Texas Border Business
The Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce was the recipient of several marketing awards from the Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA) for their promotion of Texas Onion Fest, held at the end of March at Mayor Pablo G. Peña City Park. Texas Onion Fest celebrates the development of the Texas sweet onion, which was pioneered in Weslaco.
Doug Croft, CEO/President of the Chamber, attended the TFEA annual conference in Fort Worth July 27-29, where he accepted seven awards for the 2017 Texas Onion Fest event. TFEA awards the marketing efforts of events and festivals across the state. Texas Onion Fest was entered in the category of events with budgets from $75,000 to $250,000.
Texas Onion Fest was awarded first place for the following categories:
- Best Single Newspaper Display Ad
- Best Company Image Piece
- Best Event Video
- Best Radio Promotion
Texas Onion Fest also received second place for Best Newspaper Insert/Supplement, and third place for Best Miscellaneous Multimedia as well as for Best TV Promotion. “It’s always so rewarding to be recognized for all the hard work that goes into producing Texas Onion Fest,” said Laura Espinoza, Weslaco Chamber marketing director. “There’s a whole team we gather made up of staff, volunteers and vendors to produce this award-wining event.”
One contributor, McAllen-based graphic designer Liz Gonzalez, is credited for designing all Onion Fest logos for more than 15 years. This includes creating the official mascot of Texas Onion Fest, Tex the Sweet Onion. Gonzalez designed both entries for Best Company Image Piece and Best Single Newspaper Display Ad.
“Liz came up with the design for Tex about four years ago, and we kept using him every year in our Onion Fest logo,” Espinoza said. “We loved it so much we used it as the basis for our mascot costume design. This year’s logo incorporated the popular emoji, showing Tex with three different emotions. It was fun, relevant and definitely eye-catching.”
“Winning these awards is just a reflection of all the hard work and dedication of the Chamber staff and Onion Fest volunteers,” remarked Texas Onion Fest Committee Chair Daryl Smith. “It’s continued confirmation that Texas Onion Fest is one of the best one-day festivals in Texas.”
TFEA represents the hundreds of festivals that celebrate the history, legends, culture, art, folklore and natural beauty of the Lone Star State. The Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA), an official affiliate of the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA), is a professional trade association for Texas-based festival and event planners, volunteers and suppliers.
 for their promotion of Texas Onion Fest, held at the end of March at Mayor Pablo G. Peña City Park.){kind=link}