Perry Eakles has been directing traffic inside Gate 5 at Fair Park for seven years.
Because State Fair of Texas vendors tend to park in the same areas every year, Eakles, a South Dallas native, has developed friendships with them and their families throughout the years.
“That’s one thing that I’ll miss — meeting people,” he said, “especially people that [come for the first time].”
Eakles won’t see those familiar faces at Fair Park this year because for the first time since World War II, the State Fair has been canceled. And while that means North Texans will miss out on the yearly tradition, thousands of Fair Park area residents and business owners won’t benefit from crucial, additional income and seasonal work spurred by the 24-day celebration of all things Texas.
Eakles, who makes around $3,500 each fair season, will miss the money. He won’t have a problem making ends meet, though, because he owns a lawn service and also works at his church.
But he knows that many of his neighbors in the surrounding 75210 and 75215 ZIP codes depend on the seasonal work.
Fair Park, a predominantly Black and Latino area that sits in the 75210 ZIP code and is bordered by Robert B Cullum Boulevard and Parry Avenue, is already reeling from COVID-19′s impact with many residents out of work. Beyond that, almost 40% live below the poverty level, and the area’s median income is less than $30,000, according to census data.
In the bordering 75215 ZIP code that sits between South 2nd Avenue and the Trinity River, about 33% also live below the poverty level.
The State Fair draws visitors from across North Texas and beyond with live music, special events and two iconic football games — the State Fair Classic and the Red River Shootout.
But the losses aren’t only within the park.
From 2015 to 2019, the city of Dallas issued more than 1,600 special parking permits to Fair Park property owners around the site of the yearly event.
And while events take place year round, most of those permits are issued to residents trying to make income from charging fairgoers to park on their property, said Michael Rogers, director of the city’s department of transportation, the office in charge of issuing those permits. Rogers added that the city does not track how much income residents who obtain permits make during the fair.
“There’s no money to be made as far as parking residentially this year at all,” said Kevin Madden, who lives in South Dallas. Madden has rented out his yard for State Fair parking for almost two decades. Throughout the year, he works at a water filtration plant.
“For the ones who don’t work a full-time job, or the older people that’s been living there for years and years, they rely on that funding to make it through the year.”
City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents the Fair Park area, said his office is closely monitoring the impact of the State Fair’s cancellation after receiving calls from residents concerned about the loss of seasonal work. He added that he hopes residents will at least get some work opportunities this fall if some planned events, like the two football games hosted during the State Fair, go ahead as planned.
In the long run, Bazaldua said, he hopes the city and Fair Park First’s partnership with Spectra, the for-profit entity charged with bringing in programming, events and revitalizing Fair Park, will identify year-round work opportunities for the community.
“Instead of focusing on the impact that is caused by one entity for 24 days, we need to make the most of the 341 days a year that the State Fair isn’t going on so that we’re generating revenue in a much more sustainable way,” Bazaldua said.
Evelyn Amaya is a board member for Fair Park First, a nonprofit organization that manages Fair Park. Amaya, who lives just outside of Gate 1, said part-time jobs are the only option for many of the fair’s seasonal employees.
“The reason that I’m on the board is because — when money comes in, OK, what are we going to do for the community?” said Amaya, whose family has lived in the Fair Park area since the ’80s.
Despite the State Fair’s cancellation, its leadership still plans on distributing upward of $500,000 to area nonprofits that apply for the fair’s annual grant-making cycle, said Froswa’ Booker-Drew, the State Fair’s director of community affairs and strategic alliances.
The State Fair annually awards money to nonprofits that work on issues of housing, education and food access in southern Dallas and other parts of the city. During its 2019 cycle, the fair awarded some $483,000 to 67 nonprofits that work with South Dallas communities on various issues.
“You’re seeing more groups do food distribution and trying to find the resources to do this work,” Booker-Drew said. “Because the pandemic alone has strained resources, they’re going to need more help ... to carry out their missions.”
Booker-Drew, who works closely with area nonprofits, said she and the fair will continue working with nonprofit organizations to help them get funding elsewhere and build out their philanthropic networks.
Carter’s House, a nonprofit based in South Dallas, is bracing for increased demand for its back-to-school aid from parents who will miss out on seasonal work offered during the State Fair, said Shawana Carter, the nonprofit’s founder.
“We’ve had a lot of parents who were sent home because they weren’t essential, but their paychecks are essential to them,” Carter said. “Those who depend on those few weeks of work at the fair were banking on that income to get through the fall and the holidays.”
The nonprofit serves about 2,000 families annually, and Carter said at least 10% of those rely on some work from the State Fair.
The fair’s cancellation feels like another blow to a community that’s already dealing with the impact of COVID-19, she said. And there’s a lesson for city officials here, she said, because the area has long been in need of more sustainable opportunities beyond what the State Fair offers.
“It’s not a secret that the people of the area need more services. They’re trying to figure out how to eat here and how to pay their light bill,” Carter said. “It’s not all about the corny dogs and football games.”
