With the opening of the Texas State Fair just a week off, Big Tex will stand up at Fair Park today.
"We take the kids out of school and come every year," says the mother of Jeffry, 6, and Nash, 3. "The kids dress up. The love Big Tex."
Standing as high as a six-story building, the big fella has presided over the State Fair for 70 years, making his debut in 1952.
He began speaking the next year and greets fair goers with a hearty "Howdy Folks" to this day.
"I retired," one woman says. "And I made it my specific mission to find out when they were going to be raising him. That's what I wanted to do, be here for that."
Crews will hoist Big Texas into a standing position today at 10 a.m. The State Fair opens a week from today, opening its annual 24-day run.
"We'll get him bolted down into his location, and then we'll work on his electrical and his sound system. He has many movements he makes … whether it's waving, "Howdy folks!" or saying, "Howdy folks!" says spokesperson Karissa Condoianis.
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