The State Fair of Texas shut its gates Sunday after drawing nearly 2.1 million people to Fair Park over 24 days, the nonprofit that runs the fair said in its closing report.
The fair marked 140 years this season. Its busiest day was Saturday, Oct. 10, the day of the Red River Rivalry football game, when more than 203,000 people came through the gates. Crowds for the Red River Rivalry and the State Fair Classic at the renovated Cotton Bowl topped 135,000 combined, the fair said.
Students and schools
The fair handed out more than 1.3 million free tickets to North Texas students from pre-K through eighth grade, and more than 296,000 teachers got vouchers to get in free, according to the report.
This year 103 students shared more than $1.2 million in new college scholarships from the fair's Big Tex Scholarship Program. Applications for 2027 scholarships are open now to eligible high school seniors and the fair's seasonal employees at BigTex.com/Scholarship.
Fair officials said the youth livestock auction and its scholarship programs set a fundraising record in 2026, topping $2.7 million with more pledges expected. The grand champion market steer sold for $227,000, which the fair said is a new State Fair record. Organizers said every dollar given to those programs goes to Texas students as auction awards or scholarships.
Food bank, first responders and military families
Donations collected during the run totaled about 110,655 pounds of food, by the fair's estimate, for the North Texas Food Bank. A separate canned food drive on the fair's agriculture awareness day, with more than 175 4-H, FFA and FCCLA chapters taking part, produced more than 25,000 pounds.
