Category Archives: Recreation & Tourism

McAllen Festival Lights Up Holidays

Community Events News Recreation & Tourism Comments
The nation’s tallest digital Christmas tree is a centerpiece attraction at South Pole Illuminated Festival. (Courtesy)

The McAllen Holiday Parade with its towering balloons and lighted extravaganza of features attracts tens of thousands of spectators. The massive event headlines Christmas celebrations in the city.  Yet, there is another holiday event in McAllen that quietly but surely has developed a following of its own. The South Pole Illuminated Festival, with its month-long run on the grounds of the McAllen Convention Center, now attracts 128,000 visitors annually. It…

Read More

Winter Texans Host Global Tourney

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Chalkboards keep track of scores at the World Shuffleboard Championship.

The facts and figures of the Winter Texan industry in the Rio Grande Valley are well-researched with data and statistics released every few years to gauge where things stand. The latest figures from the UTRGV Business and Tourism Research Center show there are just under 100,000 Winter Texans in the region. They provide a nearly $2 billion economic impact and support 10,000 jobs in the Valley. What can go unnoticed…

Read More

Zoo Doubling In Size With Land Buy

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
The Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville houses a diversity of animals and attractions and will be expanding over the next five years. (Courtesy)

The Gladys Porter Zoo opened in 1971 as a gift from a foundation to the city of Brownsville.  The Earl C. Sams Foundation envisioned the only zoo south of San Antonio as a place to feature endangered species and to give Brownsville a distinction of its own. The 31-acre site on Ringgold Street in central Brownsville has more than proven its worth to the city. It has become a prime…

Read More

Isla Blanca Rated Top Texas Beach

Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Isla Blanca Beach

The road to Isla Blanca Park being named USA Today’s Best Beach in Texas for 2024 began decades before when the South Padre Island park’s old pavilion featured a lean-to metal roof and an open view to the Gulf of Mexico.  Isla Blanca Park for decades was the place for Rio Grande Valley families to gather with homestyle picnics. The venue provided a fun and inexpensive getaway.   The amenities were…

Read More

Butterfly Center Bolsters Eco-Tourism

Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments

The Rio Grande Valley’s well-deserved renown for being a national birding hotspot overshadows another element of wildlife that attracts eco-tourists to the region.  The Valley has a stunning array of butterflies. Almost 40 percent of the over 700 species of butterflies in the United States live in the region. The National Butterfly Center south of Mission is at the forefront of this brand of eco-tourism. The center’s 100-acre site features…

Read More

TPW Authorizes New Cameron County State Park

Featured Government News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently authorized the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to pursue acquisition of approximately 477 acres for a new state park in exchange for approximately 43 noncontiguous acres from Boca Chica State Park. “This is an exciting opportunity to acquire land that has been of interest to us and the conservation community for many years,” said TPWD Executive Director David Yoskowitz. “We look forward to working…

Read More

UTRGV Acquires H-E-B Park

Community Education Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
UTRGV Stadium

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has acquired H-E-B Park, designating the venue as the primary home for the upcoming Vaqueros football program. The announcement came during a recent press conference at H-E-B Park, now to be referred to as UTRGV Stadium. Since 2017, the venue had served as the home of the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros of the United Soccer League. The organization ceased operations in December…

Read More

Brownsville District Attract Visitors

Community News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Sculptures of children playing are among the features at the restored Dean Porter Park in Brownsville.

The 150,000 visitors who streamed into the Holiday Village Brownsville to celebrate the Christmas season meant more than enjoying the merriment of December.  It reaffirmed again just how far the renovation of Dean Porter Park has come over the last two decades and the rise of the Mitte Cultural District in Brownsville. The park and district are intertwined in being located next to each other. The whole area where Ringgold…

Read More

Take a First Day Hike at a Texas State Park

e-Brief Features Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Texas First Day Hike

Texas State Parks is inviting citizens to kick off resolutions to explore the outdoors in 2024 with a First Day Hike at a state park. Various parks will host ranger-guided and self-guided walks, bike rides, paddling trips and polar plunges in honor of the national initiative aimed at getting people outdoors. Last year, nearly 8,000 participants shattered the previous attendance record New Year’s Day by ringing in Texas State Parks’…

Read More

SPI Hopes Spurs Link Builds Brand

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Promotional materials were plentiful during an event announcing a marketing partnership between SPI and the Spurs.

Blake Henry had his fingers crossed last summer when the NBA held its annual player draft. Henry, as the chief executive officer of the South Padre Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, was seeing the draft more as a marketing professional than a sports fan. In his just over a year on the job, Henry has been active in seeking partnerships to build greater state and national awareness of the Island.…

Read More