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McALLEN — The smell of fajita meat and the sound of guitar wails drifted from the cluster of tents dotting the front lawn of the McAllen Convention Center.
“There’s so much going on,” said Elva Cerda, chief coordinator for McAllen’s annual PalmFest International Folklife Celebration. “You have a concept of it at first, but when it actually happens, you’re kind of amazed.”
The two-day festival, which wraps up today, offers visitors entertainment options ranging from remote-control car racing to historical art displays and is host to one of McAllen’s longest-standing traditions: the annual Fajita Cookoff.
“It takes a lot of work,” said Rebecca Salinas, who has participated in the barbecue competition for several years. “We always invite all our family. It’s a nice way to get together.”
But that wasn’t the only reason people came to PalmFest.
Eleziar and Jeanette Rodriguez attended the event after their daughters spotted a boat-shaped inflatable slide as they drove along nearby Expressway 83.
“We decided to come see what was going on,” said Eleziar, pointing to his daughters Alexa and Kayla. “Right now we’re trying to get the girls to take a pony ride.”
Children laughed and waved to their parents as they took part in the festivities, some riding miniature trains, others greeting costumed Care Bears characters.
Teens waited for the next showing of Batman and Wonder Woman, a live theatrical performance sponsored by PalmFest, and took turns firing off a small cannon set up by McAllen Memorial High School’s Civil War Reenactors Club.
Adults wandered through various art exhibits put on by local museums and listened to storytellers talk about the history of the Rio Grande Valley at the Lonesome Dove Storytelling tent.
“There’s really something for everyone here,” Cerda said. “I wish I didn’t have to coordinate everything so I could be out there enjoying it, too.”
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