Big Tex looking for new concessionaires

By Karissa Condoianis

The State Fair of Texas is excited to announce that the 2021 food and beverage concessionaire application and the 2021 commercial exhibits application are now open. Do you have a super creative product and a seasoned history of serving folks by the masses? Then we’re looking for you! The annual State Fair of Texas is made up of a vast collection of small businesses – nearly 80 concessionaires and more than 200 exhibitors come together to promote their business in the spirit of the Fair. The Fair takes pride in offering something for everyone, and we’re always looking to diversify and expand by adding new businesses to the annual lineup. Applications are currently available at BigTex.com.

 The State Fair of Texas is known worldwide for its tasty and innovative food concoctions. If you can eat it, we can fry it – and we probably already have! In addition to being deep-fried culinary geniuses, our concessionaires also make gourmet, regional, national, and even international dishes with a Texas twist. We are looking for top-notch vendors who can bring new and unique foods to the State Fair. Applicants must have large event experience – after all, we’ve been known to serve more than 2.5 million people in only 24 days! We encourage all qualified small businesses to apply for consideration at BigTex.com/2021Concessionaire through March 31.

Once a business is selected as a State Fair of Texas concessionaire, they are welcomed into a family unlike any they’ve ever experienced before. In addition to support from the food and beverage department at the Fair, long-time veteran concessionaires and those with just a few Fairs under their belt alike are there to support brand-new businesses with advice, feedback, and friendship throughout the journey. After a vendor has successfully completed their first State Fair, they are invited back for the next Fair, and they are also eligible for the highly coveted Big Tex Choice Awards food competition. While new vendors are not eligible for the Big Tex Choice Awards in their inaugural year as a concessionaire, they are eligible to be featured in all the State Fair’s “new foods” communications.

 Home to approximately 400,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor commercial exhibit space, the State Fair of Texas is the perfect destination to increase a business’ product sales and awareness, generate sales leads, drive in-store traffic, and interact face-to-face with thousands of potential customers. For 24 days, eager fairgoers meander the shopping marketplaces filled with sensory goodness – taking in everything from the mouth-watering aroma of freshly roasted pecans, to the sights of handcrafted jewelry being engraved with someone special’s name, to the comfort of testing out a cozy new mattress, and even the sound of energetic rescue dogs meeting potential forever families. 

With hundreds of things to shop for, fairgoers love to explore the Fair’s commercial exhibits and find the latest and greatest treasures – some even leave with their holiday shopping completed. The State Fair of Texas is looking for exceptional businesses who can add an appealing new product or service to our roster for 2021. Alongside uniqueness of product or service and appearance of display, new applicants are selected based on the availability of space and can fill up quickly, so although the application is open until September 1 we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible at BigTex.com/Exhibitors.

 Whether you’re a Texan, born and bred, or a Texan at heart, we welcome your application to become a food and beverage vendor or commercial exhibitor at the State Fair of Texas. 

It’s small businesses like yours that allow us to be one of the greatest events and attractions in the country – and after a year that devastated small businesses together with the event industry, it is our hope that we can lean on each other in 2021 to return in true Texas fashion, bigger and better than ever before. 

Head to BigTex.com/GetInvolved to start your application today or share it with an entrepreneurial friend.

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