Harlingen Dedicates New Convention Center

By:

Harlingen Dedicates New Convention Center

Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell cut the ribbon to officially open the Harlingen Convention Center. (VBR)
Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell cut the ribbon to officially open the Harlingen Convention Center. (VBR)
The color guard of officers from the Harlingen police and fire departments (VBR)
The color guard of officers from the Harlingen police and fire departments (VBR)

City officials and community leaders gathered May 1 for a ceremony and ribbon-cutting to formally dedicate the Harlingen Convention Center. Attendees had a chance to tour the building and a community open house was on the schedule for the evening.

Mariachis entertained guests upon arrival. A color guard made up of officers from the Harlingen police and fire departments started the ceremony. Harlingen school district students then led the pledge of allegiance.

Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell and other dignitaries made brief remarks before opening the doors to the public.

The $16.7-million center offers a variety of configurations to host events of different types. The main ballroom can seat about 1,500 people in a concert setting. It may also be divided into smaller venues for company meetings or private celebrations.

Names of rooms in the center reflect some of the Rio Grande Valley specialty birds, such as Great Kiskadee, Green Jay and Oriole.

Construction will begin this week on a $25-million, five-story Hilton Garden Inn with 150 rooms adjacent to the convention center.

For more photos from the Harlingen Convention Center ribbon cutting, visit the VBR photo gallery.

George Cox is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years experience as a newspaper writer and editor. A Corpus Christi native, he started his career as a reporter for The Brownsville Herald after graduating from Sam Houston State University with a degree in journalism. He later worked on newspapers in Laredo and Corpus Christi as well as northern California. George returned to the Valley in 1996 as editor of The Brownsville Herald and in 2001 moved to Harlingen as editor of the Valley Morning Star. He also held the position of editor and general manager for the Coastal Current, a weekly entertainment magazine with Valleywide distribution. George retired from full-time journalism in 2015 to work as a freelance writer and legal document editor. He continues to live in Harlingen where he and his wife Katherine co-founded Rio Grande Valley Therapy Pets, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising public awareness of the benefits of therapy pets and assisting people and their pets to become registered therapy pet teams.

Comments