The world’s largest cowboy will be unveiled at this year’s State Fair of Texas. And as the saying goes, ‘Everything is bigger in Texas’ and so is the new and improved Big Tex.

The redesigned Lone Star icon will now reign at 55 feet tall, an additional three feet in height from its previous bearing before being damaged, when an electrical box located near one of the cowboy’s boots caught on fire, in October.

According to the State Fair of Texas Vice President of public relations and community relations spokesperson, Sue Gooding, the icon will cost approximately $500 thousand to rebuild. As for the redesign of the area surrounding him, it estimates to be an additional half a million dollars.

Thus far in donations, the State Fair has received $46 thousand in private donations, which is anything from $1-20 thousand. Gooding said that even though there is $160 thousand available from the insurance policy and a $5 thousand deductible, with the developments requiring advanced engineering, it will cost a lot more.

“We are not replacing [Big Tex] with the exact design; that’s why it’s $500 thousand,” Gooding noted.

The new design will be a surprise to fairgoers; however, they did provide an input on what they’d like to see.

“The fairgoers wanted the icon to be recognizable, with the same facial features,” she said. “He will still have one out-stretched arm and one that is bent.”

Gooding said when he was damaged, the goal was to have him back for this year’s fair. “He hasn’t missed any of the years since he was first installed in 1952,” she said.

The first two days following the disaster, there were very large crowds that surrounded the area and took pictures of the remnants of Big Tex, said Gooding.

“Obviously the reaction when he was destroyed was really overwhelming,” Gooding sympathizes. “The whole event proved to be important to fairgoers and we heard loud and clear.”

Big Tex is scheduled to be unveiled at the State Fair of Texas opening day, Friday, September 27.

The fair will be held in Dallas in Fair Park from September 27 to October 20. For more information regarding the State Fair lineup and donations, visit the State Fair of Texas web site.

Image Courtesy : StevenM_61

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Dallas, U.S.A. – With more than 500 exhibitors and a notable lineup of speakers, musicians and films, Earth Day Dallas ( EarthDayDallas.org ) brought more than 58,000 North Texans to Fair Park on April 21 and 22. For the second year in a row, the nonprofit organization hosted one of the nation’s largest Earth Day celebrations, inspiring individuals to be sustainable in the ways they think, work and live.

“Last year, we planted a seed in the minds of North Texans, and were thrilled to watch people latch onto the idea of every day environmentalism,” said Trammell S. Crow, founder of Earth Day Dallas, “This year, it was amazing to see the increase in participation, especially from exhibitors. In a time when other Earth Day festivals are downsizing, we were able to double the number of booths we had in 2011. From exhibitors to programming, we elevated every aspect of the event this year, making Earth Day Dallas a true Texas-sized celebration.”

To accommodate its growing presence, the festival moved from downtown Dallas to historic Fair Park, providing more than 600,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. At the core of the event, the Eco Expo included a wide range of exhibitions by corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, government groups, hospitals and universities, demonstrating conservation at every level.

Additionally, the festival featured a variety of engagement and entertainment for the whole family, including:

• Former first lady, Mrs. Laura W. Bush
• A book signing and lecture by world renowned theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku
• Live music performances by Amos Lee, Ponderosa, Diego Garcia and The Honey Brothers
• Film screenings including documentary Cafeteria Man and a farm-to-school discussion panel with the film’s star, chef Tony Geraci
• Picnic for the Planet, the Nature Conservancy’s attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous global picnic
• A 5K fun run, and much more!

Earth Day Dallas would not have been possible without the significant support from its 2012 partners including Walmart, KXAS-NBC-5, DART, Live Nation, SHFT, 1SolTech and many others.

With its foot firmly planted in Fair Park, Earth Day Dallas has already begun planning for next year’s event. For more information about Earth Day Dallas 2012 and updates on the 2013 event, visit EarthDayDallas.org.

Image Courtesy of   Earth Day Dallas

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