Ride Don't Drive

Quick guide to DART State Fair ride schedule and key college games

The Fair Park station is one of two key DART Rail stops for the State Fair of Texas.

We're already in planning mode for the 2017 State Fair of Texas, which runs September 29-October 22. That includes this key update from DART on how to get there and when the big games are going down.

In 2016, more than 2.8 million passengers rode DART light rail to the fair. The transit agency expects similar ridership numbers this year and has scheduled the following changes:

Extra Green Line trains between Victory and Lawnview stations from 9:30 am-3:30 pm weekdays, and 9:30 am-7 pm weekends
All extra Green Line trains will feature 3 cars
Orange Line extended to Parker Road on all trips, weekdays, and weekends
Additional Green and Blue line service after 7 pm Saturdays and Sundays
Extra buses on Routes 60 and 409 Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays
Sunday operation for Trinity Railway Express (TRE) from Fort Worth, yay. The TRE will operate on all four Sundays during the fair.

DART Police will be present in the State Fair Emergency Operations Center, troubleshooting issues immediately as they occur.

Direct to the fair
There are two key stops on the DART Green Line to get to the fair:

Fair Park, located on Parry Avenue at the entrance to the fairgrounds
MLK, Jr., located south of R.B. Cullum Boulevard and convenient to the Gate 6 entrance and the Cotton Bowl stadium

Extra Green Line trains will be available approximately every 15 minutes between Victory and Lawnview stations from 9:30 am-3:30 pm weekdays, and 9:30 am-7:30 pm on weekends.

Connecting from other trains
All DART Rail and Trinity Railway Express (TRE) passengers can transfer easily to the Green Line. Trains going to the fair will say "Fair Park," "Buckner," or "Lawnview."

Orange Line passengers from Irving transfer to the Green Line at Bachman Station.
Southbound Orange, Red, and Blue line passengers transfer at Pearl/Arts District or St. Paul stations.
Northbound Red and Blue line passengers transfer at Akard Station.
TRE passengers transfer to the Green Line at Victory Station. Details are at TrinityRailwayExpress.org.

Customers using the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) should check DCTA.net for departure and arrival times and to ensure smooth connections at Trinity Mills Station to DART’s Green Line. The DCTA will be adjusting their schedules during the fair.

Day Pass and GoPass app
Purchase a Local Day Pass for $5, good for DART Rail, local buses and riding the TRE from CentrePort Station. Tarrant and Denton County customers need a Regional Day Pass for $10. Purchase passes at ticket vending machines at all DART and TRE stations or on the GoPass app available for both Apple and Android.

Save $2 and buy your State Fair of Texas general admission with the GoPass app. Show your purchased fair ticket on GoPass at any gate to gain entrance. It is not necessary to buy a DART transit ticket to take advantage of the State Fair discount ticket. Details are available at DART.org/StateFair or by calling DART Customer Information at 214-979-1111.

Special dates
Additional service to two football games played at the historic Cotton Bowl will be provided by DART and the TRE.

October 7: The Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic between Prairie View A&M University and Grambling State University
October 14: AT&T Red River Showdown game between the University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma Sooners

Details are available at DART.org/StateFair.

Other popular special event dates to consider riding DART are Columbus Day on October 9; Lower Grade School Day on October 13, and High School Night on October 20.

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Free Food

Food Bank to host summer food giveaway at UNT Dallas campus

Photo by Michael Martin

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Two Dallas organizations are partnering on a big summer food giveaway: The North Texas Food Bank is joining forces with the University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) with a mobile food distribution event at the UNT Dallas campus on Friday, July 18.

UNT Dallas and the NTFB already host a drive-through mobile pantry each month, but this one is specifically focused on children who are out of school for the summer.

Each participating family will receive about 60 pounds of food, including fresh produce, to help fill the gap left when school-provided meals are unavailable.

So far this year, the monthly mobile pantry events at UNT Dallas have provided approximately 140,000 pounds of food to more than 1,500 families and 7,000 people. Long lines usually form on University Hills Blvd. well before the gates open.

UNT Dallas has partnered with NTFB since 2020, hosting monthly mobile food distributions on campus. Each event is supported by student, faculty, and staff volunteers, providing relief to campus and community members. The university also operates the Trailblazers Care Pantry, an on-campus resource that provides groceries, hygiene products, and a Career Closet for students preparing for interviews or internships.

A recent Feeding America study found that Texas has the highest number of food-insecure people of any state, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area ranks third in the nation. Within NTFB’s 12-county service area, nearly 744,000 people, including more than 250,000 children, don’t always know where their next meal will come from. Over 60 percent of that population lives in Dallas County.

The July 18 food distribution is first-come, first-served, and no ID or pre-registration is required. Participants must arrive in a vehicle, as this is a drive-through-only event. It'll run from 8-11 am, or while supplies last, at the UNT Dallas campus in southern Dallas, at 7300 University Hills Blvd.

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