DFW NACE FUNDRAISER - NACE FAIR OF TEXAS

Written by: Krista Nabors Dick, DFW NACE Director of Fundraising

I come from a family with an almost unreasonable obsession with the State Fair of Texas. It is not simply something we attend. It is a season, a tradition, and practically a personality trait. The rituals, the landmarks, the food worth waiting for, the annual favorites, the new things everyone has to try, and that unmistakable feeling that there is always something else just around the corner.

So when I had the honor of stepping into the role of Director of Fundraising for DFW NACE this year, the theme felt almost inevitable.

The NACE Fair of Texas.

But if we were going to borrow inspiration from something that iconic, there was one rule from the beginning: we could not do it halfway.

It couldn’t just be a theme.

It had to feel like a fair.

Once Mercy Chefs was selected as our beneficiary, that vision carried even more purpose. The event needed to be something people were genuinely excited to attend, support, and remember. Something that felt worth showing up for before anyone ever stepped onto the lawn.

And on September 3rd, the lawn at The Village Dallas became exactly that.

Lights stretched overhead as the midway buzzed with rides, games, friendly competition, and larger-than-life fair details. Curated cocktails, unique activations, auction moments, live entertainment, and unexpected touches gave guests something new to discover in every direction.

Prophets & Outlaws set the tone with live music that carried across the lawn, weaving through the laughter, conversation, and steady hum of the evening. At the heart of it all, some of DFW’s most talented caterers and restaurants brought their best fair-inspired bites to the Culinary Showdown, turning the fairgrounds into a spirited showcase of flavor, creativity, and friendly competition.

They came ready to compete, but the camaraderie was just as memorable. Teams cheered one another on, compared bites, talked shop, laughed with guests, and celebrated the talent around them.

That felt quintessentially NACE.

The rest of the evening moved with the same energy. A crowd around a favorite dish. A midway game getting unexpectedly serious. Friends catching up over cocktails. Guests moving from the auction to the music, then making another lap because there was still something they had not seen.

That was the magic of it.

Nostalgia without feeling dated. Spectacle without sacrificing sophistication. Enough energy and discovery to keep people lingering, reconnecting, and finding one more reason to stay.

Behind the scenes went an enormous amount of intention. Months of planning, committee meetings, phone calls, site visits, production schedules, vendor conversations, revisions, creative pivots, and problem-solving all to shape an experience that felt effortless once the gates opened.

Then there’s the part I will always be most grateful for. The response from our sponsors and partners.

The vision was ambitious, and again and again, the answer was yes. Without hesitation.

Yes to the rides, the games, the entertainment, the cocktails, the culinary experiences, the auction support, the production, the design, and all of the details that gave the evening its scale and personality.

They did not simply sponsor an event. They believed in the vision and leaned into it.

For those who were there, the memories come back quickly. The rides after dark. The buzz around the Culinary Showdown. The music rolling across The Lawn. The games getting a little too competitive. The auction. The cocktails. The food. The larger-than-life fair details. The laughter. And that feeling that there was always one more thing happening just a few steps away.

For me, there was one moment that stands out most. I looked across The Lawn and, for the first time that night, stopped scanning for the next thing to fix. All I could see were people laughing, competing, reconnecting, and enjoying an experience that had lived only in my dreams for months. 

The NACE Fair of Texas began with my family’s slightly unreasonable love of one very Texas tradition, but what it became was much bigger: a celebration of hospitality, creativity, generosity, competition, collaboration, and community, all in support of the incredible work of Mercy Chefs.

To every sponsor, partner, culinary team, committee member, volunteer, and guest who helped bring it to life, thank you. You helped turn an ambitious idea into a night I will never forget.

View the full photo gallery HERE. 

SPONSORS
The Village Dallas
Shag Carpet Props
Big D Party Rentals
Game On! Dallas
Texas Entertainment Group
Top Tier Event Rentals
Vaux Media Group
Auction and Event Solutions
Chef's Produce
JPC Invites
Weber Ranch Vodka
Sonoma Time Wine
Lloyd D. Nabors Demolition
Prophets and Outlaws
Greenmark Waste
Talent Envy Entertainment
Still Whiskey 
It's Your Night Entertainment
DFW 360 Booths
Tracy Autem Photography
Community Beer Company
AFR Furniture Rental
Lujo Creative
The Event Nerd
W Durable Goods
JLS Hospitality

CATERERS
Adios Fajitas
Beyond The Box Catering
FGF Catering
Wolfgang Puck Catering
Naborly Provisions Catering
Truluck's Restaurant
Vestals Catering
Cowtown Crunch
Urban Rio
Meridian
Knife and Faulk
Red Maple Catering
Rolling Fresh 
Proof of the Pudding
Uncle Willie's Pies
MT Catering
Toasts and Timelines