McAllen's Palmfest 2010 Folklife Celebration Nears

On October 2 – 3, 2010 the fifth annual PalmFest Folklife Celebration will be held at the McAllen Convention Center located at Ware Road and Expressway 83 in McAllen. PalmFest emphasizes the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and will once again partner with the City of McAllen to bring this grand festival to the community. Main attractions include: The McAllen Heritage Center – McAllen history museum presents "Heritage Village" exhibits and attractions that celebrate our history, the expanded Fajita Cookoff competition "Smoking since 1976", Rental Worlds - "Kids-Ville" with kids rides and inflatables for day long fun and the expanding PalmFest “El Mercado” an outdoor shopping area! PalmFest will once again bring two fun filled days that promise live entertainment, food, music, culture and good old-fashioned fun for everyone!

This year, along with all the PalmFest favorites, look for more museum exhibits, art exhibits and demonstrations that are joining the line up.

PalmFest will offer multiple stages and performance areas. Organizers are seeking singers and musicians including blues, bluegrass, conjunto, country, folk, gospel, harmony, jazz, mariachi, rock, symphonic, and others. 
Ethnic folk, ballet, flamenco, folklorico, Indian, salsa, belly dancers and other dancers are being sought.

The Rio Grande Valley has many ethnic groups such as African, Argentinean, Australian, Austrian, Belgian, Brazilian, British, Cajun, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Croatian, Cuban, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Egyptian, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hungarian, Indian, Iranian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Lebanese, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Native American, Norwegian, Pakistani, Polish, Peruvian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Scottish, Scandinavian, Swedish, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian, Venezuelan, Vietnamese, Welsh and others. Participation by all these groups and other nationalities residing in the Rio Grande Valley is desired!

Also trick ropers, storytellers, magicians, martial arts, poets, and other acts are on the want list. Folk crafts made from ceramics, cloth, glass, horsehair, metal, paper, wood and other materials are being sought for the educational demonstrations and cultural exhibitions.

PalmFest 2010 promises to be an even bigger entertainment event and welcomes your inquiries. For information about PalmFest entertainment, please its website: www.palmfest.com or call Assistant Entertainment Coordinator Brenda Terán at (956) 460-1778 or email: bteran@palmfest.com.

For more information about the festival or other levels of participation, to be a vendor at El Mercado, or to be a sponsor call the festival hotline at (956) 682-5566.