The biggest party in Texas is held every September at Fair Park in Dallas. Established in 1886, the Fair grew significantly in the 1920s. A magnificent auditorium - which eventually would be known as the Music Hall - was completed in 1925, and outstanding New York shows were presented to Texas audiences for the first time. The Texas-OU football game was established as an annual fairtime event in 1929. And in 1930, the race track complex was razed to permit construction of 46,000-seat Fair Park Stadium - later renamed the Cotton Bowl.

In 1934, Fair Park was selected as the central exposition site for the proposed Texas Centennial celebration. No state fair was scheduled in 1935, and construction began on a $25 million project that transformed the existing fairgrounds into a masterpiece of art and imagination. The 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition attracted more than 6 million people during its six-month run. A similar but smaller-scaled event, the Pan American Exposition, was presented in 1937. Today, involvement by major companies make it possible for the State Fair of Texas to offer its visitors a range of exhibits, entertainment and services that are unmatched by any annual exposition in North America.