For decades, students across Texas have eagerly looked forward to one of fall’s most long-standing traditions: receiving a free ticket to the State Fair of Texas. However, this year, high school students were surprised to learn the fair would no longer provide free tickets for them. Tickets are currently discounted to $12 per ticket for all 9th to 12th graders.

“The State Fair is such a staple of what it means to be a kid in Texas,” senior Gray Damonte said. “I really enjoy going. It’s only here for so long, so you want to see it while you can.”

Officials of the State Fair cited rising costs, low redemption rates, and safety concerns in press releases. Students in grades K-8 and teachers still receive a complimentary ticket.

Damonte said the fair has long been woven into Texas school culture.

“I went to public middle school,” she said. “We had a fair day where they gave us a day off from school for it.”

She offered a possible solution to ensure free tickets are used and are not a cost issue.

“Why wouldn’t you give it to the high schoolers that live close by?” Damonte said. “If you are going to give away tickets, pick a radius of people who are within driving distance of the State Fair.”

Sophomore Ariel Yuan was also disappointed to learn of the change.

“I think it was unexpected because ever since elementary school, I’d get a free ticket for the State Fair,” Yuan said. “And that was the norm.”

Yuan added that without free admission, the fair might see a significant drop in student attendance.

“I’ve gone to the State Fair three times in my life,” Yuan said. “If I hadn’t gotten that ticket, I probably wouldn’t have ever gone.”

Head of Upper School Lisa Culbertson expressed disappointment in the decision, explaining that the State Fair has long been an important part of Texas culture and student life.

“I was disappointed in the decision to do that,” Culbertson said. “It was hard for me to see that students would not have the same access to the fair.”

For Culbertson, the State Fair holds deep personal significance.

“I love really everything about the State Fair from games on the midway to the food,” Culbertson said. “When I was young, I had a photo of my family in front of Big Tex when he first went up, and now I take one of my own family in front of Big Tex.”

Culbertson also highlighted the fair’s broader cultural impact on Dallas, noting that it brings together people from all neighborhoods and communities. For high schoolers, attending the fair independently represents a meaningful step toward adulthood.

“I think for Dallas culture, it is a time where everybody can get together and celebrate Texas,” she said. “High school students have a different level of freedom, and to experience the fair, not under a parent’s watch, I think, is sort of a rite of passage.”