2018 and 2019 fair and will feature Southern and Texas Southern.
The State Fair of Texas is the only fair in the US to include a full auto show, dating back to 1913.
The State Fair used to feature "Birds of the World" where several birds flew overhead. It was removed from the Fair lineup in 2014. The Texas Skyway is a gondola ride which only operates 24 days a year transports visitors around the fairgrounds. Its construction cost 5 million dollars. There is also a BMX bike show as well as dog and pig races. For children, puppet shows, Children's Medical Center Barnyard, and Story Time also take place inside the fair.
In recent years, the fair has emphasized its reputation as an event featuring unique, albeit high-fat foods. It has been known for years for Fletcher's brand corny dogs. Recent years have seen the introduction of new unusual deep-fried items, including deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried s'mores, deep-fried pork ribs, fried cheesecake; deep-fried butter, fried avocados, deep-fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches, and most recently a batter-based fried Coke. New foods in 2008 included chicken fried bacon and fried banana splits. For the 2012 fair, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas added the deep-fried Samoa cookie.
According to wikipedia
