International Friendship Festival Parade and Carnival Kicks Off This Weekend
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The 2023 Eagle Pass International Friendship Festival kicks off this weekend, March 24-26, 2023, with the traditional International Friendship Festival Amusement Carnival opening on Friday, March 24, at Shelby Park and the historic International Friendship Festival Parade will march down Main Street on Saturday, March 25, at 11 a.m., highlighting the annual friendship festival between Eagle Pass and its Mexican sister city, Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.
The Eagle Pass Chamber of Commerce got the 2023 International Friendship Festival underway on Thursday, March 23, with a Barracks and Brew live music and food trucks event at the historic Fort Duncan Officers Quarters that included the naming of the very first Rey Casi Feo Contest winner, Walmart Area Manager George Herrera. Herrera bested several nominees for the Rey Casi Feo royalty crown and will now serve as the Parade Marshal of this Saturday’s International Friendship Festival Parade.
The highly anticipated International Friendship Festival Amusement Carnival opens Friday, March 24, and will run through April 2, at Shelby Park on the banks of the Rio Grande, offering mechanical amusement rides, games, food and refreshments, and fun for the entire family.
The symbolic International Friendship Festival Parade is on Saturday, March 25, at 11 a.m. in downtown Eagle Pass as parade participants will march down Main Street in a storied time honored tradition of Eagle Pass. The theme for the 2023 Parade is Super Heroes. Parade participants will decorate and dress as Super Heroes to enliven the fun-filled parade. Don’t miss it, come out to watch the parade this Saturday.
The highly-touted Noches Mexicanas will be celebrated during March 31 through April 1 at Shelby Park in downtown Eagle Pass, featuring many local and top recording bands and artists throughout the three nights of the event. Noches Mexicanas will also feature the best food vendors, refreshments, and fun-filled activities for the entire family. All Eagle Pass, Piedras Negras, and surrounding communities are cordially invited to attend this fan favorite Noches Mexicanas.
The highlight of the 2023 International Friendship Festival is the traditional Abrazo de la Amistad Ceremony on Thursday, March 30, at 5:30 p.m. at the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 1 between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico representatives and dignitaries, featuring the annual Abrazo between the two persons named by each country as Mr. Amigo, Larry Martin for Eagle Pass and Dr. Loth Tipa Mota Nataren for Piedras Negras. The Abrazo Ceremony is sponsored by the Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras International Good Neighbor Councils.
A new tradition of the International Friendship Festival is the Golf Shot Contest to be held on Saturday, April 1, at the Paseo Del Rio in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, featuring golfers driving a golf ball from the Paseo Del Rio in Piedras Negras to a pin at Shelby Park across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass. The golfer to hit the golf ball closest to the pin wins the Golf Shot Contest and bragging rights for a year.
The Eagle Pass Parks and Recreation Department will host again the International Friendship Festival 5 K Run on Saturday, April 1, featuring runners from both the United States and Mexico competing in a course that runs through downtown and Shelby Park. Fun for the entire family. Come out and run with the Bulls.
The International Friendship Festival is a long, storied tradition in Eagle Pass as it celebrates its symbolic friendship with its Mexican sister city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. Join us this year at one or more scheduled events. Fun for the whole family.
