- South Texas State Fair
The South Texas State Fair is an annual regional
state fair held inBeaumont, Texas in October. The fair features alivestock show, a commercial exhibition, and a carnival Midway. Food concessions are a major attraction of the fair. Reflecting Beaumont's location inSoutheast Texas , normal carnival foods can be found alongsidebarbecue , Tex-Mex, and Cajun foods (often including fried alligator).The South Texas State Fair traces its roots to the first confirmable fair in Beaumont, held in 1907, and has continued every year since. It was first known as the Beaumont Fair, then the Southeast Texas State Fair, and in 1921 just the South Texas State Fair. In 1942, operation of the fair was transferred to the YMBL (Young Men's Business League), a local non-profit civic improvement organization.
While other state fairs, including the larger
State Fair of Texas , were closed for the duration ofWorld War II , the South Texas State Fair continued as the "YMBL Victory Fair". The YMBL states that this was in part on request from the US military as an attempt to improve morale of soldiers stationed in and near the Beaumont area.After the war, the fair continued. In 2004, the South Texas State Fair moved from the Beaumont Fairgrounds on the east side of the city to
Ford Park on I-10 on the west side.As of 2003 , the South Texas State Fair had an attendance of over 440,000 people, second in the state to the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. The fair is held annually in mid-October.The 2005 fair was cancelled due to the extensive damage that
Hurricane Rita inflicted on the region; It returned in 2006. Due toHurricane Ike and the hurricane relief staging centered inFord Park , the 2008 fair was canceled and is scheduled to return in 2009.External links
* [http://www.ymbl.org/fair.htm South Texas State Fair]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.