Farm Fest Launches Efforts To Raise Historical Awareness 

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Farm Fest Launches Efforts To Raise Historical Awareness 

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Farm Fest on Nov. 5 will highlight the community’s connection to agriculture.
Farm Fest on Nov. 5 will highlight the community’s connection to agriculture.

Farming and ranching history and heritage runs deep in Mercedes. The city was founded in 1909 by a land company which built some of the first canals in the Rio Grande Valley to irrigate farm fields and attract agricultural interests from the Midwest. The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show would find its home in Mercedes in the late 1930s and continues running strong to the present.

Farm Fest logoThe Farm Fest this Saturday honors that heritage and serves as a fundraiser for the establishment of a local historical museum. Mercedes currently has no such museum to honor and commemorate its early years and its evolution as a community to current times. The inaugural class of Leadership Mercedes realized their community had this void in its community. One of its members, Victoria Eschete, is leading the way in getting the first-ever Farm Fest going.

Beginning Momentum

The event kicks off at 10 a.m. at the Mercedes Dome Recreation Center at 1202 North Vermont. It will include an array of events in the park space next to the Dome to include food trucks, live music, kiddie rides, an outdoor market and a super farmer contest. Farm Fest’s Facebook page is highlighting daily what will happen on Saturday.

Hay rides and a petting zoo are among the event additions in recent days. Farm Fest will also feature women active in careers in agriculture and law enforcement/public safety to serve as role models for aspiring youth. Additionally, historical photos of Mercedes dating back 100 years and more will also be on display at Farm Fest.

“We’ve talked about the importance of history,” Eschete said of the leadership class she is attending. “For me, it is the start of a museum. There’s a seed to get some momentum going.”

There will be a $5 admission to Farm Fest and it will run until 10 p.m.

For more information, visit the City of Mercedes website.

The City of Mercedes in the early 1900s.
The City of Mercedes in the early 1900s.

Ricardo D. Cavazos is a Rio Grande Valley native and journalist who has worked as a reporter, editor and publisher at Texas newspapers. Cavazos formerly worked as a reporter and editorial writer at The Brownsville Herald, Dallas Times Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and San Antonio Light. He served as editor of The Monitor in McAllen from 1991-1998 and from there served for 15 years as publisher at The Herald in Brownsville. Cavazos has been providing content for the Valley Business Report since 2018.

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