EDINBURG — If there was a general theme that emerged among attendees of Saturday’s 53rd annual Fiesta Edinburg, it was that the cold didn’t bother them anyway.
Although a cold front reached an already weather-weary Rio Grande Valley this week, it did not stop festival-goers from enjoying the activities at H-E-B Park, where attendees were seen bundled up in warm clothing to brave the cold drizzle for a little excitement.
It was also an opportunity to break away from the pandemic blues of the last two years, which also led to last year’s event being canceled.
A three-generation family of women, for instance, was standing in the middle of the carnival Saturday afternoon making one of the most difficult decisions anyone can make at Fiesta Edinburg — which ride to take next.
For these women and others, the festival has become more than just a community event.
One was from Chicago who explained that Fiesta Edinburg always falls on the weekend she comes to visit her daughter and granddaughters, making it a tradition to attend the festival together.
The eldest of her granddaughters did not seem at all bothered by the cold weather. She was excited to get on her favorite carnival ride, the Zero Gravity.
Taking a walk through the H-E-B Park, there were more and more people beginning to arrive at the ticket booth as attendees trickled in like the drizzle that fell that afternoon.
The event seemed especially successful at attracting families.
A pair of cousins were excited to attend a community event after more than a year of being home all day due to the pandemic.
One of them expressed that no matter how cold the weather may have been, she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity provided by her community to ride roller coasters again.
Edinburg Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ronnie Larralde was excited to see his community participating in the activities at the event. He was appreciative of the public’s commitment to this event, even in cold weather.
“People were excited to come back to an event, to a festival,” Larralde said. “Some people were saying ‘hey we were not going to miss this show, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime show.’ Everybody was happy to have an event back. A little rain and cold didn’t stop some of the die-hard festival-goers.”
As evening approached more families began to arrive in anticipation of the live performance provided by country artist Kevin Fowler. David Lee Garza y Los Musicales performed Friday evening.
It was too early Saturday to determine attendance for this year’s event. In previous years, Fiesta Edinburg has seen approximately 10,000 people attend.
“There is a good crowd this afternoon, everyone is enjoying some rock music and the alpaquita ranch. So we are ready to have Kevin Fowler perform this evening; the show is still going on,” Larralde said.
The event runs through Sunday, the last day of a four-day festival.
