(This article was written by Abigial Muniz-Garcia and appeared in the August 2024 issue of Explore Harlingen Magazine.)
Summer in the Rio Grande Valley is hot. For those who live here, it isn’t a shock when temperatures reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit with “feels like” temperatures soaring beyond that.
Two years ago, the city of Harlingen started a new recurring event called Downtown at Sundown to give attendees an opportunity to be outdoors during the time of day when the temperatures are slowly creeping down, even if only a few degrees. This event occurs every third Saturday of the month from March to October from 7 to 10 pm.
Angie Anderson, Promotion and Events Manager with the Downtown Improvement District Office for the city of Harlingen, says that this is another family-friendly event that the city offers to its community, in addition to Market Days, held on the first Saturday of the month from 9 am to 3 pm.
“Bring the kids out, bring the family out, bring your lawn chairs, and listen to some music (at Lozano Plaza),” she said. “We want to bring more attention to the downtown area. It’s something to do on an evening.”
Aside from that, she would like the community to see what downtown Harlingen has to offer.
“It’s to feature local talent and music, bring attention to downtown and get people walking through downtown realizing what great shops, merchants, and everything else that we have down here,” Anderson said.
“During Downtown at Sundown a lot of the merchants offer specials, refreshments, and free drinks while you shop,” she said.
One merchant that stays open for Downtown at Sundown is Harlingen Antique Mall, owned by Nohemi Alvarado-Perez and her husband, Armando Perez. Her establishment, located on Jackson Avenue, has been operating for close to three years and stays open extended hours anytime Downtown at Sundown happens.
“Oh my gosh, it’s fun. It keeps me very upbeat, and it keeps me going,” Alvarado-Perez said about the event.
She also commented on how more people at the event means more visitors to the small businesses in the downtown area who tend to see business slow down during the summers.
“It has been very beneficial,” she said.
Anderson also mentioned how there are opportunities for local vendors to sell goods at this event, which typically hosts about 36 vendors.
Aside from that, there are also four to six food trucks selling tasty meals from barbecue to elotes to Cajun food.
“We try to get a variety (of food trucks),” Anderson said. “A little bit of everything.”
“We want to feature local food, local music, local talent as much as we can,” she said. “It’s something people can come out and do in the evenings and it’s safe. We have our local police department here, too.”
During Downtown at Sundown attendees can expect to see all of “A” street closed off although Jackson Avenue remains open. For more information on the event or how you can take part as a vendor, please contact the Downtown Improvement District Office at (956) 216-4910.
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