Good morning North Texas,

Now that the State Fair of Texas has officially wrapped, let’s look at the 2026 numbers. In the 24 days of the fair, Big Tex (who turned 74 this year) welcomed nearly 2.1 million fairgoers, which is more than last year. 

🎸 About 150 Texas music artists performed.

🎈 About 500,000 prizes were won on the Midway, and 375,000 balloons popped during those games.

🐑 The Livestock Birthing Barn celebrated more than 90 animal births. 

🤑 More than 1.3 million fair tickets were given to students, and the fair awarded $1.2 million in college scholarships to 103 students. 

🔥 Tommy G’s viral Flamin’ Hot Cheetos pizza premiered, using 15,000 bags of Cheetos over the course of the fair.

🍉 The Chamoy Treats’ Candy Watermelon was so popular the stand used about 10,000 watermelons—that’s an acre field! 

🌽 About 450,000 Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs were purchased. 

🥫 And 110,655 pounds of food was collected to donate to the North Texas Food Bank. 

And speaking of numbers, I want to remind you that Friday, Oct. 23 is the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot. To see who qualifies for mail-in voting, click here. 

Now, keep scrolling this email to see the record-breaking turnout for the first day of early voting and find out who’s giving free rides to the polls. We’re also accepting videos about what’s inspiring your vote.

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk is scheduled for October 23-25 in Dallas/Fort Worth. (Dallas County Affiliate Susan G. Komen/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

By Sam Cohen

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this weekend, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk to raise money for breast cancer research is being held in Dallas-Fort Worth. The annual fundraiser will see hundreds of participants walking in community with one another around the two cities. 

Residents may register in teams or as individuals to participate in either a 1-Day, 2-Day, or 3-Day experience. The full 3-Day fundraiser takes place Friday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 25. However, the exact dates you’re required to be there vary depending on how many days you’re committing to—more on that in the full article linked below. 

As participants in the event you’ll be required to raise a certain amount of money that corresponds with the number of days you’ll be walking. In 2025, roughly 600 DFW residents banded together to raise $2.1 million throughout the course of the 3-Day walk. All of the proceeds raised by the Susan G. Komen foundation will go toward breast cancer research and the quest for a cure.  

🗳️ First day voting numbers: The first day of early voting broke previous turnout records across DFW counties. Dallas County saw about 20,000 more voters than on the first day of early voting in 2024, while Denton County saw about a 17,000 voter surge compared with the 2022 midterms. (WFAA)

🤠 Velvet rodeo: You’ll soon be able to see country singer Miranda Lambert’s most iconic outfits from her Las Vegas residency on display at the National Cowgirl Museum. The East Texas native is not only an artist, but a a real live cowgirl, spending her downtime as a mounted shooting competitor. (Fort Worth Magazine)

🚴‍♀️ Blazing the trails: TxDOT is calling on all Dallas area bike riders to have a say in the future of the local cycling infrastructure. Through Nov. 6, it’ll be taking resident feedback about bike trails and roadway accommodations. (TxDOT)

🚍 Free rides to the polls: During early voting and on Election Day, you can use this promo code to ride the Trinity Metro to the polls for free. (Trinity Metro)

Here are some things to do around the metroplex this weekend 

🥨 Grand Prairie Main Street Fest

🍷 McKinney Wine and Music Festival

💀 Day of the Dead Festival

Denton

🌝 Full Moon Witches Paddle

Grapevine

🏀 Mavs v. The Spurs

Dallas

🎶 Do Good Fest

Arlington

👨‍🎨 Art Worth Festival

Fort Worth

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Joi Louviere, with a story from Sam Cohen. It was edited by Kimberly Lawson.

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