In celebration of the river that unites us all, the city of Martindale hosted its second annual River Appreciation Weekend on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 18 and 19. This year’s two-day festival featured local art, live music, river education and awareness booths from environmental stewardship organizations.
“Folks came from all over to learn about the treasure that is our San Marcos River, and the need to protect and preserve it through environmental stewardship,” said Chelsea James, River Appreciation Weekend committee chair. “It was a pretty magical event.”
Festivities began on Friday, Aug. 18 with a special blessing and performance by local Aztec dance group, Kalpuli Toknihuan Tecuanimej, followed by live music from David Beck, Electric Gold and the Ditch Crickets. Jessica Mejia (Sirena del Rio) — the Indigenous Mermaid of the San Marcos River — also delivered a blessing for the river.
On Saturday, the festival with a performance by Central Texas Danzantes as well as a presentation of awards recognizing groups and individuals for their dedication to river stewardship. This year’s River Stewardship Awards were given to Virginia Parker, David Zambrano and Dr. Steve White. Local organizations set up booths to share the importance of river guardianship to the community, including San Marcos River Foundation, Eyes of the San Marcos River, the City of San Marcos, the City of Martindale, Mermaid Society SMTX, Texas Parks and Wildlife, The Meadows Center, Board Reward, Own Your Own Universe (OYOU) and Paddle SMTX. The festival concluded with music by Je’ Texas.
In addition to food, vendors and sustainable giveaways reusable tote bags, water bottles and childrens’ life jackets, the River Appreciation Weekend also held a river artisan exhibit with nature-inspired art.
“I was walking around the art and I was thinking, ‘Can we just leave this up all year?’” James said. “It was art, it was music, it was culture. That’s the one thing we all have in common: The river, and altogether, it turned out beautifully.”
With the success of this year’s festival, the planning committee is already thinking ahead for 2024. Check out the Martindale Market facebook page for more details: facebook. com/martindaletxmarket.
