The air was brisk and fall-like as attendees swarmed the State Fair of Texas, which wrapped up its annual run on Sunday.
Fairgoers were dressed in an array of cowboy hats, denim, long-sleeve flannels and Dallas Cowboys T-shirts as they meandered down the fair’s winding paths, glancing at games and food stands or stopping to pose and grab pictures in front of Big Tex.
Very few people were empty-handed as they walked, carrying Fletcher’s corny dogs, turkey legs and fried dessert or stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes.
Along the midway, Kelly and Claudio Robles waited for their chance to win big at the chicken launch game.
Kelly Robles, 29, positioned herself in front of the launching pad with a bucket full of rubber chickens, leaning on pure fate to aim and dunk them into the pot inside the game’s tent. Next to her, Claudio Robles laughed and cheered, holding a small stuffed banana the couple had already won.
(From left) Julie Ruiz, 21, Aban Garcia, 19, Kelly Robles, 29, and Claudio Robles, 30, react as Kelly launches a rubber chicken towards pots on the last day of the State Fair of Texas on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Dallas. (Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)
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People pose for photos in front of Big Tex on the last day of the State Fair of Texas on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Dallas. (Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)
As newlyweds, they said they wanted to make the fair part of their family tradition, so the two traveled from Fort Worth Sunday to make it happen.
“We’ve been coming since we were kids,” Claudio Robles, 30, said. “It’s the last day, and the weather is nice. It’s perfect.”
Tradition-building aside, Claudio Robles said, they came for the food. The two had already tried pickle pizza, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos pizza and fried cheesecake by 2:30 p.m.
Kelly Robles said she was aiming to leave with a big stuffed cow in her arms.
When asked if it was worth the trip, Kelly Robles didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” she said. “Absolutely.”
Sloane Odom, 15, felt similarly as she walked away from the midway with a smile on her face and a stuffed sloth on her shoulders. She won her gigantic prize by playing the ladder game, Sloane said, which she’s perfected a strategy for over the years.
Sloane Odom, 15, carries a giant stuffed sloth she won from the rope ladder game on The Midway on the last day of the State Fair of Texas on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Dallas. (Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)
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Her mother, Erin Odom, said her daughters have been coming to the fair yearly since they were about 3 or 4 years old.
The family wanted to make the last day of the fair count, Erin Odom said as she walked her daughters to her favorite part of the fair, the livestock barn. Inside, adults and children alike gathered around pens of baby animals — goats, pigs, chickens and cows — some of which were only two days old.
“I just love it,” Erin Odom said with a smile. “We’re Texans, my whole family, and I love the experience.”
The Odoms and Robles had no connection to each other but one: a love for the fair that spreads into each season it comes to town.
When asked what they were looking forward to, both families said the most exciting thing will be coming back next year.
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This article originally published at State Fair of Texas attendees enjoy ‘perfect’ last day of 2026 operations Sunday.