The State Fair of Texas wants your help rebuilding its most recognizable cowboy.
The 52 foot-tall mascot Big Tex was destroyed in October in an electrical fire. He had been a fixture at the fair in Dallas for 60 years.
The State Fair’s Sue Gooding says they’ve launched a website trying to raise about half a million dollars to build a new and improved Big Tex. “This is not just the Big Tex that left us that day,” she says. “We’re working on some re-engineering of Big Tex and of course, this next one will have a fire suppression system built in.”
Big Tex’s booming voice will be the same, but the belt buckle is the only piece of the original Big Tex that will be used in the new one. And organizers have discussed raising his height from 52 to 60 feet—in honor of his 60 years at the fair.
Gooding says they hope to start work on Big Tex in by the end of January.
