Iowa State Fair

The smell of funnel cakes, the screams coming from the midway rides, and the sight of fireworks in the warm summer sky can only mean one thing – a fair is underway.

The Iowa State Fair is in full swing and Texas on Tour was lucky enough to be part of this year’s festivities. Crowds close to 1 million visit this Iowa attraction every summer, and this year was no different. In fact, almost half of the state of Iowa attends the fair. Many of the fairgoers were in for quite the surprise when they realized Texas was here, and they were even more surprised that it didn't cost a thing to experience the exhibit. We had so many people ask how many tickets to they needed to get in. When we told them it was all free, they almost didn't believe us! Maybe what they say is true...the best things in life ARE free!

We have a little something for everyone at Texas on Tour no matter what your age. We had people from 9 to 90 take a step into Texas. We also saw many faces make repeat visits to our exhibit just because they had so much fun. We even had trivia contests and bean bag toss competitions throughout the day where fairgoers had the chance to take home a souvenir from Texas on Tour. At various points throughout the day, we even had more people than some of the carnival games! : ) Now it's time to say Bye-owa to Iowa and drive off into the sunset towards Denver, where we are looking forward to what Colorado is cooking up at the Taste of Colorado.

Justin Herman Plaza

San Francisco marked the halfway point on our tour across the United States, educating and entertaining crowds with the sights and sounds of the Great State of Texas. The Golden State was happy to have Texas as their neighbor for a few days. We set up shop right in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district so lots of business men and women visited throughout the day. What a great way to spend their breaks from work with a quick trip to Texas. As soon as they stepped into our footprint they were magically transformed into the wide open plains and prairies of Texas. Our huge Dome Theater and Kayak Adventure allowed guests to leave behind the concrete jungle of San Francisco and escape to a much more tranquil place in Texas. We had tons of guests tell us that they never even knew Texas had water for kayaking. Boy are they wrong! With over 624 miles of coastline and nearly 200,000 miles of lakes and rivers, Texas is a kayakers dream. We noticed that quite a few workers spent 45 minutes or more of their 30 minute lunch breaks in Texas because they were enjoying it so much. Hopefully their bosses believed them when they told them they came back to work late because they were in Texas.


To top off our time in San Francisco, the Old 97's played to a packed crowd at 5pm right when everyone was getting off work. What a great way to relax and unwind after a stressful day of work! Next time these business professionals are planning their vacation we hope Texas is right at the top of their list. We are heading back east now to visit our friends in Des Moines, Iowa at the Iowa State Fair to spread the good news about Texas.

Chicago Navy Pier

Texas on Tour blew into the "Windy City" and transformed Navy Pier into a slice of Texas. If you didn’t know, everything's bigger in Texas, and we went as big as we possibly could for Chi-Town. We brought in tons of sand which was transformed, over 4 days, into a spectacular life-sized sandcastle. The crowd watched in awe as the sand artists worked their magic. If the sandcastle wasn't enough to impress Chicago, 2008 World Champion Trick Roper Kevin Fitzpatrick and his son Will sure were. The dynamic duo from Bandera wowed crowds with rope tricks. Spectators really enjoyed the father-son team as they lassoed people over to the display to learn about Texas.

To top it all off we were treated to a visit by two of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders! Lines formed fast and the ladies stayed plenty busy signing autographs and taking photos with all the fans. It was truly an action-packed event and Texas on Tour made an impression and left a mark in the hearts and minds of Chicago. Texas on Tour heads west next and it’s sure to be a San Francisco treat!

South Street Seaport

The Lone Star State took a bite of the Big Apple as Texas on Tour set up shop at the South Street Seaport in NYC. Our street team created an awesome pre-event buzz around Manhattan leading up to the event that got the city chatting and drove people in the thousands down to the Seaport to visit Texas and to take in a free concert by the Old 97's on July 4th. New Yorkers were treated to an Independence Day they will never forget - Texas style -- and the Old 97's supplied plenty of fireworks on the stage. Thousands of fans packed the Pier to listen to the sounds of this native Texas band as we celebrated the freedom of our fine country. Several groups of students, who were on summer vacation, came by to spend some time with us at Texas on Tour. In fact, a group of four college juniors told me that after coming through our interactive experience they made the decision to make South Padre Island, TX their Spring Break destination next year. The Texas sun has set on "the city that never sleeps" and it's time to travel to "the windy city" -- Chicago, IL. Texas on Tour will make Navy Pier our new backyard as we continue to travel the U.S. to share the love of Texas with the rest of the world.

CMA Festival

The stars are big in Texas, but the stars that were performing at the CMA Fest in Nashville, TN were even bigger! Texas on Tour made its way to Music City for the biggest Country Music Festival in the world. When the sun set, the stars came out and performed to sold out crowds every night. This year CMA Festival set a record for the most people in attendance ever and 100% of the proceeds from the festival are always donated to worthy causes. This year 50% went to saving music in our schools program, and the other 50% went to flood relief in Nashville. Both very good causes and we were glad that Texas On Tour was a part of this great event.

Not only was the CMA Festival packed, but it was packed with people from all over the country as well as all over the world. They all wanted to know more about what Texas has to offer, which goes to show you that Texas has international appeal. When folks weren’t enjoying one of our many experiences, they were participating in one of our contests. The Texas on Tour team and I thoroughly enjoy challenging everyone on their knowledge of Texas trivia and the question that always stumps people is the fact that Texas only has one natural lake. Do you know which lake is the only natural lake in the state of Texas?


