There are some big boots to fill in Texas.
They’re holding auditions for the next voice of Big Tex.
For those outside the Lone Star State: Big Tex is the 55 foot tall cowboy that’s the embodiment of the Texas State Fair.
Tex actually started as a 55 foot tall Santa Claus about 70 years ago, as a way to attract holiday shoppers to the town of Kerens, south of Dallas.
They sold the figure to the State Fair a few years later for $750, and repurposed him as a giant cowboy.
In 1953 he got to talk; one of the previous voices said he was told Tex should sound like a cross of Santa Claus and actor Gary Cooper.
And he became a beloved icon of the fair and the state.
Tex was featured in an episode of the animated series “King of the Hill” and once joined forces with the X-Men in the comics (he got to kick Magneto).
No joke, people cried when the figure caught fire almost a decade ago.
And they cheered when he was rebuilt a year later.
The fair says if you want to be the next voice of Big Tex, you’ll need to send in your voice samples saying Tex-isms like “Howdy, folks!” and “What’s a cowboy got to do to get a funnel cake around here?”
Today is National Burrito Day and there is a burrito that’s appropriately sized for Texas.
The Freebirds World Burrito chain has a special giant burrito that’s eight pounds of food!
I think even Big Tex would fill up on something that size.
Big Tex needs a new voice, and it could be you that gives it to him (KXAN)
The History Of Big Tex At The State Fair Of Texas — And Why We Love Him So Much (KERA)
Howdy, folks: 10 things you probably didn’t know about Big Tex (Dallas Morning News)
This Massive Burrito Weighs 8 Pounds (Food Network)