State Fair News

State Fair of Texas does COVID-19 workaround with new drive-thru event

If you could distill the State Fair of Texas to two things, it would be Big Tex and Fletcher's Original Corny Dogs.

The Real Slim Foodie

The State Fair of Texas is out of commission for 2020 due to the dreaded coronavirus, but organizers have crafted a workaround: Called the Big Tex Fair Food Drive-Thru, it consists of customers driving through a line and buying food packages from State Fair vendors.

In addition to the foods, there's also a Big Tex photo-op. The Fair folks are erecting the Big Tex statue for photo sessions. This year, he'll be wearing a super-sized mask. High-larious.

The drive-thru schedule will basically be weekends. Dates are as follows:

September 25-27
October 2-4
October 9
October 11-12, which includes Monday, October 12
October 15-18

One exception: Since the AT&T Red River Showdown between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma in Cotton Bowl Stadium is taking place, the Drive-Thru will not occur on Saturday, October 10.

Tickets go on sale starting September 2 at 10 am on BigTex.com. Customers can attend in three entry time slots:

10 am-1 pm
1-5 pm
5-5:45 pm

After selecting a date and time, customers can choose from the following packages.

Big Tex Photo Package

This is a standalone photo opp, no food, and is available only September 19-20. It's $25, and allows one vehicle of up to eight people to come in and pose with Big Tex, as well as a downloadable "professional" photo with Big Tex.

Fair Food & Photo Packages

The "A" package is $65 and feeds 1-2 people. Wow, just as pricey as if you were actually attending the Fair! It allows one vehicle of up to eight people to come in and pose with Big Tex, as well as a downloadable professional photo with Big Tex, as well as the following:

Two soft drinks or bottled waters from Haworth Concessions
Two Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dogs
One order of Jack’s French Fries
One order of Stiffler’s Fried Oreos
One bag of State Fair Cotton Candy
One bag of Pioneer Kettle Corn
One Midway Prize

The "B" package is the same as "A" but bigger: It's $99 and feeds 3-4 people. It allows one vehicle of up to eight people to come in and pose with Big Tex, as well as a downloadable professional photo with Big Tex, as well as the following:

Four soft drinks or bottled waters from Haworth Concessions
Four Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dogs
Two orders of Jack’s French Fries
Two orders of Stiffler’s Fried Oreos
Two bags of State Fair Cotton Candy
Two bags of Pioneer Kettle Corn
Two Midway Prizes

You can also add on items such as corn on the cob, corny dogs, sausage on a stick, and turkey legs.

All guests must remain in their vehicles, with the exception of using the restroom and/or having their photo taken at Big Tex Circle.

They anticipate that the Drive-Thru experience will take no longer than 1 1/2 hours once you enter the gate.

Folks can choose to eat their food in their car along the way, take it home, or eat in a parking lot designated by the State Fair after they exit.

Guests are required to wear face masks when interacting with staff, who will all be wearing masks, washing hands, wearing gloves, and so on.

state-fair

Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."