If you know the answer then I encourage you to visit us at our next stop: South Street Seaport in New York City. Heck -- I want you to stop by even if you don’t know the answer! Stay tuned for more from the road and check out our schedule so you can come experience all the sights and sounds from Texas on Tour right in your own backyard.

Wichita Riverfest

Texas on Tour opened the curtains on the 2010 road show at Riverfest in Wichita, Kansas. People flock every year to Riverfest for good times and great music. At Texas on Tour we were able to supply them with both.

The smooth guitar riffs and vocals of Austin, Texas native Ryan Harkrider filled the air of downtown Wichita from our stage. Ryan brought his authentic Austin sound from the "Live Music Capital of the World" all the way to Riverfest. A fan named Cookie approached Ryan and she told him that she had written a song, but didn't have a melody to go with it. Ryan solved that problem quickly. In a matter of minutes Ryan had composed a song to fit her lyrics perfectly. After a short rehearsal, Cookie and Ryan were ready to perform.

With Cookie on the mic and Ryan backing her up on lead guitar. The song named "Going to Nashville" turned out to be a hit with everyone in attendance. A fitting title for the song considering Nashville is stop #2 on our trip throughout the U.S. spreading the good news about Texas and all it has to offer. Stay tuned to read more about the experiences from the road with Texas on Tour.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta - Part 2

One special thing about the Balloon Fiesta is that you can walk around amongst the balloons, see them up close, and talk to the pilots and crew. You might go from spectator to participant when a crew member yells out for a helping hand. It’s like walking through a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors right there in the middle of the action at the most photographed event in the world.

It’s been so much fun meeting people from all over the world and visiting with the many fellow Texans here. One of them is Bruce Lavorgna from Austin, who pilots his own Texas flag-designed hot air balloon painting the sky above with red, white and blue. He has been ballooning at the AIBF since 1991 and makes us all proud by flying our Lone Star flag in a truly unique way. Thanks Bruce!

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Texas on Tour 2009 is a wrap. We’ve traveled about 15,000 miles spreading Texas hospitality throughout the U.S. and making new friends along the way. Hopefully the little taste of Texas we offered was enough to make you hungry for more. We sincerely hope that you can visit Texas sometime soon and experience it for yourself. We’ll see you on the road again next year!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Whoosh! The sound of hot air balloon blowers can be heard shooting bright blue and yellow flames as the pilots prepare for their early morning flights just before daybreak. Waves of glowing hot air balloons drift up and into the morning sky. It’s the “dawn patrol” at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and Texas on Tour has a front row seat. What started as a small gathering of 13 balloons in 1972 has turned into the largest balloon event in the world attracting hundreds of thousands of people for a nine day fun fest of color and excitement.

I couldn’t think of a better place to wrap up the 2009 Texas on Tour road show. The event attracts approximately 900,000 guests and I am told 200,000 of those are from the neighboring Lone Star State, so we have plenty of fellow Texans to share in the conclusion of our successful journey across the U.S. promoting that special place we all know and love.

After experiencing “Ride the Texas Waterways,” “Texas or Not” trivia, the high tech “Discover Texas” dome theater, live SeaWorld San Antonio animal shows, the “Picture Yourself in Texas” green screen room, and live music from Texan Dan Dyer, it is no surprise folks want to learn more about a Texas vacation. It is proof there’s something for everyone in Texas!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about the week ahead. Yes, Texas on Tour only has a few more days of fun here at the Balloon Fiesta and it’s sure to be BIG fun. Stay tuned for one last post as Texas on Tour 2009 comes to an end. I’m sure we’ll go out with a bang!

L.A. County Fair

Lights, camera, action! It’s showtime for Texas on Tour near Los Angeles, famous for its glitz, glamour, movie stars and the L.A. County Fair. Ahhhh, the scents of a nearby taco stand, candy apples and popcorn fill the Southern California air, and you can hear the carnival rides and games buzzing in the distance. The Fair is in full swing. The carnival atmosphere spills onto the Texas on Tour display as fair-goers flock to the various interactive elements of our exhibit. “There’s so much to do in Texas! It really is like a whole other country!” one visitor said after he and his family had their photo taken in the green screen room.

Carnival games are always a popular attraction at fairs so we decided to add one of our own at Texas on Tour - the Bean Bag Toss. It was a huge hit! Of course games of skill aren’t complete without prizes and ours was no different. Winners received their very own Texas on Tour T-shirt, a sought after prize by the many participants.

It’s also worth noting that the music of Dan Dyer is not just an accessory, but a staple to our show here in L.A. His improvisational melodies and antics captivate the Texas on Tour crowds here. He truly has a contagious Texas flare and charm that many people enjoy.

Colorado Balloon Classic

Texas on Tour drove in for the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic over the Labor Day weekend and boy was it a hoot! It was amazing to see the Texas on Tour exhibit with all the colorful hot air balloons drifting off into the sky with the picturesque mountains in the background. What a scene!

The event started bright and early every morning at 6:00 a.m. The sun peaked out over the mountains and Texas on Tour came to life offering consumers a little Texas flair at daybreak. “I didn’t expect to visit Texas this morning!” a Colorado Springs native said as she enjoyed a virtual kayak trip on the “Ride the Texas Waterways” experience. We’re happy you got out of bed early to join us!

We were also happy to introduce Texan Dan Dyer to the Texas on Tour stage with his melodic, soulful music being the perfect soundtrack for this beautiful setting. We’re certainly delighted to have him on board with us for the remainder of the tour. He is quite a talent!

Yes, the Colorado Balloon Classic was yet another classic Texas on Tour affair and like one of those beautiful balloons it’s time for us to fly off to our next destination...the Los Angeles County Fair. Look out LA, Texas is on the way!