Fiesta Edinburg is returning for its 53rd annual event after a year on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival kicked off Thursday and runs through Sunday at the H-E-B Park, located at 1616 S. Raul Longoria Road in Edinburg.
The event will take place from 5 to 11:30 p.m. Friday, from 2 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, and from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Live performances will be held at the festival. David Lee Garza y Los Musicales will be headlining Friday’s festivities at 8 p.m. For this performance, former members of the band will be returning to the stage.
Country singer and chart topper Kevin Fowler, who has released five studio albums, will headline Saturday’s event at 10 p.m.
According to Edinburg Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ronnie Larralde, bringing the festival back for its 53rd year means more than the usual song and dance.
It’s, as he put it, “something special” considering that the popular event was canceled last year due to the pandemic.
“We did take community events for granted, we always say ‘oh we will go to it next year’… and then we didn’t have events for a long time. So it is something special,” Larralde said.
It is an event that invites community members to celebrate the history of Edinburg as the home of the county seat.
Music plays a big part in that celebration.
“It’s 30 years of David Lee Garza’s legacy, this is going to be Kevin Fowler’s first time performing in Edinburg … it’s never been done in the Rio Grande Valley so that’s the uniqueness behind it,” Larralde said.
However, the festival is not just for country music lovers.
It will also have attractions such as the Heart of America Carnival, the Alpaquita Ranch and the Contacto animal and dinosaur exhibits for families to enjoy.
In previous years the festival has had attendance rates of more than 10,000 people.
For its return, Larralde hopes to see the same number of attendees if not more this year.
“We have a lot of comments, we follow everything, we have people call who say they’re excited to bring back events. The public is excited to go back to see some of these events and enjoy family time,” Larralde said.
Tickets for both concerts are available at www.hebparkrgv.com.
Editor’s note: This story was edited Feb. 26, 2022, for clarity about the group genres.
