EDINBURG — The city of Edinburg kicked off its first Rec-Go-Active festival Saturday where the public got to enjoy free giveaways, raffles, music, biking and other outdoor activities.
The event was held as part of the city’s Active Edinburg initiative which began last December to keep the community happy and healthy.
City Manager Ron Garza said events like this are requested by the younger generations and said the city wants to answer those demands.
He hopes to have another Rec-Go-Active event in March.
“We’re just trying to foster that active healthy lifestyle,” Garza said.
About 40 people signed up to cycle in the ciclovia open street fest including Roberto Herrera, an Edinburg resident who is also an avid cyclist and runner.
Herrera said he was excited to join in the ciclovia and appreciated that the community is advocating to get kids outside with events like these.
Dulce Lozano, a mother from Edinburg, attended the event to watch her niece perform with the IDEA cheerleaders and said she would like to see more promotion for events like these because she enjoys the family friendly feel and thinks other parents would love to bring their children out too.
“It’s nice to do something different, where families and communities can get along and get out with the kids outside,” Lozano said.
Marcus Burtun, an Edinburg resident who moved here 11 years ago, said he is looking to become part of the community and appreciates that the city offers these free events for the youth.
Dubbed as Promenade Park, in downtown Edinburg, the cycling and family friendly event served as a way for community members to become familiar with the area where the city plans to host more outdoor events.
Promenade Park, a 6-acre space, is currently under construction, but Garza says the city has big plans for the area and will create an amphitheater, water gardens and rebuild the Arts Culture and Events building.
“It’s gonna be one of the largest urban downtown parks in South Texas,” Garza said.
In an effort to increase its downtown presence, the city also used the event to launch its partnership with Lime scooters, an electric micro mobility company from Austin.
At the event, electric scooters could be found throughout the downtown area.
“This kind of festival takes a little while to build a lot of momentum but we utilized it as a way to roll out our Lime scooters,” Garza said.
This is the city’s second attempt at a scooter program in the downtown area, the first known as Blue Duck which was a pilot run.
Tufan Baytok, Lime operation coordinator, said his company is excited to bring these scooters to the Rio Grande Valley.
To start, the city has distributed 75 scooters throughout the downtown area. These scooters can be recognized by their lime green color and can be found by residents by simply downloading the Lime app to find the closest nearby scooter.
“What’s cool about the scooter business and Lime is that we can be kind of all around,” Baytok said.
The initiative is a step in the right direction for the city’s goal to reduce carbon emissions.
