Students shared their dreams at the Mayor’s Back to School Fair on Aug. 7, 2026, at Fair Park in Dallas.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
Jolee Bronner, 3, fished a grape lollipop out of her tote bag and looked eagerly up at her mother, Jocelyn Bronner, for permission to open it.
“No,” Jocelyn said. “It’s too early in the morning for candy.”
It was 9 a.m. Friday, but Jocelyn, 34, and Jolee had been at the Mayor’s Back to School Fair since 6 a.m. The annual event invites Dallas families to get school supplies, haircuts, health screenings and more ahead of the first week of school – all for free.
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Dallas ISD goes back to school on Tuesday along with Plano and Irving. Fort Worth ISD starts school Monday. Tax-free weekend runs through Sunday.
Families gather all types of supplies at the Back to School Fair on Friday, August 7, 2026 at Fair Park in Dallas.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
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Dozens of vendors lined the Centennial Building in Fair Park, distributing everything from notebooks to backpacks to diapers. A large area was roped off for five-minute health screenings, and parents watched as their children got their hair cut across the aisle.
Free haircuts were one of the services available at Fair Park on Friday. School starts for Dallas ISD on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
It was Jocelyn’s first time attending the fair, as Jolee starts pre-K this year. They came for school supplies, but were pleasantly surprised with jump ropes, Hula-Hoops and other games laid out for the children.
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“I wasn’t expecting this many visitors,” she said.
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This year, over 13,000 students registered for the fair, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said at the event, which marked its 30th anniversary. While all Dallas-area families with children in school were welcome, the fair prioritized those who met federal poverty guidelines, which is $62,400 in annual income for a family of four.
“We understand that we don’t have a city without our kids,” Johnson said. “So we want to make sure opportunity is not just a buzzword, but it’s a real thing.”
Students received free school supplies at the 30th Mayor’s Back to School Fair on Friday, August 7, 2026, at Fair Park in Dallas.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
When asked if she was excited to start school, Jolee nodded rapidly and beamed.
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About 5,000 families were registered for the event, and the line twisted and turned all the way through Fair Park. Parents and children began lining up as early as 5 a.m.
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Before the doors opened, a DJ played music and mascots of event sponsors flitted through the crowd, entertaining kids and parents alike. Big Tex shook hands with attendees; Victor E. Green, the Dallas Stars’ green furry mascot, started and won multiple dance battles; and Dallas Mavericks’ mascot Champ, a blue horse with a white mane, found his way into many selfies.
Once the doors opened at 8 a.m., families beelined towards the tables they needed, whether they had school supplies, diapers or a fun game for their children. Parents lugged wagons for the backpacks, and kids carried tote bags bulging with new notebooks and colored pencils. One child ran down the aisle, tote bag in hand, laughing, “I love going back to school!”
Parents and children began lining up at as early as 5 a.m. on Friday at Fair Park. Doors for the Mayors Back to School Fair opened at 8 a.m.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
Along one of the walls was a big board with a prompt for the children to answer in multicolored markers: “When I grow up, I will be…”
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Lots of students wrote in things like “astronaut” and “football player” or “police officer.” As the fair continued, the board slowly filled up with more answers, some in big, shaky letters and others in dainty cursive. One child wrote “happy” in a thin red marker.
Community and opportunity at back-to-school fair
Sophia Rodriguez has three children, two sons in high school, Juan and Daniel, and one daughter, Emma, who is thrilled to be starting kindergarten. Emma jumped rope and spun a Hula-Hoop around her waist, while Juan found a brochure for a soccer program through the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
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Juan and Daniel “have played soccer since they were three years old,” said Sophia Rodriguez, who is attending the fair for the third time. “It’s exciting.”
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This year was Stacy Thomas’ fifth year volunteering for the festival. In the past, Thomas, 41, has distributed school supplies, managed the line and passed out water bottles. The Back to School Fair typically has over 500 volunteers each year.
“I always enjoy being a part of something where you’re helping the community,” Thomas said. “People just have good energy out here.”
Hortencia Delorme, a Walmart pharmacist, has lived in Dallas for over 20 years, frequently giving her services to community events like the Back to School Fair, which has been sponsored by Walmart for years. She was one of over a dozen medical professionals giving free health screenings this year.
Parents lugged wagons for backpacks, and kids carried tote bags bulging with new notebooks and colored pencils at the Back to School Fair at Fair Park on Friday.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
“Not everybody has access to the screenings, so sometimes this is the first stop,” Delorme, 52, said. “They can become aware of something they were completely unaware of before.”
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The health sector of the fair is a “one-stop shop,” Delorme said, providing blood pressure tests, blood glucose screenings, vision tests and immunizations. Each screening only takes about five minutes.
“It’s not long at all, but it is kind of life changing,” she said.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.