For us, the State Fair of Texas is more than a casual October pastime – it’s a major family tradition! I’ve attended the fair with my dad every year of my life (minus my senior year of college, when I was studying abroad in London), and I plan to bring my own future kids every year too. I love it so much, Austin and I typically go 3 – 4 times while it’s in town so that we can try all of the food and attractions.
As we eagerly anticipate The State Fair of Texas 2022, I’ve rounded up all of the information you need to plan a perfect day at the fair, no matter what that looks like for you. This blog post covers the annual theme, the new fried food highlights, the Chevy Mainstage concert series, new and returning entertainment, and money-saving tips to help you maximize fun while you minimize cost. Take a look!
Jump Ahead:
The State Fair of Texas 2022 Theme
Important Dates for the State Fair of Texas 2022
The 2022 Big Tex Choice Awards Finalists
The 2022 Chevrolet Main Stage Lineup
Tips for Saving Money at the State Fair of Texas 2022
Everything New at the State Fair Texas 2022
Everything Returning to the State Fair of Texas 2022
The State Fair of Texas 2022 Theme
As a fair food aficionado who makes it an Olympic-level event to sample as many of the Big Tex Choice Awards Finalists as possible, I’m absolutely thrilled about the theme this year.
This year The State Fair of Texas was featured on a limited series from A&E called “Deep Fried Dynasty,” following eight different families who have served up creative fried treats at the fair for multiple generations. (As you can imagine, my dad and I both watched every episode religiously. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re a foodie!)
My guess is that state fair officials decided to piggyback off of this new National TV fame and lean into the identity as the “Fried Food Capital of the World” with the 2022 theme Treats of Texas. The theme artwork is so cute this year, we bought a t-shirt for everyone in our family and we all wore them with my dad on Father’s Day! I can’t wait to wear them on a family trip to the fair this fall.
Important Dates for the State Fair of Texas 2022
The 2022 fair will run for just over three weeks, from Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 23.
The deadline to enter submissions for the Creative Arts Contest is July 25.
The Big Tex Choice Awards has announced this year’s semi-finalists, but they are keeping the final judging ceremony shrouded in mystery as it will not be open to the public this year. (More on the nominees for 2022 in the Big Tex Choice Awards section below.)
Season Passes to the fair went on sale in May. They can be purchased at a massively discounted rate of $30 with the code 22BIGTEXFUN until July 31. (More on this and why it can be a good investment in the Tips for Saving Money section below.)
The 2022 Big Tex Choice Awards Finalists
As of this post on July 8, 2022 the State Fair has not yet released the Big Tex Choice Awards Finalists, or the winners of Best Taste – Savory, Best Taste – Sweet, or Most Creative.
But they have shared the extensive list of creative semi-finalist concoctions! Here’s every snack that made it to the first round. I starred the treats I personally can’t wait to try.
Savory
Bayou Bowl – Shrimp, lump crab, and andouille sausage mac and cheese served with Cajun cream sauce and French bread.
Cajun Lobster Bisque Croquettes* – Three croquettes (potato balls) filled with lobster and brie and served with lobster bisque sauce.
Chicharron Explosion Nachos – Deep fried pork rinds topped with fajita beef, queso, and brisket beef.
Crispy Dilly Dog – A hot dog inside of a dill pickle and fried into a corndog. My husband is eager to try this one!
Deep Fried BLT – Bacon and cheese are fried inside of a rectangle-cut tortilla, which is then used as the “B” of the BLT. Lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo are sandwiched between. Served with garlic parmesan chips. This reminds me of an elevated cheesy gordita crunch!
Deep Fried Brisket Cheese Sticks* – Mozzarella sticks with brisket in them. Served with a side of marinara sauce. 10/10 would try.
Deep Fried Lasagna Roll – Handmade lasagna deep fried and served with deep fried zucchini fries.
Deep Fried Texas Country Cookout – A pulled pork and herbed goat cheese patty dipped in breadcrumbs and deep fried, served with coleslaw, potato salad, and homemade jalapeño BBQ sauce.
Dim Sum Loco Burritos* – Shredded pork, lightly fried diced potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and mildly spicy, super melty pepper jack cheese rolled burrito-style in egg roll wrappers and deep-fried. Served with shishito peppers and broth dipping sauce.
Fried Charcuterie Board* – Mozzarella, salami, and green apples are tossed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and herbs and deep fried inside a wonton wrapper. Topped with goat cheese and hot honey. This sounds AMAZING.
