A year for the history books!
With crowds being forbidden around the world in the not-so-distant past, you’d expect attendance at yearly events and festivities to have dwindled somewhat. Yet at the same time, if anything the turbulent years and mitigation measures that the global pandemic brought about also reminded people to appreciate those cherished annual traditions that we took for granted.
This seems to be the case for Dallas’ 2022 State Fair of Texas which recorded a historic attendance this year of more than 2.5 million people visiting the fair during its 24-day run.
2022 crowds surpassed the previous record of 2,514,637 set in 2019 by 32,652 with a total of 2,547,289 attending what is the longest-running fair in the nation.
Since its establishment in 1886, the State Fair of Texas has grown to become not just a beloved annual tradition but now a unique destination that people come from all over to attend.
Thank you.❤️ We do this because we love bringing people together and we had 24 beautiful days of that. It’s always bittersweet on the last day, but we know next year will be even more special. See y’all soon! 🤠
This #PictureOfTheDay is in partnership with @unitedwaydallas. pic.twitter.com/17immilNPQ
— State Fair of Texas (@StateFairOfTX) October 24, 2022
“At its core, the State Fair of Texas is about community,” said State Fair of Texas President, Mitchell Glieber. “There is nothing more fulfilling for our team than seeing folks from all walks of life gather together and mutually share and enjoy the Fair. Thanks to our fairgoers visiting, we are able to fulfill our nonprofit mission of supporting agriculture, education, and community involvement year-round.”
Of the fair’s 24 consecutive days, October 8 saw the most people with 207,380 people entering Fair Park.
This year featured all-new events like the Starlight Parade with brand-new floats and more than 1,000 riders as well as 35 new shopping booths while Big Tex celebrated his 70th birthday during the event and enjoyed a 9-foot by 4-foot birthday cake from Kroger on Monday, October 4.
The attendance this year wasn’t the only record-breaker, however. The 74th Annual Big Tex Youth Livestock Auction raised a record-breaking $1.9 million and resident strongman Mighty Mike made it into the Guinness World Records for juggling three 10-pound bowling balls for a record-breaking 20 seconds.
More information about the State Fair of Texas can be found at bigtex.com
[Featured image from Shutterstock]