Can you even call yourself Texan if you’ve never been to the State Fair? Well apparently I wasn’t officially a Texan (even though I’ve lived here for 9 years) until this year. Since this was my first time at the State Fair, I had a unique perspective on it. I prepared my wallet and headed to the holy grail of deep fried food.
Tickets
I knew that I would have to invest a small fortune if I was to really get the full experience of the fair and being the procrastinator I am, I ended up going on the very last day. However, I got a little lucky, because as we were walking to buy tickets to enter the fair we ran into a couple who gave us their season passes since it was the last day and they were done with them (the real MVPs). So not having to pay close to $20 for a ticket just to get into the fair was a huge plus.
First Impressions
When I first entered, the fair was exactly what I thought it would be. It was big, colorful, and very “Texas.” I grabbed a map and was very quickly overwhelmed by how much there was to do. I knew I had to maximize my time there, so I bought some coupons and headed on my journey.
Activities and Rides
Our first stop was the car show. I’m not a huge fan of cars, but I appreciate a nice car when I see one. It wasn’t super overwhelming, but it was cool to see all these different types of cars and concepts they had on display.
After the car show, we finally figured out where we were going and made our way to the rides. I LOVE rides, roller coasters, and all things thrill so this was a very exciting time for me. They had a good assortment of rides to choose from, but each ride did take up a bunch of coupons, which was a slight downside.
The Food
FINALLY, the real reason I came here. I like to think of myself as a food enthusiast, so being surrounded by deliciously unhealthy fair food was like a dream come true. I came in dead set on wanting to try the deep fried Oreos, so when I bit into them for the first time I knew I had died and gone to heaven. I also tried a bunch of other foods, mostly of the fried variety, and I do have to say I highly recommend the deep fried brownies too. By the end of the day my arteries hated me, but I’m here for a good time not a long time so…
Was it Worth It?
All in all this was kind of a huge rip off, but I feel like I had to do it for the culture. They did have some cool places to take pictures and I had a good time, but everything was super expensive and definitely overpriced. I feel like everyone should go to the State Fair at least once in their Texas career, as it is the unofficial rite of passage, but unless you are super dedicated, it’s not worth the financial burden you take on, especially as a Broke College Kid™. I do have to say I would be willing to buy stock in the deep fried food franchise, because we can all admit that they’re here to stay. Overall, I give the state fair a 7/10.