Fried Soul Food Eggroll – Eggroll filled with barbecue-flavored marinated chicken, collard greens, and mac and cheese. Served with dipping sauce.
Holy Biscuit – Biscuit topped with brisket, street corn queso, bacon, and crispy pickle fries.
Shaking Beef Salad – Cubes of sauteed beef with cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pepper, and soy sauce.
Southern Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie Waffles Sliders – Fried chicken served between two Belgian waffles stuffed with a family recipe sweet potato pie and topped with bacon and maple syrup.
Texas Hot Bull Ride – Spicy fried shrimp tossed in “special sauce” and served with ranch.
Texas Ranch Hog Wings – Bite size pork cooked with spicy ranch salt and homemade sauce.
Texas Slide – Waffle bun sliders with chicken, steak, sauteed bell peppers, onions, provolone cheese, secret sauce, and syrup.
Texas Twosome – A grilled cheese and frito pie combo. Texas toast and a layer of American cheese stacked with fritos, chili, and jalapeños.
Turkey Leg Taquito – Turkey leg meat shredded and blended with cheese, bacon, and jalapeños, wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried. Served with chips, queso, BBQ hot sauce, and Texas hot sauce.
Sweet
Cha-Cha Chata* – Horchata milkshake rimmed with caramel and cinnamon, topped with whipped cream and candy, served with a churro straw. OH YES.
Crunchberry® Shortcake – Strawberries dipped in shortcake batter, deep fried, topped with strawberry syrup and Cap’n Crunch Crunchberries. Served with whipped cream. Austin plans to try this!
Deep Fried Buc-ee’s® – Beaver Nuggets® deep fried in batter and topped with powdered sugar and caramel.
Deep Fried Honey* – Honey fried into dough balls topped with powdered sugar and more honey. I must try this.
Deep Fried Praline Cheesecake Eggroll* – Praline cheesecake wrapped in an eggroll and topped with praline sauce and pecan crumbles.
Deep Fried Rocky Road with Blue Bell Ice Cream® – Rocky Road fudge fried in batter and topped with chocolate syrup, condensed milk, mini marshmallows, cinnamon glazed and powdered sugar. Served with vanilla Blue Bell Ice Cream®. (I was disappointed to find out they weren’t frying actual Blue Bell Rock Road!)
Deep Fried Southern Dessert Dumplings* – Sweet potato and pecan pie with pieces of dark chocolate deep fried in a wonton wrap and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with homemade rum-raspberry chipotle dipping sauce. I need 10 of them!
Deep Fried Strawberry Shortcake Crunch Roll – Pink waffle batter infused with strawberry purée and fried. Covered with with cream cheese icing and “strawberry crunch”: vanilla Oreo cookies, strawberry JELLO mix, and melted butter. Topped with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.
Doh-Muff – Bavarian cream donut coated and fried in banana nut muffin batter. Topped with pecan butter glaze, fresh bananas, and strawberries.
Fat Elvis* – A biscuit topped with peanut butter and jelly mixture, fire toasted marshmallow fluff, bacon, and fried plantains.
Fried Texas Fruit Salad – Cinnamon apples, cherries, and peaches mixed with strawberry cream cheese and candied jalapeños and deep fried into balls. Topped with cocoa caramel, powdered sugar, and almond icing.
La Bluebonnet – Blueberry and citrus cocktail.
Peanut Butter Paradise – Deep fried honey bun injected with caramel and topped with peanut butter, Reese’s Pieces, crushed Butterfinger crumbles, peanut butter cups, caramel, and powdered sugar.
Raspberry Chipotle Sopapilla Cheesecake – Raspberries and chipotle blended with cream cheese on a sugar coated crust, topped with raspberry glaze. Served with raspberry compote, chopped pecans and whipped cream.
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Cookie Dough Balls – Cookie dough balls wrapped in bacon served with smoked chocolate dipping sauce.
The Ultimate Brookie Monster – Chocolate chip cookie layered with Oreos and marshmallows covered in brownie batter and baked. Deep fried in more batter, topped with powdered sugar, vanilla ice cream, cheesecake crumbles, and strawberry sauce.
Triple Lemon Bliss – Lemon bars and lemon pound cake with lemon cream cheese sandwiched between two flash-fried ladyfinger cookies topped with lemon candies.
