The State Fair of Texas is one of my favorite things about living in Dallas! It’s been our family tradition to go every year since I was born, and now I typically go multiple times each year. While I’ve already covered everything new coming to the fair in 2021, I thought I would also share my top tips for making the most of your day at the fair. Here are my recommendations for 2021!
Top 20 Tips for the State Fair of Texas
1. Use the official State Fair Map to help plan your day.
You can check out this interactive map online ahead of time to find out where all of your favorite shows and food stalls are located. When you get to the fair, you can also pick up a free guide book for reference. This really helps if you’re tracking down something specific, like one of the foods nominated for the Big Tex Choice Awards.
2. Use the official State Fair Daily Schedule to catch your favorite shows.
There is so much fantastic free entertainment at the State Fair, but if you don’t plan ahead, you might miss out on something. Keep the daily schedule handy so you’ll know what time shows are starting. Here are a few of the most popular shows and attractions.
Texas Stunt Jam: 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 6:30 PM
Pig Races: 11:00 AM, Noon
Soar Bird Show: 12:30 PM, 2:30 PM, 4:30 PM
All Star Dog Show: 12:30 PM, 2:30 PM, 4:30 PM
Majesty of the Horse: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM
Fiesta Marionetas Puppet Show: 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM
Country Roundup Puppet Show: Noon, 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 6:00 PM
Chainsaw Carver: 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM
World of Magic: 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM
Mighty Mike 4:00 PM, 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM
The Midway, The Barns, Petting Zoo, Creative Arts Exhibition, Hall of State Museum, and Discovery Garden are open all day.
3. Make sure to take an iconic Big Tex picture. Preferably with a Fletcher’s corny dog in your hand.
It’s not really a trip to the State Fair of Texas without a picture with Big Tex himself! If you stick around long enough, you might even hear him address the crowd with a “Howdy, Folks!”
4. Check out the brand new weekend rodeos.
This year you can watch a full-blown rodeo included with the price of admission every weekend at the fair! Cowboys and cowgirls ride on bucking broncos, lasso cattle, and tussle with bulls in the Coliseum arena at 6 PM. Here is the rodeo schedule for each weekend of the fair.
Cowboys of Color Rodeo: Opening Weekend, Friday, September 24, and Saturday, September 25
Mexican Rodeo Fiesta: Sunday, September 26
State Fair of Texas Youth Rodeo: Wednesday, September 29
State Fair of Texas United Professional Rodeo Association (UPRA) Texas Series Finals: Friday, October 1; Saturday, October 2; and Sunday, October 3.
Bull Buckin’ Weekend: Friday, October 8, and Saturday, October 9.
State Fair of Texas Ranch Rodeo: Friday, October 15, and Saturday, October 16.
5. Try the latest Big Tex Choice Awards concession winners.
If you can eat it, the State Fair of Texas concession stands will fry it. With an ongoing list of ambitious creations like Fried Coke, Fried Ice Cream, Fried Bubble Gum, Fried Butter, Fried Cheesecake, Fried Peaches & Cream, and Fried Banana Pudding, the nominees of the Big Tex Choice Awards never disappoint when it comes to creativity.
The ultimate winners of the Big Tex Choice Awards this year are “The Armadillo” Cookie Butter Ice Cream Sandwich (Best Taste: Sweet) and Deep Fried Seafood Gumbo Balls (Best Taste: Savory, and Most Creative).
Here are some of the top semifinalists, with stars beside the ones I personally want to try.
SAVORY
Deep Fried Seafood Gumbo Balls – Gulf Coast shrimp, stewed chicken, blue crab meat, and andouille sausage rolled in saltine cracker and breadcrumb batter and fried. Served with dark gumbo roux sauce, chicken fried okra spears, saltine crackers, and a small bottle of hot sauce.
Crispy Crazy Corn* – Sweet whole kernel corn is individually battered, fried, and seasoned. It is topped with smoked pulled pork and pineapple slaw. My friend Hunter tried this and said it was his favorite snack of the day!
Deep Fried I-35 – The Deep Fried I-35 takes you on the ultimate Texas road trip: fried kolache dough, smoked beef brisket, and fresh peach slices smothered in Dr. Pepper sauce.
Lucky Duck Dumplin* – Dumpling pastries filled with cream cheese, duck bacon, sweet corn and served with Thai chili glaze.
Deep Fried Pork Shots – Mini bacon bowls filled with sausage and mac and cheese covered in a spicy BBQ rub.
