The Texas Citrus Fiesta is set to make its return in grand fashion Thursday after taking a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s event, referred to as the 90th Diamond Anniversary Celebration, will feature the Queen Citriana coronation Thursday, a Fun Fair on Friday, and the Parade of Oranges on Saturday.
“Tomorrow’s our coronation for the incoming Queen Citriana, the 85th,” Lisa Rivera, executive director for the event, said Wednesday. “At the same time, we’re celebrating our 90th diamond anniversary, so it’s going to be something special.”
The Queen Citriana coronation will be held at the Mission Events Center for the first time. It is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., and tickets cost $10 per person. Rivera said that over 400 people are anticipated to attend the event.
“All seats are reserved, so they can come in and comfortably find a seat without having to scavenge for a chair,” Rivera added. “It’s all assigned seating.”
The festivities will continue Friday with the Fun Fair, featuring live music from The Hometown Boys, Marcos Orozco, Grupo Zereno, as well as other local performers.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the location of the fair was undetermined due to the possibility of severe weather conditions.
“Due to the inclement weather, we’re kind of a little bit on hold,” Rivera said.
If all goes as planned, the fair is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday
The festival will cap off with the Parade of Oranges on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The parade will begin on State Highway 495 and head south on Conway Avenue towards First Street.
“We expect a lot of diamonds coming through as floats,” Rivera said. “People are looking forward to the parade. They were looking forward to it since last year. Unfortunately, there were a lot of COVID issues.”
While cases have been on the rise locally, Rivera assured that measures designed to protect the public health are being taken.
“I know we still have a COVID issue, but we are going to follow all CDC guidelines,” she said. “We’re trying to stress that as much as possible with the social distancing, wearing the masks and so on.”
