| State Fair of Texas offers wide array of food, excitement |
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| Written by Jhericca Johnson | ||||
| Wednesday, 01 October 2008 09:06 PM | ||||
What's hot, what's new and how much it all costs.
 The Shorthorn: Andrew Buckley The state fair runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Oct. 19 at Fair Park in Dallas. The Illumination Sensation light show will be the hottest thing at the fair, thanks to its liquid-fire fountains, and there’s also a BMX bike show. But you can still try new, piping-hot foods and see brand-spanking-new 2009 cars. The entire schedule of events is posted online at the fair’s Web site, www.bigtex.com, but here’s a list of what’s hot, what’s not and what it will cost you to help make this fair more fun and engaging. Now who wants a Fried Pop Rocks Fundae Blast? The Prices First things first, you have to park. Of course, you may have to pay for the gas to get there, but that doesn’t count as fair expenses. Parking costs $10 per space on official fair lots, unless you want to park valet, which costs $25. Parking is available on nearby streets, however, Sue Gooding, state fair public relations vice president, advises everyone to park in the official fair lots because street-space prices can vary. After you pay to park, you must pay to get in. Tickets are $14 for general admission, $10 for children less than 48 inches tall and seniors 60 and older, free for children younger than two, and on Thursdays, seniors get in free. But there are ways around paying more than you have to. Students can gather buddies and pay the discounted group rate of $11.50 per person with 20 or more people. Those who don’t have that many friends can still pay a lower ticket price by buying their tickets at Kroger for $12.50 each. You can also visit the fair during the week and pay less. Gooding said on Tuesdays, anyone with an empty Dr. Pepper can will get in for $3. If you bring three cans of food on Wednesdays, you can get in for $1. Yeah, that’s right, a buck will get you into the fair, kiddies. On Thursdays, fairgoers can bring any empty 20-ounce Coca-Cola product bottle and get in for a whopping $4. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Gooding said several other places around the area, like McDonald’s, have special offers for the fair. “Be on the lookout for discounts,” she said. “They’re everywhere.”  This year’s new foods include chicken fried bacon, a fried banana split and fried cake on a stick. Although you may feel like these foods are a potential heart attack in a warm, golden brown bag, students still might want to experiment. Information systems sophomore Javier Dominguez said he enjoyed the food at previous state fairs but stopped attending the fair for a few years because he was tired of seeing the same things. Now, he’s going for the girls instead of the food and games he enjoyed as a child. “Every year when I ate the food there, I gained like 40 pounds,” he said. Dominguez has never gone to a football game at the fair, but he said this year he will. “I’ll probably end up going on a Saturday, so I’ll go to whichever game is on that day,” he said. Artists will take to the 2008 Chevrolet Main Stage with music and dancing for days. At 8:30 p.m. Oct. 17, Jessica Simpson will bring her tour back home, and Michelle Branch will have a special acoustic performance at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 18. Other acts include Jordan Pruitt, A.B. Quintanilla and Kumbia King All Starz, Kevin Fowler and Kellie Pickler. For the entire calendar, check out the fair’s Web site. Texans love football, right? So it’s only natural to have football at the state fair. Prairie View A&M University, Grambling State University, UT-Austin, the University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M-Commerce and East Central University will play in Fair Park’s Cotton Bowl. Before the Prairie View A&M-Grambling game at 6 p.m. Oct. 4, ’90s group Bell Biv DeVoe will warm up the crowd at 3 p.m. on the Main Stage. The Texas-Oklahoma game begins at 11 a.m. Oct. 11. The Texas A&M-Commerce-East Central game starts at 2 p.m. Oct. 18. Gooding said people can either purchase tickets online or at the fair. If you buy a ticket to any football game, you don’t have to pay state-fair admission that day. Tickets for the Prairie View-Grambling game are $25, Texas-Oklahoma tickets are sold out and tickets for the A&M-Commerce-East Central game must be bought through either school. Visual communications senior Rafael Esparza has never been to the state fair and said he’s considering going to one of the football games. He moved here from San Antonio about two years ago and went to a similar event there called Fiesta. “I think I’ll go just to see what it’s like,” he said. Esparza said he didn’t know people had to pay to get into the state fair because Fiesta was free. But, he wants to go to play the games and ride the rides. “One guy told me not to eat the food,” he said. “I think I will anyway.” Deep inside the fair, a gamer’s dream comes true in the Midway. Here, an assortment of games awaits to steal your attention and take your money. Midway runs the same hours and days as the actual fair. Fair officials have made it easier for you to spend money at the midway with the introduction of a gaming card. Simply go to the booth within Midway, buy your card and fill it to your heart’s content. To make it easier, students can load their card with cash or use a credit card. The game card only works on games, so don’t try to buy food or ride the rides with it. The fair didn’t get any new major rides this year, Gooding said. She said there are about two or three new small rides, but other than that, the rides are the same. Each ride costs tickets, which are 50 cents each. You can buy them in bulk, but there aren’t any specials, so buy what you think is necessary. On Tuesdays, most rides in the Midway are reduced to five tickets each as a part of the Dr. Pepper special. Remember, the tickets also pay for food and drinks, so if cousin Ed eats more than his share, you might want to make him buy his own tickets. The Auto Show The state fair’s auto show runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Monday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, through Oct. 19. This year, auto makers like Dodge, Suzuki, Toyota and Mazda will showcase their cars, new and old, to the masses. Chevrolet’s hosting a test drive where qualified drivers can test drive a car from the 2009 Chevy lineup. How To Be Safe Not every person at the fair will be looking out for your best interests, so be sure to keep your belongings safe at all times. Lock your car doors and place important belongings under the seats. You may even want to lock those items in your trunk. But, to help you out, police will patrol the fairgrounds. Gooding said there will be officers on foot, horseback and in golf carts. Don’t forget, alcoholic beverages and glass containers are prohibited on fair grounds. Views: 2685 | E-mail
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