Fiesta de Palmas is celebrating its sweet 16 this weekend and the city of McAllen is calling it the “biggest fiesta yet.”
The 16th annual event will run for three days and kicks off Friday at 5 p.m. and ends Sunday at the McAllen Convention Center, located at 700 Convention Center Blvd. in McAllen.
The fiesta will include attractions such as the Voladores de Papantla, Dinosaur George and Into the Wild, which will include live animals, and a pumpkin patch where families can take pictures and purchase pumpkins to benefit Make-A-Wish RGV.
Attendees can also shop for handmade crafts, clothing, and one-of-a-kind finds at the Artisan Mercado. The festival will also include 20 different food vendors at the Fiesta Food Park.
With Dia de los Muertos right around the corner, McAllen will also bring back its Fiesta de Palmas Ofrenda where attendees can honor their loved ones who’ve died.
Among the various attractions and food, this year’s festival will be bringing back old favorites as well as kicking off new events.
The first day of the fiesta will feature the inaugural food and wine festival, Noche del Vino, which will run from 6 to 9 p.m. on the McAllen Performing Arts Center lawn. Proceeds from the festival will go to the Make-A-Wish RGV Foundation.
Beer Around the World sponsored by Estrella Jalisco will be returning to Fiesta de Palmas on Saturday. The event will feature both international and local beers accompanied by food bites from restaurants such as Cowboy Chicken, Dave & Busters, Honey & Brine, La Costa, On the Grill, Nori, Marco’s Pizza and Wing Zone.
Saturday’s event will kick off at 6 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. on the McAllen Performing Arts Center lawn.
Tickets for the festivals can be purchased on ticketmaster.com or at the McAllen Performing Arts Center box office.
Each day of the fiesta will also feature a concert series honoring Nano Ramirez’s 50th anniversary, starting Friday with County Night which includes performances by Pat Green and Easton Corbin.
Day two of the series, Tejano Saturday, will feature music by Carlos Guzman, Jamie De Anda, Grupo Zereno, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, Latin Breed and Ruben Ramos.
The concert series will close off with Rock out Sunday, which will include bands that pay tribute to Deftones, Iron Maiden, Megadeath, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Slipknot and Whisky D.
