State Fair News

State Fair of Texas to donate tasty leftovers the day after it closes

State Fair Cares donates leftover food to families in need.

SFOT

It's the final weekend for the State Fair of Texas, which will celebrate its last day on October 20. Sniff.

But the very next day on Monday October 21, Big Tex and the gang will be up bright and early with State Fair Cares, an annual day-after tradition in which State Fair of Texas food vendors donate their leftover food and drink to North Texas families in need.

First started in 2015, it involves more than 80 food and beverage concessionaires who donate their unused or leftover food items to local Fair Park area food pantries and shelters as part of the State Fair Cares initiative.

Additionally, the Fair’s Big Tex Urban Farms make a donation of fresh produce.

The amount of food available for a donation depends on much food is left over following the closing of the 2024 State Fair of Texas. Donations are based on what vendors are serving, but could range from potatoes and tomatoes to bread, hot dog buns, canned soup, cheese, animal crackers, cereal, jars of pickles, sugar, and flour, now gifted to local food pantries. There's even produce and frozen items.

The fair's goal is to not waste food, and also give back to the community, a spokesperson says.

Fair Park area food pantries and shelters will pick up donations to help feed local families in need on Monday morning.

The organizations participating in 2024 — chosen because of their ability to impact the local community through current feeding and outreach programs — include Cornerstone Community Kitchen, Dallas Bethlehem Center, Incarnation House, Inspired Vision Compassion Center, Jubilee Park Community Center, OurCalling, St. Paul United Methodist Church, TR Hoover CDC, and The Well Recovery Center — all of which have the capacity to distribute the food to children, adults, and seniors or other organizations in the South Dallas/Fair Park area.

This is the ninth year this event will be held.

The State Fair Cares Food Drive will take place at the Briscoe Carpenter Livestock Center in the holding area behind the arena, at 1403 Washington St.

sustainability state-fair

Movie Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gives video game fans exactly what they want

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020 was one of the few video game adaptations that managed to appeal to both fans of the Sega game and those who just want to watch a fun movie. As the series moved into a second and now third film, though, it’s become increasingly reliant on giving the video game fans what they want, with not as much attention paid toward simply telling a good story.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) continues to live with human friends Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), as well as Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), who stuck around after the events of the second film. Dispensing with any kind of narrative coherence, the trio is called away by an undefined military force to help with the escape of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), another alien hedgehog who has been locked away off the coast of Japan for many years.

Suffice it to say that the trio does not initially fare well against the powerful Shadow, forcing Sonic to do the unthinkable: Ask his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), for help. What Sonic doesn’t anticipate is that Shadow has a history that left him with a grudge against most of human society, and he’s intent on using his powers - with a little help from his former mentor, Gerald Robotnik (also Carrey) - to exact his plans for revenge.

Made by the same team of director Jeff Fowler and writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the film is a combination of manic action, jokey sequences, and a dash of heart. The addition of Shadow ups the mayhem considerably, and the filmmakers rarely slow things down (although, oddly, the super-speed of Sonic and company feels lessened this time around).

The initial casting of Carrey gave the comic actor permission to indulge in whatever wackiness he could imagine, and giving him two roles in this film means double the nonsense. Ivo and Gerald (who’s Ivo’s grandfather, for the record) face off in a number of silly scenes, none more absurd than a dance sequence aboard a space station threatening to explode Earth (yeah, this movie is a lot).

Does the plot make a lick of sense? Absolutely not, but the filmmakers seem to acknowledge that fact, throwing anything and everything at the screen to try to entertain kids and/or fans of the video game series. It should come as no surprise that the end credits tease yet more characters from the video games joining the franchise, making it abundantly clear who is expected to get the most enjoyment out of the series going forward.

In addition to Carrey, the voice actors continue to make the characters fun. Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey provide the cartoon-style acting, while Elba and now Reeves give a nice counterbalance with their deep and serious voices. Marsden and Sumpter aren’t given much to do this time around, and Krysten Ritter shows up as Director Rockwell, a character who’s mostly there to move what little plot there is further along.

A four-quadrant movie is one that appeals to all ages and genders; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a one or maybe two-quadrant movie at most. But it’s more fun than the other family-friendly offering this Christmas season, and fans of the video game will likely love the depiction of their favorite characters on screen, so it’s doing something right.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now playing in theaters.

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