Texas Inspiration

The FIFA Fan Festival Dallas is bringing the world to Fair Park from June 11 through July 19, 2026, and basically turning Dallas into one giant backyard watch party with better footwork and more flags. This free World Cup fan festival will take over a huge Fair Park footprint around Dos Equis Pavilion, Lots 9 and 10, and the Pavilion amphitheater on match days only, with hours changing by schedule, starting as early as 10 a.m. on some days and running as late as midnight on others. The festival is closed July 8, 12, 13, 16, and 17. This is one of those festivals where soccer fans, casual fans, families, food lovers, and people who just want to be near the buzz can all find a reason to show up. Expect giant match-viewing screens, mini-pitches, interactive games, sponsor zones, food courts, cultural programming, family-friendly areas, and plenty of international energy. Organizers list capacity at 35,000 people, with earlier planning expecting more than 1 million visitors across the full run, so locals already know this will not be your average “just park by the gate” kind of day.

It’s also a good excuse to make a Dallas day trip out of it. Before or after the festival, check out Fair Park’s historic art deco buildings, Texas Discovery Gardens, the African American Museum of Dallas, Deep Ellum, Klyde Warren Park, the Arts District, Bishop Arts, White Rock Lake, or nearby food and coffee spots around Exposition Avenue. Fair Park is fixing to show the world that Dallas knows how to host a crowd, feed a crowd, and make a soccer match feel like a Texas-sized community event.

Whether it’s after a long drive down Highway 57, a Friday night football game, a day on the ranch, or just one of those afternoons when you’re craving something that sticks to your ribs, there’s a good chance somebody in Eagle Pass is thinking about the chicken fried steak at the Wagon Wheel. Let’s be honest, few meals say “Texas comfort food” quite like a hand-breaded steak fried golden brown, covered in creamy pepper-flecked gravy, and served alongside mashed potatoes that somehow disappear faster than you planned. Some folks swear by extra gravy, others want every bite loaded with black pepper, and ask ten Texans and you’ll get eleven answers about what makes the perfect chicken fried steak. Everybody has their favorite, but around here the Wagon Wheel has earned plenty of loyal fans over the years. It’s the kind of meal that brings back memories of family dinners, road trips, and gathering around a table where nobody leaves hungry. Around here, it’s not just food. It’s a Texas tradition.

Good morning, Texas! Wednesday is bringing the full Texas weather sampler platter. The Panhandle gets a little breeze and a reminder that weather can still be pleasant somewhere, while North Texas, East Texas, Central Texas, and most of the Gulf Coast will spend the day slowly turning into baked potatoes. By afternoon, temperatures will be climbing into the 90s across much of the state, with humidity joining forces to make it feel like you’re being hugged by a damp quilt nobody asked for. A few isolated storms may pop up here and there just to get everyone’s hopes up before disappearing. By evening, it’ll still be warm enough outside to question why the sun is allowed to work overtime in June. Somewhere in West Texas, somebody will say, “At least it’s a dry heat,” while standing in what feels like a giant air fryer.

The New London School Explosion – March 18, 1937
One of the darkest days in Texas history.

On a warm spring afternoon in New London, Rusk County (East Texas), the London Consolidated School — a beautiful, modern building in one of the richest rural school districts in America thanks to the East Texas oil boom — was just minutes from dismissal.

At approximately 3:17 p.m., a spark from an electric sander in the manual training shop ignited a massive buildup of odorless natural gas that had leaked into the basement and crawl spaces. The gas had been tapped from a residue line by the school to save on heating costs. In an instant, the building was lifted off its foundation, then collapsed in a catastrophic explosion heard for miles.
Nearly 300 students and teachers lost their lives that day — the deadliest school disaster in American history. Rescue workers, many of them parents, labored through the night searching through tons of rubble. The tragedy shocked the nation and the world.

The lasting legacy: This heartbreaking event led directly to the requirement that natural gas be odorized with a strong smell (mercaptan) so leaks could be detected — a safety standard still in use today across the country.