I have been working out a lot this city (Dallas), running at least 3, 4 even 5 miles every day. Why am I doing this? Am I trying to lose weight? No, well sure, that’d be nice, but it’s not the main reason. Am I training for another marathon? Heck no. Am I trying to burn off all of the fried foods I’ve been forced to enjoy at The Texas State Fair? Bingo!
-my first fried goodie I tried at the fair
Sure, working on the Texas State Fair fairgrounds has its perks; for example, you get to attend the fair everyday (whether you want to or not). Another bonus, you know exactly where to go to get free ice cream cones and 5-hour energy samples. But most importantly, you get to try any and every fried food you’ve ever imagined. Perk!
The Texas State fairgrounds are huge (thank goodness, I guess-more miles to burn off all those fried food calories) and after 3 weeks of fair going, I feel like I’ve memorized the entire park…..including all of the booths with the fried goodies.
Deep. Fried. Everything.
I’m not even exaggerating when I say this. They have it all: deep fried beer, deep fried spaghetti and meatballs, deep fried bubblegum, deep fried pina coladas, deep fried pizza and of course, the famous deep fried butter (Oprah, anyone?).
-good one Mattress Firm
My favorite fried treat at the fair was the Deep Fried Red Velvet Cupcake, yes, you’ve read that correctly…..I ate a cupcake that was deep fried….and loved every minute of it.
Runners up include Deep Fried Grilled Cheese, Deep Fried Guacamole, and Deep Fried S’mores.
I guess I should mention some other highlights of the State Fair besides the deep fried everything:
-Big Tex: The 55 foot tall talking statue. He’s new and improved this year after catching on fire in 2012.
-Howdy, I’m Big Tex!
-Exhibits galore: If you’re in need of a mattress, Vitamix or wood carving, then the Texas State Fair is where you should be shopping.
-Butter Sculpture: This year’s sculpture, made out of 4,000 pounds of butter, is a cowboy with kids climbing on him.
-that’s it…wow
-Auto show: You’re basically visiting an enormous indoor car dealership…..with thousands of others.
-Ostrich and Pig races: It’s a thing, they race and the crowd goes nuts. The ostriches even have jockeys that ride them, sad but true.
-those are some fast ostriches
-Lottery Booth: For only $10, you can waste 3 minutes of your life scratching off loosing tickets here….you do get a free bag, so there ya go.
-Cotton Bowl: If you’re really lucky, you’ll be one of the 87,000 fans attending the big football game (OU vs Texas) at the already busy fair. Go team!
-Test Drive Track: The best part about this, besides the free t-shirt at the end, was getting to do the breathalyzer. It was a first for me, and since I passed, I was allowed to drive an……Impala, yippee!?
Midway: Rides and games galore! So many “Texas-sized” stuffed animal prizes bigger than the children carrying them can be found in this area.
-Concerts: Throughout the park at various stages different artists (I’ve only heard of two on the list) perform for fair goers.
Animals: If you’re into seeing/smelling pigs, sheep and cows then you’d enjoy the livestock buildings. I, however, did not (sorry dad).
-the pumpkin carving demos were pretty sweet, check out the middle one-it’s Pumbaa
Flow Rider: Bring your swimsuit and board, and try to catch a wave on the one and only water ride at the fair.
Wine Garden: That’s right, keepin’ it classy at the fair. Let’s be honest, those beer lines were extremely long.
Plastiki: This was actually pretty cool to see. The boat is made out of plastic bottles and just returned from a trip across the pacific from San Francisco to Australia.
-nicely done Plastiki
Now for those of you who are still reading (thanks mom and dad), here are a few Texas State Fair facts to enjoy!
-The State fair has been held at Dallas Fair Park since 1886!
-Roughly 3 million visitors attend the fair during its 24 day run (and yes, if you’re curious, parking and traffic were a nightmare).
-State fair of Texas has the highest number of visitors of all the state fairs in the United States.
Okay, I guess I’d better stop rambling and get to the gym*
(*reread first sentence, waaaay at the beginning)
Speed Across America 
I have now lived here for 3 years and have never been to the Fair! I didn’t realize all the cool things there. No more excesses I guess. I better start running three miles a day so I can prepare for next year’s fried food mania, lol.
Next year you’ll have to visit! Maybe Rick can try the test track….again!
Hey Anna! Saw your link on facebook and thought I’d check out your blog. Looks like you’re having a wonderful time in Dallas! I think I would definitely have to try out a fried cupcake. That sounds too interesting to pass up!
I have a blog here to, so feel free to check it out!
Thanks for reading fellow blogger! Dallas was fun, holy fried food Heaven!
Anna-hilarious!!! Loved it!
Sent from my iPad
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What the heck is a “deep fried kool-aid ball”? I’ve always heard about all this deep fried stuff and butter sculptures, but I’ve never actually seen it. Glad to hear you experienced it all. And thanks for the photos. I probably wouldn’t have believed it. . . . but now I’ve seen it.
Okay, so I didn’t get to try all of the fried foods, but it was impressive to see how creative people got with frying different things! If you’re headed to a state fair, the Texas one is worth visiting!
Anna~I LOVED it! And I, too, read it from beginning to end!! If I am ever in Texas again, I will certainly try to hit the state fair…..who knew it could be so fun! Am looking forward to your next adventure!! J.
Thanks for reading Jodi! It’s so great hearing from you! Hope you are doing well!!