FAIR PARK (WBAP/KLIF) – Big Tex was raised in place on Friday, a week out from the opening of the State Fair of Texas.
The iconic 55-foot-tall talking cowboy will welcome folks back to the 2022 State Fair of Texas in style. According to fair organizers, his custom boots have been polished, shirt pressed, jeans starched, and he is practicing his “Howdy, Folks!” His new shirt and jeans were recently unveiled at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium earlier this year. His brand-new belt buckle debuted on Friday.
Big Tex’s skeletal structure was originally built in 1949 for a Christmas celebration in Kerens, Texas. After two years in the spotlight as the world’s tallest Santa Claus, the Kerens Chamber of Commerce sold the figure to the State Fair of Texas for $750. The State Fair president at the time envisioned a Texas-sized cowboy as a symbol of the annual exposition. Dallas artist Jack Bridges was brought on board to perform the extreme makeover – transforming Santa into Big Tex.
Speechless that first year, a little engineering helped Big Tex “find” his voice in 1953, and he’s been talking ever since.
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