Howdy Folks!

Posted on 09-30-2016

Texans are excited this weekend being that today is the opening day for the State Fair of Texas. Everyone looks forward to this time of year when Big Tex welcomes us with the familiar, "Howdy, Folks," and the aroma of Fletcher's famous corny dogs brings up nostalgic feelings!  Makes us want to take the day off and head to the fair grounds!  

Even though the great Ferris Wheel, The Texas Star, shines red, white & blue, you may not be aware of how green the ride is.  The 20-story tall wheel was built in 1985 with 44 gondolas to seat up to six people each.  That's up to 264 people rotating on the big wheel at once.  The Texas Star can be seen miles away tempting those on I-30 to re-route their GPS towards the bright lights.

In 2008, The Texas Star underwent a complete green makeover by replacing the incadescent lighting with a more energy efficient LED lighting system.  Not only does the LED lighting give the ride a brighter, truer color, but the bulbs will last much longer than the original system.  The white LED lights are good for 50,000 hours while colored lights will last 100,000 hours.  The spinning wheel puts on one fantastic light show during the State Fair of Texas.

Be sure to check out the events happening this year which will surely keep all visitors enertained for the next 24 days.  If you haven't been on the most popular ride of all, The Texas Star, make this the year to do it.