Dallas Hot Bird Dog – A turkey corn dog with spicy batter covered in mac and cheese, hot sauce, and crispy fried jalapenos. My friend Morgan tried this and absolutely loved it!
Lobster Corndog – Lobster cakes dipped in cornbread batter and served with Remoulade sauce.
SWEET
The Armadillo* – Italian cookie butter ice cream sandwiched between deep fried Armadillo-shaped cookies.
Brisket Brittle – Peanut brittle, but with brisket instead of peanuts. It sounds a little weird, but it’s served inside the cutest plastic cowboy boot cup that really makes me want to order it!
Texas Pumpkin Poke Cake* – Pumpkin cake shaped like Texas and drizzled with vanilla, caramel, whipped cream, and a secret spice.
Deep Fried Halloween* – A soft pretzel dipped in candy corn syrup and fried, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and a modge podge of Halloween candy. I tried this one on opening day, and it was lots of fun to eat! Definitely share it between two people because it’s a sugar rush.
Fried Toffee Coffee Crunch Cake* – Cake donuts and English toffee blended into custard, baked into a cake, dipped in vanilla cookie crumbs, and fried. Topped with mocha coffee whipped cream and toffee pieces.
Deep Fried Pancakes – Bite-size pancakes deep fried and served maple butter, fresh blueberry sauce, orl pecan butter syrup.
Deep Fried Peach Cobbler Soul Rolls* – Peaches spiced and rolled up into an egg roll, deep fried, and served with vanilla Blue Bell ice cream.
Deep Fried Toffee – 2019 State Fair of Texas award-winning milk chocolate toffee squares fried inside a flakey biscuit.
To learn more about the Big Tex Choice awards, click here. For a longer list of new foods to try, click here.
6. Take a look at the live music schedule.
The State Fair puts on a free live concert every weekend night, and even some weekdays! Here is the lineup this year.
Clay Walker – Friday, September 24 at 8:30 PM
Dru Hill – Saturday, September 25 at 2:00 PM
Black Pumas – Saturday, September 25 at 8:30 PM
La Energia Norteña – Sunday, September 26 at 5:30 PM
Little Joe Y La Familia – Thursday, September 30 at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM
Shinyribs – Friday, October 1 at 8:30 PM
Kevin Fowler – Saturday, October 2 at 8:30 PM
Grand Funk Railroad – Sunday, October 3 at 8:30 PM
Mike and the Moonpies – Friday, October 8 at 5:30 PM & 8:30 PM
Jack Ingram – Saturday, October 9 at 6:00 PM
Bill Engvall – Saturday, October 9 at 8:20 PM
Sugar Ray – Sunday, October 10 at 8:30 PM
Le Freak – Monday, October 11 at 3:00 PM & 5:30 PM
Kraig Parker – Friday, October 15 at 5:30 PM & 8:30 PM
Charley Crockett – Saturday, October 16 at 8:30 PM
The Last Bandoleros – Sunday, October 17 at 3:00 PM
7. Don’t spend all day in the Midway. There are so many fantastic free shows!
Midway rides and games are lots of fun, but they also cost lots of coupons. It’s a huge mistake to spend your whole fair day in the midway when there is such a huge plethora of free entertainment to enjoy. The following tips share a few of my favorite examples.
8. World of Birds is one of the coolest shows at the fair and raises thousands of dollars for conservation efforts. Don’t miss it!
There are parrots who can talk and sing, eagles who can catch lures out of the air, crows who will fly out into the audience and collect $1 bills for conservation donations, and most impressive of all, hawks who are trained to fly down to the state from the top of the Texas Star Ferris Wheel. It’s probably the number one coolest show at the fair. There are three different show times on the schedule, so make sure you catch one of them while you’re there!
9. Catch a Mighty Mike show if you like comedy and impressive feats of strength.
Mighty Mike debuted at the fair in 2019, and he has quickly become a fan favorite! He can juggle bowling balls, bend iron bars, and toss around flaming torches like it’s no big thing. He also happens to be hilarious.
10. Watch a Chainsaw Carver turn tree trunks into stunning works of art.
If you need a break from walking around in the Texas heat or you want a nice relaxing spot to stop and snack on your fried food, check out the Chainsaw Carver’s show. It takes him hours to craft his incredibly detailed sculptures out fo tree trunks using only chainsaws, so you can wander up to watch any time he’s carving. Come back later that day to see the finished art piece.
