The town of Eagle Pass planned a money-making festival—instead they got razor wire and armed soldiers.
This story is incredible, but it’s surprising that Greg Abbott did not see this coming. Definitely read this if you wanna have a laugh.
(Please click through to read the entire article on The Daily Beast website. I promote good work and if no one is visiting their site from here, it negates my purpose. Thanks. I appreciate you!?)
The prospect of Eagle Pass, Texas, becoming the first municipality in America to see the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, triggered visions in the border town of big crowds preceded by a big music festival.
The city’s marketing and tourism director, Aide Castano, told a 2023 meeting of the Eagle Pass Rotary Club that the city of 28,000 should prepare to host nearly quadruple its population for the event.
“Mark your calendar for the eclipse, get your grocery shopping done, we’re gonna have 100,000 people in Eagle Pass, we’re gonna have millions of dollars in sales for downtown Eagle Pass,” Castano said by the recollection of resident Amerika Garcia-Grewall, who attended the meeting.
Garcia-Grewall further recalled, “One of the real estate agents is like, ‘Airbnb will make $10,000 in the eclipse weekend.’”
The producers of the music festival named it 57 South Music Fest, after U.S. Highway 57 South, which reaches the border at Eagle Pass and the designated venue, city-owned Shelby Park. The scenic 47.4 acre grassy expanse on the banks of the Rio Grande River has been the site of successful carnivals and events, including an annual international friendship celebration. The 57 South producers posted what seemed like a formula for a resounding success.
“17 Bands, 3 Nights, 2 Stages, & 1 Total Eclipse – April 5-7, 2024”
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