The 2022 Chevrolet Main Stage Lineup
As per usual, bands will perform free concerts every weekend on the Chevy Main Stage just down the road from Big Tex himself. Here is the full lineup:
Trace Adkins – Friday, September 30 at 8:30 PM
Ashanti (Grammy Award Winner) – Saturday, October 1 at 4:00 PM
Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Saturday, October 1 at 8:30 PM
La Fiera De Ojinaga – Sunday, October 2 at 8:30 PM
Chris Perez – Tuesday, October 4 at 8:30 PM
Kraig Parker (Elvis Impersonator) – Wednesday, October 5 at 8:30 PM
Vandoliers – Friday, October 7 at 5:30 & 8:30 PM
Jamestown Revival – Saturday, October 8 at 8:30 PM
Lucinda Williams – Sunday, October 9 at 8:30 PM
Le Freak – Monday, October 10 at 3:00 PM & 5:30 PM
James Boland & The Stragglers – Friday, October 14 at 8:30 PM
Fitz & The Tantrums – Saturday, October 15 at 8:30 PM
Night Ranger – Sunday, October 16 at 8:30 PM
Girl Named Tom – Friday, October 21 at 8:30 PM
Resurrection (Journey Tribute Band) – Saturday, October 22 at 5:30 & 8:30 PM
La Mafia – Sunday, October 23 at 3:00 PM
Tips for Saving Money at the State Fair of Texas 2022
While the state fair is immensely fun, it can get expensive if you’re ordering lots of food or riding lots of Midway rides. But there are so many freebies and discounts, it can truly be affordable for any family! Here are a few of my top tips for saving money at the state fair.
1. If you live in Texas and you’re planning to attend with kids, use the free tickets usually offered through their school.
Every single child in the state of Texas at public, private, and charter schools is eligible to receive one free ticket to the state fair. I think that’s so cool! This helps to ensure no student is left out, regardless of their family’s income level. In DFW, you can use your child’s ticket on your local school district’s designated “fair day” (typically a Wednesday) and enjoy lower crowds and additional food discounts. OR if you can’t drop everything on a work day and go get a corny dog, you can redeem the ticket on any other day of the fair, including weekends.
(If your child’s school doesn’t offer state fair tickets, ask your school district admins to apply for next year! It’s totally free for schools to participate, and the state fair also provides a free ticket for every educator as well.)
2. Use discounts to reduce your ticket price.
There are so many different ways to reduce the price of admission to the state fair, their website has an entire page dedicated to it. But here’s a short summary.
Dr Pepper Value Tuesdays and Thursdays – Purchase your tickets online at a discounted rate of $10 every Tuesday and Thursday. This special is sponsored by Dr Pepper, and you need to sign up for State Fair of Texas emails in order to receive the discount code.
North Texas Food Bank Wednesdays – Bring 5 canned goods with you and donate them to the food bank at the gates to the fair, and your daily admission is only $5. (This is my favorite discount! What a nice way to give back and save money at the same time!)
Senior Thursdays – Senior citizens age 60+ get their tickets to the fair for only $5 on Thursdays.
Military & First Responder Discounts – Both active and retired members of the military and first responders can get tickets for $5 OFF on weekdays and $7 OFF on weekends. These discounts also apply to spouses and children of active military and up to three family members of first responders.
Pay Child’s Admission After 5 PM – Visit on any night of the fair after 5 PM and everyone in your party will pay the daily child’s admission rate.
McDonald’s Coupons – Find coupons on participating local McDonald’s tray liners and meal bags and receive $5 OFF on weekdays and $7 OFF on weekends. (Cannot be combined with other offers.)
3. If you’re planning to attend more than once, buy a season pass at a discount by July 31.
Normally season passes to the State Fair of Texas cost $50 (around double the typical admission price of $24). But every spring and summer, the state fair sells the passes at a discounted rate of $30. This year the sale lasts until July 31. Find it at this link and use the code 22BIGTEXFUN. It literally pays for itself after two visits, and you get some cool free merch in the mail with your pass.
4. Use weekday food discounts to save on your favorite snacks.
Every year the state fair offers special food discounts on different weekdays. Look for them on the map/program you can pick up at the gates. The discounts for 2022 have not been announced by the state fair yet, but I will update this blog post once we know more.
