South Texas State Fair | |
---|---|
Genre | State fair |
Begins | late March – 27 March 2025 |
Ends | early April – 06 April 2025 |
Frequency | annually |
Venue | I 10 |
Location(s) | Ford Park, Beaumont, TX 77705 |
Coordinates | 30°0′35.68″N94°10′50.78″W / 30.0099111°N 94.1807722°W |
Country | United States of America |
Years active | 1907 (Cancelled 1917–18 – World War I, 1942–1945 – World War II, 2005, 2008 – Hurricane Damage, 2020 – pandemic) | –1916, 1919–1941, 1946–2004, 2006–2007, 2009–2019, 2021–
Founded | 1907 |
Founder | City of Beaumont |
Attendance | Estimated 500,000 [1] |
Member | Texas Association of Fairs and Events |
Sponsor | Young Men's Business League (YMBL) since 1942 |
Website | www |
The South Texas State Fair is an annual regional state fair held in Beaumont, Texas. The fair features a livestock show, a commercial exhibition, and a carnival Midway. Food concessions are a major attraction of the fair. Reflecting Beaumont's location in Southeast Texas, normal carnival foods can be found alongside barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Cajun foods (often including fried alligator).
As of 2009 [update] , the South Texas State Fair had an attendance of over 500,000 people, second in the state to the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. [2] The fair is held annually in late March to early April.
Fair patrollers include security guards, the Beaumont, TX Police and Jefferson County, TX Sheriff.
The South Texas State Fair traces its roots to the first confirmable fair in Beaumont, held in 1907. With the exception of cancellations in 1917–18, 1942–45, 2005, 2008 & 2020 because of World War I, World War II, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ike & COVID-19 pandemic respectively, the fair 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 of World 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.
The 2005 fair was cancelled due to the extensive damage that Hurricane Rita inflicted on the region; It returned in 2006. Due to Hurricane Ike and the hurricane relief staging centered in Ford Park, the 2008 fair was canceled.
The fair resumed in March 2009, marking a permanent schedule change from fall to spring. Reasons stated for the change included better weather, lack of competition from football, and a better fit for midway ride provider Bill Hames Shows. [3]
And 2020 saw cancellation on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic, with next year being delayed to late May.
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The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. The franchise previously played in Huntington, West Virginia, from 1993 to 2000 as the Huntington Blizzard playing at the Huntington Civic Arena.
The Ford Arena is a 9,737-seat multi-purpose arena in Beaumont, Texas, USA. The arena has 34,000 sq ft of exhibit space available for conventions and exhibitions. It also includes 7 production offices, 3 dressing rooms, a 2,448 sq ft VIP Club, a 1,107 sq ft party patio, concession stands, and restrooms. It is part of a larger suburban municipal complex called Ford Park. It is currently managed by OVG360, a division of Oak View Group.
Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at theMontagne Center, built in 1984, is a mixed-use event center that houses a 10,746-seat a multi-purpose arena and a variety of event spaces in Beaumont, Texas. The Montagne Center was designed especially for the basketball program with a wing designated for instructional purposes. The Montagne Center is currently home to the Lamar University Cardinals, the Lady Cardinals basketball teams, and the Lamar University Pathway Program, Lamar University's language program. The arena was previously the home of the Lady Cardinals volleyball team until renovations to McDonald Gym were completed in 2006–07. The Montagne's instructional area has been home to Lamar's language program since 2010 when the Lamar Language Institute (LLI) first moved there, then transitioned to TIEP at Lamar in 2011, and became the Lamar University Language Program (LUPP) in 2017.
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KUIL-LD is a low-power television station in Beaumont, Texas, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside dual ABC/NBC affiliate KBMT. The two stations share studios along I-10/US 69/US 96/US 287 in Beaumont; KUIL-LD's transmitter is located in Mauriceville, Texas.
Ford Park is a 221-acre multi-purpose entertainment complex consisting of an arena, exhibit hall, amphitheater, midway, and 12 youth baseball fields located on I-10 South in Beaumont, Texas. The complex opened in 2003. It is owned by Jefferson County, Texas and operated by OVG360, a division of the Oak View Group. It is the home of the South Texas State Fair.
The Climate of Beaumont, Texas covers the averages and extremes in past weather seen within the city of Beaumont, Texas. The city is within the humid subtropical climate regime, and is within the Piney Woods region of eastern Texas. The area around Beaumont receives the most rainfall in the state: more than 65 inches (1,700 mm) annually. Summers in the area are usually hot and humid, due to the moisture that flows inland off of the Gulf of Mexico. Winters are usually kept mild by the warm gulf waters. Hurricanes also pose a threat to the area. Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Hurricane Rita in 2005, and Hurricane Ike in 2008 were the most recent significant storms to strike.
Parkdale Mall is a regional shopping mall located in Beaumont, Texas, serving the Golden Triangle area. The mall is managed by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. and is anchored by Dillard's, JCPenney, XXI Forever, Five Below, HomeGoods, and Dick's Sporting Goods. There are three empty anchors that once housed Macy's, Stage, and Sears.
The 2012–13 Texas Strikers season was the first season of the Texas Strikers professional indoor soccer club. The Strikers, a Central Division team in the Professional Arena Soccer League, played their home games in Ford Arena in Beaumont, Texas. The team was led by owner James Germany and head coach Chris "Topper" Cogan. The Strikers are Beaumont's first professional soccer team.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Beaumont, Texas, USA.
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