11. Watch the All Star Dog Show or the Pig Races if you want to say “Awww!”
The dog show features rescue dogs turned agility stars performing all sorts of impressive tricks, and the pig races are exactly what they sound like: little potbelly pigs racing down a track to compete for an oreo.
12. Stop by the petting zoo if you want to see even more cute baby animals.
Goats and piglets and llamas, oh my! The zoo has all of the classic farm animals, plus more exotic breeds like ostriches, zebras, kangaroos, and camels. The petting zoo is totally free, unless you want to use $1-5 cash to buy a cup of food for the animals.
13. Stop by the Creative Arts Contest to spot homemade butter sculptures.
In an interesting twist, instead of the usual larger-than-life butter sculpture there are a couple dozen mini butter sculptures created by State Fair fans. There are of course also beautiful quilts, paintings, photos, sculptures, and all sorts of impressive crafts submitted by Texans for display at the fair.
14. Stop by the Tom Landry museum exhibit in the Hall of State if you like Dallas Cowboys history.
Each year the State Fair features a museum full of artifacts from an interesting part of Texas History inside the Hall of State. This year there is an exhibit dedicated to the State Fair on its 135th anniversary, and an exhibit honoring Tom Landry, coach of the Dallas Cowboys football team in its glory days.
15. Ride the Texas Star Ferris Wheel or the SkyWay at sunset.
If you’re trying to stick to a budget at the fair, save your midway coupons and invest them in one epic ride across the fairgrounds at sunset. We love to hop onboard the SkyWay or the Ferris Wheel around 7:00, because the sky turns bright orange, the lights start to come on throughout the midway below, and you can see the Dallas skyline silhouette in the distance. It’s so pretty!
16. Stay late for the Illuminations Sensations show.
After the evening rodeo and concert are over, you might just decide to start the trek back to your car and head home. But I recommend staying for the free 8 PM Illuminations Sensations show at the Esplanade reflecting pool. It features talented dancers, beautiful lighted fountains, and sparkling fireworks that perfectly endcap to your day at the fair.
17. Choose your fair day wisely.
If you’re a family visiting locally, your kids will receive free fair tickets from their school and your school district will have a designated “fair day” off from classes. Going on this day is so much fun! Your kids will run into their classmates and teachers, and the crowds are so much smaller than on weekends.
If you’re visiting from out of town (or if you’re crazy enough to take off from work to go to the fair like me) I recommend going on a Friday. You’ll experience lower crowds throughout the morning, and you can still watch the rodeo or the live concert in the evening.
If you are planning to go on a weekend, be aware of which weekend the Red River Showdown (UT vs. OU college football game) is happening inside the Cotton Bowl. This Saturday draws much bigger crowds than the rest. There are often extra events like performances by the team’s bands, and the atmosphere is really lively and enjoyable, especially if you’re rooting for one of the teams. But if you don’t care about the game, I highly recommend picking a different weekend or at least attending on the Sunday of that weekend. This year the game is happening on October 9.
18. Go on a weekday to save money.
If you can manage to go on a weekday (or even a week night after work) you can save lots of money on admission and food! Here’s a rundown of all the discounts.
Monday – Thursday admission is $15 for adults, $10 for kids and seniors online or at the gate.
Tuesdays & Thursdays you can use Dr Pepper Value Days to pre purchase adult tickets online for $10.
Wednesdays you can bring 5 canned food items to donate to the North Texas Food Bank and pay $5 admission at the gate.
Thursdays are $5 admission days for all seniors age 60+.
Thrifty Thursdays also offer exclusive discount prices on tons of concession food.
If you arrive at the fair after 5 PM on any night, everyone in your party can pay child prices for their tickets.
There are additional daily discounts for first responders and military.
19. Or invest in a season pass if you plan to visit more than once.
If you want to go back to the fair several times, a season pass can quickly pay for itself. It’s especially helpful if your schedule only allows you to visit on weekends. Weekend adult tickets start at $20, and a season pass costs $35-50 (depending on when you buy it). Make a mental note for next year: if you sign up for Big Tex Insider emails, there’s always a season pass discount offered a few months before the next fair.
20. Save leftover coupons to use next year.
Last but not least, do not throw away your coupons! State Fair of Texas coupons retain their value for life, so if you have a pile of old ones from 2018 collecting dust in the back of a drawer somewhere, pull them out this year and buy yourself a treat.
To learn more about everything NEW at the 2021 State Fair of Texas, check out this post. For more fun things to do in Dallas this fall, check out this post.
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