Fair Play at the Statler Offers Interactive Experience Celebrating the State Fair

Annual festivals and events steeped in longtime tradition look a little different this year, making the in-person experience of a ride on the Ferris wheel and tour of the exhibits not possible.

However, downtown Dallas’ iconic Statler Hotel, is creating a property-wide, fully immersive and interactive experience to pay homage to the state fair tradition – from fair-inspired menus for DFW Restaurant Week, to life-size interactive fair-themed art installations and full sensory experiences in the Statler Ballroom to the ultimate food and gaming experience in the property’s restaurant, Scout.

The hotel’s 12,000-square-foot Statler Ballroom will transform into “Fair Play at the Statler” – an interactive state fair-inspired installation and activity zone, which is open to the public and will provide ample complimentary photo opportunities throughout.  The event will feature artistic built-out activations such as an Elvis butter sculpture and Cotton Candy Corral, kids’ activities, games, food and drink tastings, and more.  The Ballroom experience is available from 4-10 p.m. on Fridays, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Sundays from September 11 – 20.

“The State Fair is such an important part of our local culture, and our Hilton and Refined Hospitality Concepts events teams collaborated to create an experience that recognizes a long-standing tradition important to the community, but in a way that’s also uniquely geared toward the Statler and our diverse signature dining concepts,” said Statler general manager, Ryan Miyamoto.  “We have teamed up to craft property-wide activations that will closely adhere to all CDC, state and local guidelines, which is of the utmost importance.”

During “Fair Play at the Statler” on weekends, the property’s onsite restaurant and gaming hub, Scout, and its outdoor space, will transform into “TX Fare & Midway” where patrons can enjoy state fair-inspired fare, drink specials and whimsical games such as horseshoes, cornhole, skee-ball, billiards, washers, and more.  Hours, reservations and details are available at www.StatlerFairPlay.com.

The Refined Hospitality Concepts culinary team that operates The Statler’s signature restaurant concepts has crafted custom, state fair-inspired menus for DFW Restaurant Week, which will be available for dine-in, takeout and delivery from Aug. 31-Sept. 27 onsite at Primo’s MX Kitchen & Lounge, Overeasy, and Sfereco.  Each restaurant’s individual detailed offerings and meal times can be found online at www.StatlerFairPlay.com. 

“We have created a fun for all, multi-faceted, property-wide experience to celebrate the spirit of the fair and our community, which benefits the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home,” explained RHC CEO Robert Hall. “2020 has been a very unexpected year for everyone and creating an experience featuring fair-inspired activations with the talented and dedicated culinary, beverage and events teams has really become a passion project for us all.”

The entire Statler property will meet the highest standards for hygiene, social distancing and safety protocols in accordance with CDC, state and local guidelines. The event will be held to Hilton’s EventReady with CleanStay standards, which are designed to create event experiences that are clean, flexible, safe and socially responsible.

Visit www.StatlerFairPlay.com for individual tickets, sponsorships and group packages, restaurant reservations, hotel packages and details.