HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Sixty performers are set to perform this month during the Entertainer Showcase, designed to introduce musicians to local Winter Texan parks and venues.
Each act will have just nine minutes to impress.
“They’ve got to make [those nine minutes] really good,” said Kristi Collier, of Welcome Home RGV, which is organizing the showcase scheduled for Jan. 11 and 19 at the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium.
“This is kind of cool event where entertainers from all over the country come to perform in front of the activity directors from parks from all over the Valley,” Collier said. “Then they go into the booking room, where activity directors can book them for next season’s entertainment lineup.”
Entertainment bookings are serious business in the Valley.
“A lot of entertainers from the Branson (Missouri) area come here to perform in the winter because there’s no business in Branson over the winter,” Collier said.
Each day, 30 performers are scheduled for a total of 60 across both dates. The acts could feature music, comedy, magic, ventriloquism and more.
The showcase used to be organized by an activity directors association, but that group disbanded in 2022, Collier said. Therefore, Welcome Home RGV was chosen to take over the event for 2023.
That now means the showcase will be open to the general public for the first time, with admission tickets costing $10 a day. The doors open at 8 a.m. both days with the showcase started at 9 a.m. and continuing until 4 p.m.
To purchase tickets, log on to welcomehomergv.com or call (956) 687-5115. The Harlingen Municipal Auditorium is at 1204 Fair Park Blvd. in Harlingen.
