Fairs and Carnivals

Rodeo Houston Fun

Go Texan with this guide.

Big Tex: We Offer Our Six Replacements, Starting With Willie Nelson

As you've no doubt heard by now -- or, if you're a Texan, felt like a great disturbance in the force -- State Fair's Big Tex burned to its frame today. The icon for generations of fairgoers was taken down by an electrical short, so at least we don't have terrorists to blame. But it's simply too m ... More >>

Too Bad It Rained: Top 5 Fried Foods I Wish I Had Tasted at the State Fair of Texas

Unfortunately, it rained literally all day long in Dallas on Saturday. Which just so happened to be the day I planned to attend the State Fair of Texas. There were many things I was looking forward to doing. I wanted to see Big Tex, ride the Ferris Wheel, watch the pig races and enjoy the fireworks ... More >>

Yum, Fried Bubble Gum

Top 10 State Fair of Texas foods

Top 5 Nearby Fall Festivals & County Fairs

As the recent weather has proved, there's no better time to be outdoors in Texas than fall. In springtime, there's always that lingering knowledge that summer is right around the corner, so this time of year there's nothing else to look forward to but Santa Claus. It's also harvest time, and the tho ... More >>

Top 10 State Fair of Texas Foods

See our slideshow of more State Fair of Texas Foods. Some go for the carnival-style attractions. Others go for the garden exhibition. Thousands go for the live musical entertainment. Many go for the shopping. But the truth of the matter is, all flock to the State Fair of Texas for the food. In it ... More >>

Watch This Alligator Chomp This Dude's Arm Damn Near In Half! (w/ VIDEO, Obviously)

People often ask me "Sean, how do you come up with your content each day? That must be awfully hard to do five days a week!" (Actually, nobody ever asks me that, I just couldn't think of a way to start this post. Also, the "awfully hard to do" part is a pure sympathy play by me. Nothing more, nothin ... More >>

''Jon Read''

Rating the Rides: Fear Is a Factor for the Rodeo's Roller Coasters

You can't go to the Rodeo without going on the rides. Well, you could, but what fun is that? But if you're going on the rides, you definitely want to know what you're getting yourself into. So we rode `em and rated `em, just for you. 6. Mega Drop Does anyone remember the Dungeon Drop from AstroWo ... More >>

Blake Shelton

Kids Country

Saengerfest Mini Monster Bash

"Fair" Game

At DiverseWorks, curator Diane Barber sends up our city's new obsession with art fairs.

The Texas State Fair: Specializing in Fried Crap, 125 Years and Counting

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Texas State Fair, held every fall in Dallas at the wonderfully art deco Fair Park. I honestly had no idea until I went to the fair late last week, however. You'd think there'd be some more momentous foodstuffs to mark the occasion. Alas, the biggest news ... More >>

State Fair Fare: Checking Out the Competition in Minnesota

foodanddrinkdigital.comBig Tex, State Fair mascot who turns 59 this year, wears a 75 gallon hat and size 70 boots.​As soon as you walk through the gates of a state fair, whatever "diet" you may be on becomes null and void. If you're watching your carbs, trying to stay away from fried foods or ... More >>

Drunk Driver (With 18 License Suspensions) Sends Cops Scrambling, Smashes Patrol Car

Thank God that's over​The Galveston County Fair & Rodeo is over, but it went out with a bang. This year's event saw one carnie arrested for being a sex offender and a ride operator nabbed for possessing three bags of pills, a bag of weed and brass knuckles. Enough for one year? No. There ha ... More >>

Robert Wayne Niffen: Carnie Fugitive Sex Offender Nabbed In Santa Fe

Santa Fe PDRobert Wayne Niffen: Carnie, alleged sex offender​Given two key facts, you could safely probably suppose that 52-year-old Robert Wayne Niffen was a miscreant of some sort. To wit: 1. His middle name is Wayne. 2. He is a carnie. And its Peace Officer 101 that all carnies with the ... More >>

Man Dies from Roller Coaster Fall at Rodeo Houston

Photo by Jeff BalkeThe HiMiler taken at last year's rodeo carnival.​A man fell 28 feet to his death from the HiMiler roller coaster in the waning moments of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo season. The 46-year-old was given CPR at the scene before being taken to the hospital, where he wa ... More >>

Rodeo Houston Sets Attendance Records

Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and RodeoBrad Paisley brought 'em in Saturday night.​The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo set an attendance record this year with 2,262,834 total visitors including a single-night record of 150,948. That same night, the rodeo recorded its third high ... More >>

Meat Sundaes and Deep-Fried Moon Pies: It's Rodeo Season!

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttPulled pork sundaes at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. For more photos, check out our slideshow.​Hot beef sundaes are nothing new; in fact, we wrote about them back in March 2009, when the popular meat-and-potatoes parfait was taking to the streets of Nebraska ... More >>

Recap: Episode 4 of The Next Iron Chef

​Welcome to another exciting episode of The Next Iron Chef, where the Houston food community gathers, hoping for a win for an Iron Chef who has a real passion for this sometimes underdog Texas city. And where Ming Tsai acts like a tool. By the way, did you hear when "Ming" called into 1560 The ... More >>

Fried Beer Wuz Robbed

Try making this at home.​The overall winner of this year's Big Tex Choice Awards (the much publicized food awards at the annual State Fair of Texas) was an underdog from three brand-new competitors: the fried Frito pie. And although I'm happy for the gentlemen who won (as happy as you can be t ... More >>

Annise Parker Praises Shanghai For Its Acceptance Of Gays

Annise Parker praises Shanghai for GLBT acceptance​Mayor Annise Parker is in the midst of the first big international trip of her term, a visit to China.She's attending the World Expo in Shanghai (Motto: "Yes, they still have World Fairs"), and in a speech cited the city's openness to gays as a so ... More >>

"Houston Center for Photography's 28th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition"

Curator Hannah Frieser finds something for everyone

Pasadena Strawberry Festival

Anyone have some whipped cream?

Funnel Cake Sticks at Burger King

Photo by the impulsive buy​We never fall prey to fast food commercials and their new twists on old dishes, but...we saw the ad for funnel cake sticks at Burger King, and our munchie-having stoner inner child awoke inside us. We just had to have them. We know, we know...What can we say, you can ... More >>

Suck It, Dallas: The Rodeo Outdraws The State Fair

​The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo was the nation's biggest fair in 2009, an industry publication has declared.Carnival Warehouse, which sounds like the kind of place that has cheap late-night advertising for kuh-waaazy prices on merry-go-rounds, but is actually a publication that tracks the ... More >>

LUMA

This human-driven light show makes lasers look dim

Aw, Shuck!