I continue to be amazed at how many things there are to see and do in the Rio Grande Valley. It seems that every town has a festival or a special day to celebrate. There is the Butterfly Festival in Mission, the Birding Festival in Harlingen and another in McAllen, the Citrus Festival in Mission, the Festival of Las Palmas in McAllen and not to be missed the Festival of Lights in the small town of Hidalgo. Even Kingsville joins in with the Saturday before Thanksgiving celebrating ranch life with the Ranch Hand Breakfast.
You name it, we've got it!
And then we have the Parades - July 4th, Veterans Day and Christmas Parades as well as the Port Isabel Boat Parade just to name a few. It appears that we are running out of names for the festivals, so we now have a Margarita Festival, and a Jalapeno Festival is sure to be added. Edinburg presented a Halloween-themed Fall Festival. Perhaps I missed one or two that you consider special. If you live in a Mobile Home or RV Park, you no doubt have all sorts of entertainment to fill your days.
In addition to Festivals and Parades most towns set aside special days to offer special events. There are Market Days at least once a month with some towns offering market days only during the growing season where garden fresh fruits and vegetables are sold.
One more venue sure to attract your attention should be the concerts and theater presentations that the larger towns offer. Don't miss Steel Magnolias in Harlingen. Also, be aware of your local school districts. They often offer many theatre and music productions during the school year. Your best reference for things to see and do in the Rio Grande Valley is the Winter Texan Times. They cover the entire Valley from top to bottom.
My favorite of all the venues is the Monarch Butterfly Festival. In February of 2025 Go With Jo will provide a tour to see where this beautiful butterfly spends their Winter. It is just too cold in Canada for these delicate creatures who don't move until the sun warms their wings. What a sight it is to see the pine trees where they spend the night come alive with orange as they wait for the warm sun rays. Once the wings are warmed, they fly down to a water supply for a refreshing drink. If you sit very still you might even have the butterflies land on you. Come join our tour.
Another great experience in nature for you to witness is Turtle Release Day on South Padre Island. It is such fun to see those tiny little turtles not much bigger than a silver dollar as they scurry to the water. Now how do they know which way the water is? Somehow, they do know and off they go.
Your church may even have an altar set up to celebrate The Day of the Dead which occurs at the end of October corresponding to our Halloween, through the beginning of November.
You won't lack for something to do in the Rio Grande Valley. So, enjoy!
