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Three January Food Festivals for Forgetting Your New Year's Resolutions

January is kind of a slow and sleepy month, but even if it’s not quite harvest time that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of foods to celebrate. There’s spicy stuff, sweet stuff, and everything in between...so here’s our picks for three fun food festivals that might be worth your time this month:

· Kumquat Festival – Dade City, Florida:
Of course the Sunshine State is known for oranges and grapefruits, but they’re also pretty darn awesome at growing kumquats. Dade City wants to share their love for the little orange fruits, and each year they invite like 40,000 friends to come check things out. This year’s festival is scheduled to run from 9am to 5pm on January 28—that’s a Saturday—and it’s free for all to enjoy.

Kumquat ice cream, kumquat pies, and kumquat cookies are just some of the special delicacies on display for sampling and snacking. Organizers are expecting around 350 different vendors to set up shop in the city’s downtown, so expect the usual arts, crafts, car shows, and entertainment in addition to all the tasty treats. There’s recipe contests too, and there’s even a chance to do your thing in hopes of scoring the title of Miss or Mister Kumquat.

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Dallas Travel / Tourists / Ferris Wheels / Texas Travel / → All Tags

Everything's Bigger in Texas, Including Dallas' New Ferris Wheel

There’s a new tourist attraction headed to Big D, and it might just change the city’s skyline. Great City Attractions has been chatting up the city about installing a giant Ferris wheel in downtown Dallas, around the intersection of Houston and Elm streets—that’s in Founders Plaza for those who call the city home.

Right now it sounds like things are very much still on the drawing board. However, Texas has quite the reputation for going big or going home, so we think as long as the pricing is right it’s practically a sure thing. The wheel could be as high as 200-feet tall, and apparently may be ready to go in around ten days or so once approval is granted. The Ferris wheel at the state fair—that’s the one in our picture—already soars to around the same height.

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Museum Travel / American Airlines / Texas Travel / DFW / Airlines / Historical Travel / Retro Travel / Vintage Travel / → All Tags

Spend Your DFW Layover at the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum

If you’ve got some time to kill before your flight out of Dallas-Ft. Worth there’s no need to visit the airport bar—although that isn’t necessarily the worst idea. Instead keep the rental car for a few extra minutes, and take a visit to the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum right on the outskirts of the airport complex in Fort Worth, Texas.

In a nutshell, the aviation museum shows off the history of American Airlines, and there’s plenty of interactive exhibits that keep you from dozing off during your visit. The museum’s Flightlab reveals how exactly airplanes stay up in the air, along with explaining all other kinds of stuff related to aerodynamics and flying machines. There’s even a Flight Simulator where you can test your skills in the cockpit, but just be sure to call ahead—(817) 967-5904—to ensure it’s open during your visit.

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Airline Security / Political Travel / Congress / TSA / Airport Security / Texas Travel / Full-Body Scanning / Texas / → All Tags

Showdown Today on Texas Law to Throw TSA Employees in Jail

Today is the last day of the Texas House's special session, which means it's the last chance for Texas lawmakers to pass their TSA anti-groping bill. The bill, which would make conducting enhanced pat-downs a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, was first passed by the House, then modified and passed by the Senate, and is now back in the House for a final vote. As of publication time there's still no news on whether the vote is yay, nay, or nothing.

Will Texas lawmakers hold a vote in time? Which version of the bill will pass? What will the Texas public think? Who cares. This law is moronic. It won't pass in any recognizable form. If it passes in any form at all it will be struck down by the courts. If it isn't struck down by the courts TSA will pressure Texas until the law is repealed. This is our third post on the topic, and frankly we're starting to resent Texas just a little bit for continuing with this charade.

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Five Weird County Fair Foods to Try This Summer

It's that time of the year, county and state fair season. While some go to see the has-been musical acts or to get their thrills on creaky old rides, the reason most people go is to gorge on fried fair food. We rounded up some of the weirdest fare that you will only find at a fair this year.

· Deep-Fried Kool-Aid Balls
The San Diego County Fair debuted these treats this year and they are selling like hotcakes. The balls of batter are made of flour, water and the fruity drink powder. A friend who tried them told us, "I could kind of taste the grittiness, which was not so appealing. If you like strawberry-flavored doughnut holes then I'd say it's worth the $6. Fried pickles were way better though." Get them through July 4.

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Sports Travel / Events / Parades / Texas Travel / Basketball Travel / Dallas Travel / → All Tags

Where to Celebrate the Mavericks' NBA Championship Win in Dallas Tomorrow

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks on becoming this year’s NBA champions after they won game six Sunday evening in South Florida against the Miami Heat. The team has already been out partying and celebrating in South Beach—apparently living it up at LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Which is a little funny—if we do say so ourselves—because that’s where LeBron James’ mom got arrested just a few months ago for slapping a valet (guess that means no tip!)

The team is now back in Big D and is getting ready to celebrate with the city this Thursday. Of course there’s going to be a parade—and probably more—and we’re expecting quite a celebration since owner Mark Cuban is paying for the whole shindig. Expect everyone from Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki to the city’s mayor to be in attendance.

