Hello and welcome back to South Texas! We are so excited that you have come back to visit us. If you are new to the Valley – you are in for a treat.
The Rio Grande Valley is such a great place to be – we say it every year. Great weather, great people, and great friends. I am looking forward to the cooler temperatures, of which we have had a bit of a taste this week. It helps encourage us to be outside a bit more than usual and it’s just the right time for everyone to make their return to the Valley – especially since we are saying goodbye to those hot temperatures that aren’t that nice.
It looks like a busy season is ahead of us – and that’s a good thing. Fall events are already picking up and more will be happening soon. As the season progresses, we just get busier. The parks find more ways to entertain their visitors, and local cities have huge holiday events every year.
Everyone is eager to have fun and have you join them.
It’s great seeing our Wintertainers™ with full schedules already. I know there are probably a few out there that have some spots to fill, but I have seen some pretty hectic schedules so far. We also have some that are returning this year after taking a brief hiatus – so that should be something to look forward to. And, as usual, we always have some new Wintertainers™ making their debut in the Valley, one of which will be at our Valley Star Awards. Keep a lookout for those announcements in the next few months.
We have so much happening in the Valley right now. Late October and early November are the beginning of culture festivals and other events for Valley cities. Many cities and museums are holding Dia de los Muertos events. These events usually go into November.
Festivals right around the corner, or even this weekend, include the annual Pow Wow, Fiesta de Palmas, Butterfly Festival, the RGV Birding Festival, and more. We’ll have stories in the next few issues highlighting some of these events or they will be in our events calendar.
With Halloween just a few weeks away, I am sure many parks are already decked out. Some awaiting trick or treaters, others ready for their little parades or costume contests. These are always fun. We love to see pictures of you and your friends – so send them in if you can.
There is also entertainment to be found in your parks, and in most of the Valley cities. There is the McAllen Convention Center and Performing Arts, Harlingen Community Theater, Pharr Community Theater, and UTRGV Arts just to name a few. Many local schools also have great productions in theater and dance. With the holiday season coming upon us, there will be plenty of opportunities and events to attend.
We will try our best to keep you informed of the happenings around the Valley ahead of time so you can save the date for events you want to attend.
We are always looking for the great story out there in your park. Many parks have interesting people that others should know. Some parks have interesting events like hog scrambles, turtle races, derby races, and chair volleyball. We want to know about these events and people. And if you can’t write the story, we can send someone that can.
If you have a great story idea, we would love new suggestions and hearing from you. Send us your ideas to news@wintertexantimes.com. Some types of stories we might be interested in could be profile pieces, unique activities or events in your community, how your park is involved in local charity work, or any myriad of great human-interest stories we stumble across all the time in our Winter Texan parks.
With Thanksgiving about a month away, I am sure there are plenty of parks already gathering food supplies to donate – these are things we want to see and hear about. Send in your photos and information.
We here at the Winter Texan Times hope you find your way safely to your South Texas home and enjoy your stay with us this season. We are here to help you along the way.
