Big Tex will not greet visitors this year. State Fair of Texas canceled due to COVID.
Officials with the State Fair of Texas announced on Tuesday they have canceled the event for 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns.
It will be the first time since World War II that the State Fair of Texas in Dallas has not opened.
“This was an extremely touch decision,” said Gina Norris, board chair for the State Fair of Texas, in a news release. “The health and safety of all involved has remained our top priority throughout the decision-making process.”
State Fair of Texas officials said NCAA, conference and university officials from the University of Texas, the University of Oklahoma, Prairie View A&M University and Grambling State University will be in charge of making decisions regarding football games that occur at the Cotton Bowl.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a written statement that the team expects to play Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl as scheduled.
Norris added, “One of the greatest aspects of the Fair is welcoming each and every person who passes through our gates with smiles and open arms. In the current climate of COVID-19, there’s no feasible way for the Fair to put proper precautions in place while maintaining the Fair environment you know and love.”
It will be just the eighth time in the 134-year-old history of the fair that it has been canceled. Before this year, the fair had been canceled because of World War I in 1918, the planning for the Texas Centennial Exposition and the Pan American Exposition (1935-1937) and World War II (1942-1945).
The decision to cancel came down to the State Fair of Texas board of directors, who have been in discussions on how to hold the event since the pandemic began earlier this year, according to the news release.
State Fair officials said they would continue their commitments to nonprofit missions such as the Big Tex Youth Livestock Auction and livestock shows, Big Tex Scholarship programs, Big Tex Urban Farms and other community outreach programs.
According to the news release, fair officials still are committed to paying $2.5 million to Dallas in 2020 toward the upkeep of Fair Park, where the fair is held. In addition, fair officials will pay $1.5 million in annul rent to Dallas to call Fair Park home of the State Fair of Texas.
Virtual fair events and alternative activities and events are still being considered as potential options, fair officials said.
“While we are heartbroken at the notion of not welcoming more than 2.5 million of our closest friends for this annual celebration of the Lone Star State, the excitement we feel in moving forward with planning the 2021 State Fair of Texas and keeping this 134-year tradition alive will keep us motivated until we can greet our fairgoers, seasonal staff and business partners again in a safe environment,” said Mitchell Glieber, president of the State Fair of Texas, in the news release.
The 2021 State Fair of Texas is scheduled to run Sept. 24 through Oct. 17.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