5. Enjoy hundreds of free attractions instead of only sticking to the Midway.
I know for many people the games and rides on the Midway are the epitome of delightful carnival culture at the fair. But even when I spend all day at the fair, I rarely visit the Midway at all! There are sooo many genuinely fun free and cheap things to do: concerts, rodeos, magic shows, puppet shows, strong man shows, trained bird shows, trained dog shows, pig races, a chainsaw carver, a $1 petting zoo, a $5 butterfly house, and pictures in front of iconic Big Tex just to name a few. If you fill up your day with these fun free activities and limit your Midway rides to just a few favorites, it will save you tons of money.
For more tips to help you save money at the fair, check out this post from last year.
Everything New at the State Fair Texas 2022
New attractions and re-imagined parade floats are coming to the State Fair of Texas this year. Take a look!
The Starlight Parade
The Starlight Parade that makes its procession around the fairgrounds every evening at 7 PM has a whole new look this year. The floats were completely re-imagined with bright colors and bold imagery by Kern Studios from New Orleans, known for their dynamic Mardi Gras parade designs.
Mat Ricardo: The Extraordinary Gentleman
Fan-favorite Mighty Mike will share his spot on the Fringe Stage with newcomer Mat Ricardo. The Englishman will perform “seemingly impossible, elegantly spectacular, and occasionally death-defying tricks.”
Allez-Oops with Rob and Miss Jane
This new children’s show by a married duo will feature tricks like waltzing on wine bottles and skipping on stilts. It will be located inside the Oak Farms Theatre.
Oontz Kids DJ Dance Party
A local DFW DJ school for kids will host dance parties at Howdy’s concession stand near the Children’s Aquarium so that kids can burn up some energy while their parents take a break and grab a snack.
Everything Returning to the State Fair of Texas 2022
The State Fair of Texas Rodeo
The Fair Park Coliseum will once again transform into a fully fledged rodeo in 2022.
The rodeo events will take place every weekend and will be free with park admission. The rodeo exhibits a wide range of activities, including “high energy bull riding to wild cow milking.” It’s so much fun!
SOAR! World of Birds Show
Renowned bird trainer and environmental activist Steve Martin will bring parrots, hawks, crows, condors, and more soaring across the stage and famously flying down from a special car on the Texas Star Ferris Wheel.
Whenever I tell people about my favorite things to do at the state fair, it always shocks me how many haven’t heard of this show! It is hands down one of the coolest attractions there, and it raises thousands of dollars for wildlife conservation every year. Go check it out and be amazed!
All-Star Dog Stunt Show
Watch adorable rescue doggos perform amazing stunts in the Marine Corps square. This is one of our favorites too!
Pig Races
If you’ve never watched piglets waddle down a race track at top speed, I highly recommend checking it out! Now located in the Marine Corps Square (a change from previous years, when it was inside the Pan Am Arena).
Petting Zoo
The petting zoo is a fan favorite which features goats, piglets, cows, llamas, and more exotic animals like zebras and ostriches. It’s $1 for a small cup of food to offer the animals, or $5 for a large cup. Located inside the Pan Am Arena.
Country Roundup Puppet Show
This show was elaborately designed new for the 2021 fair, and features both animatronic and manual puppetry on its amazing vintage carousel-style stage.
Fiestas De Marionetas Puppet Show
A beautiful stage is filled with 85 handmade marionet puppets as they dance to celebrate a fiesta of color, culture, and creativity.
Veggie Carver
Watch this talented produce carver transform fruits and vegetables into works of art in the GoTexan Pavillion.
Mighty Mike Strongman Show
If you skipped the fair in 2019, you might not be familiar with this relatively new show. Mighty Mike performs feats of strength with a comedic twist. Watch him bend horseshoes, juggle bowling balls, and grapple with flaming sledgehammers on the Sideshow Stage at Nimitz Circle.
TX Stunt Jam Extreme Sports
Chevrolet Park Plaza will once again host some of the top BMX, skateboard, and scooter talent in the United States (including some Olympic athletes).
World of Magic
Award-winning illusionists will perform magic tricks on the stage inside the Creative Arts Building.
Illumination Sensation
This high energy nighttime show features dancers, acrobats, pyrotechnics, and fireworks on the stages surrounding the Esplanade reflecting pool.
Stay Tuned for More Updates on the 2022 State Fair of Texas
I couldn’t be more excited about all of the new and returning fun experiences coming to the state fair this year. As we learn more about the fair food finalists, the daily show schedule, and helpful discounts, I will keep updating this post. I can’t wait to say “Howdy, Folks!” to Big Tex on September 30!
For more tips from a State Fair of Texas expert, check out this article from last year with advice on how to plan a perfect day.
Top 20 Tips for the State Fair of Texas
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