If today’s announcement of the newest monstrous delicacies to emerge from the fried food laboratories of North Texas got your mouth watering for the State Fair, we sympathize. There is a lifetime between now and Sept. 30, when the fair opens, and there is no substitute for the combination of games, rides, corny exhibitions, cowpoke shenanigans, live entertainment, trained animals, and fried food that makes the State Fair of Texas so appealing.
There’s the Big Tex Choice Awards on Aug. 28, but who has $100 to blow on early samples of Fried Jell-O? And where will you get your fix for all the non-edible delights of the fair?
This may seem glaringly obvious, but we recommend that you scratch your State Fair itch this weekend at the North Texas Fair and Rodeo in Denton. You want livestock? Here’s your livestock. Carnival games and rides? You got it. Cowboy types showing off? This dude’s name is Loop Rawlins. Live music? How do Randy Rogers and Charlie Daniels sound? Food that will put Texas-sized clogs in your arteries? It’s a fair. They’ve got you covered. Rodeo? It’s right there in the name. Oddly named contests? You tell me what you think Mutton Bustin’ is. Big Tex? Well, there will probably be some tall guys in cowboy hats at the fairgrounds.
If you’ve never been, the North Texas Fair and Rodeo is a fine event in its own right. At the least, it will tide you over until Fair Park submits to the annual takeover of Big Tex and company.
The fair kicks off Friday night and runs through Aug. 27 at the North Texas Fairgrounds in Denton, 2217 N. Carroll Blvd., behind the Kroger on University. A ticket will run you $15 to $20. The parade is Saturday.
