Texas Border Business
Mercedes will take to the skies on Saturday, March 1, with Skyfest and its 1st Annual Kite Festival.
The event will kick off at 10 a.m. at the Mercedes Dome Rec Center, which is located at 1202 N. Vermont Ave. Skyfest is scheduled to run to 2 p.m. and there will also be crafts, vendors and live music provided by The South Austin Moonlighters, a country pop band. Marisol Vidales, the city’s library director, is overseeing the event and says Mercedes is hoping to make the kite festival a signature event.
“We thought an event like this one would be something good to bring kids and families outside,” Vidales said. “We hope to bring people here from other communities as well since we’re located in the middle of the (Rio Grande) Valley.”
The idea for a kite festival originated with Mercedes City Manager Alberto Perez. Vidales says the city manager formerly worked for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in Austin, and while living there he attended a large yearly kite festival. A similar type-of-event is not currently held in the Valley. There was an outdoor kite festival for many years at South Padre Island, but in more recent years the event has been moved indoors.
Plans To Expand
There will be a number of different categories at Skyfest.
They include best kite design, highest-flying kite, and champions in youth and senior-age categories. In all, there will be nine categories and plenty of opportunities for entrants to display their kite-making and flying abilities. The plan is to make the kite festival a two-day event next year and have a second day dedicated to flying model airplanes – and possibly drones.
“Something new (drones) and old fashioned too,” Vidales said of the timeless enjoyment of seeing kites flutter up high.
Kids can also look forward to face painting and small carnival-type rides with food vendors from nonprofit organizations such as band boosters and crime stoppers. A state grant is providing the funds to pay for a band from Austin to provide live music entertainment.
“We hope the community will enjoy the event,” Vidales said. “We’re reaching out to the schools and hoping we will have many students participating and competing.”
The Mercedes Skyfest is a free event – with no admission price.
- By Ric Cavazos / Mercedes EDC
