A pair of Big Tex' boots is being trucked to Washington D.C. to be displayed at an exhibition run by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The boots were loaded onto a truck and left Fair Park this week.
The exhibit will feature items from state fairs across the country. "State Fairs: Growing American Craft" opens August 22 at the Renwick Gallery in Washington.
"What's really cool is his boots will be on the front steps of the Renwick which is literally across the street from the White House," says Jason Hays, senior vice president of brand experience at the State Fair of Texas. "Everybody from the White House to the Eisenhower Building will see them daily."
Hays says the relationship with the Smithsonian started in 2023 when researchers visited the State Fair of Texas. He says employees showed them around Fair Park as they looked for things to include in the exhibit.
"They were kind of overwhelmed at how big it is, but of course, it's Texas, so everything has to be big," he says.
The size-96 Lucchese boots were loaded onto a flatbed truck at Fair Park this week. State Fair of Texas employees added messages to a tarp covering the boots with "Big Tex goes to Washington" on the sole of a boot facing traffic behind the truck.
"It is so exciting to just know part of the fair is going to the Smithsonian," one woman said as she wrote, "safe travels" on the tarp. "It's a pretty awesome thing."
Others wrote messages like, "Say howdy!" "God bless America and Big Tex," and "Stay Texy!" They say the messages can introduce people passing the truck on the highway to Texas.
"It's a little Texas hospitality for them," one employee says. "'Howdy folks,' and all kinds of good stuff on the boots."
This is just the second time Big Tex' boots have left the state. They are expected to arrive in Washington this Friday.
The display at the Renwick Gallery runs from August 22 through September 7, 2026. But the State Fair of Texas' Hays says Big Tex will still be wearing the newest boots designed by a local artist when the fair opens in September. Instead, a previous pair is being sent to Washington.
"Big Tex is the heart of the State Fair of Texas," he says. "He represents everything good about the fair, Texans and our hospitality."
Information about the Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibit, "State Fairs: Growing American Craft," is available at https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/state-fairs.