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Airline Security / Political Travel / Congress / TSA / Airport Security / Texas Travel / Full-Body Scanning / → All Tags

Predictably, Texas Drops Law Threatening To Throw TSA Employees In Jail

Given our level of respect for the average politician getting involved in the average travel-related controversy, very rarely will we tell you that an idea is so stupid that it absolutely won't happen. We've spent years covering federal lawmakers who, at the behest of Hotel and Restaurant lobbies, impose fines on foreign tourists in order to promote foreign tourism. After a spike in populist pressure from "passenger rights" lobbies, we saw Congress pass a predictably and obviously counterproductive tarmac law that increased cancellations without doing much about delays. That's the level of sophistication we've come to expect from state and federal officials.

But when the Texas House passed a law threatening to arrest TSA agents for giving passengers enhanced pat-downs, we told you that it was a publicity stunt with flat out zero chance of holding up.

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Movie Set Travel / Movie Travel / Texas Travel / → All Tags

Alamo Drafthouse Will Keep Their Rolling Roadshow Closer to Home This Year

For the past few years the Alamo Drafthouse has brought classic films to the locations where they were filmed as part of their summer Rolling Roadshow. Last year's events included outdoor screenings of The Blues Brothers in Joliet, IL, and Robocop in Detroit.

But this year, the Texas-based theater chain is keeping things close to home with a Texas-centric line-up. The Roadshow will feature ten screenings of films associated with Texas, like Giant, No Country For Old Men, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in Texas.

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Music Festivals / Festival Travel / Texas Travel / Austin Travel / → All Tags

Austin City Limits Tickets Go on Sale Today

It seems like only yesterday that South by Southwest took over Austin, but already it's time to start prepping for Austin City Limits. The 10th anniversary music festival is set to hit Zilker Park September 16 to 18, but single-day tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. CST.

All of the three-day passes have sold out, so this is your only opportunity to snag tickets to see such acts Stevie Wonder, Arcade Fire, Kanye West—is there an event that this guy doesn't perform?—Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Cee Lo, Fleet Foxes, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Bright Eyes, Empire of the Sun, Cut Copy, Santigold and Social Distortion.

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Fast Food Travel / Food Travel / Dallas Travel / Texas Travel / Overweight Passengers / → All Tags

America's Unhealthiest Restaurant Brings Its 8,000-Calorie Burgers to Texas

Remember the fresh smell of spring 2010, when KFC began cooking up Double Down sandwiches around the country and patriotic Americans dutifully gassed up their cars and drove over to sink their teeth into greasy fried chicken on top of cheese on top of greasy fried chicken? Yea, that sure was an interesting time, when the country went wild for calories instead of against them.

Unfortunately this seems to be an annual occurrence, as this spring's big fat (literally fat) news is that Chandler, Arizona's obesity-theme restaurant Heart Attack Grill is expanding to open a second location. Anyone want to guess where? Yep—Texas. The second-ever Heart Attack Grill will open in downtown Dallas, Texas this Friday, selling their famous "Quadruple Bypass Burger" and neverending helpings of "Flatline Fries." By the way, the restaurant's tagline is "a taste worth dying for" and that burger? It's 8,000 calories.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Switzerland Travel / Texas Travel / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: What the Swiss Think Texans Eat

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Beef, beans and bacon baked into bread. That takes care of the four food groups, right? Wrong of course, but it is the four food groups of Texas, according to Switzerland. We happened upon this "Ranger" snack in Zürich recently, and since it was just about the cheapest, weirdest snack on the convenience store shelf, we had to go for it.

The taste: In your hand, it feels like you're about to bite into a room-temperature cheap burrito, and were the exterior made of tortilla rather than oddly fluffy bread, it could've passed for one. Instead you chomp into a weird central mix of bacon, beef and beans which is somewhat chewy like jerky and a little mushy thanks to the beans. The first bite was super gross. The second was not so bad. By the end of it, we kinda liked it, but not enough to go purchase another. It's totally a novelty thing.

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Movie Set Travel / SXSW / Apart / Texas Travel / Austin Travel / → All Tags

The New Movie 'Apart' Returns Home to Austin, Texas

The premiere of Apart at SXSW wasn't just an honor for the film's creators, it was also a sort of homecoming. The movie has a unique premise, which in this age of remakes and sequels is a testament to the tenacity of its writers, Josh Danziger and Aaron Rottinghaus, who committed to their idea.

Apart centers on Noah Greene, who awakens from a two-year coma with hazy memories of his own life. As he begins to dig into his past, he is forced to confront two tragedies that bind him to, and threaten to drive him away from, the woman he loves. The first tragedy, a childhood bus accident leaves him forever connected to schoolmate Emily, who suffers from disturbing and precognitive visions after the accident, visions which Noah also experiences, but only in proximity of Emily, the result of a rare—but real—disorder called folie à deux.

The filmmakers not only chose to explore tough issues in the film, but they also chose to shoot the movie in an unlikely location, Rosenburg and Richmond, Texas.

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