TEXAS TROPICAL TRAIL REGION HERITAGE TOURISM PROGRAM

August 17, 2010 – Partner Event & Business Meeting – Mercedes & Weslaco, Texas

You are cordially invited to attend Number Sixty (60) in a series of monthly Partner Events, including Tours and Educational Presentations, celebrating the heritage of South Texas.  This informative gathering of the Texas Tropical Trail Region Heritage Tourism Program will be held in Mercedes and Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas on Tuesday, August 17, 2010.  Please take a few minutes to review the event plans below and let me know which Option (look for A, B or C below) interests you.

Outlet Mall, Boot Factory and World Birding Center ~ Rio Grade Valley Tourism Attractions

Our visit to the Rio Grande Valley will include stops in Mercedes and Weslaco.  You may not ordinarily think of a shopping mall as a tourism attraction, but the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlet Mall in Mercedes draws thousands of visitors each year from Texas and Mexico.  The Mall has 140 retail stores and sits on 54 acres.

We’ll begin our day at 9:30 am at the Food Court in the RGV Premium Outlet Mall with a complimentary sit-down breakfast provided by the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce.  Juan Carlos Hinojosa, Assistant General Manager of the Mall, will welcome us at 10:00 am and give an overview of the Mall.

From there, we’ll drive to the other side of the Expressway to tour Rios of Mercedes Boot Factory.  Rios of Mercedes dates back to the 1850s when the Rios family became known for the art of boot making. In the early 1900s, they moved their shop to the Rio Grande Valley and continued perfecting their craft. When the last of the Rios boot makers, Zeferino, retired in the 1960s, he sold the family business.

Today Rios of Mercedes, under the guidance of Trainor Evans and J.P. Moody, still makes boots in much the same way the Rios family did – by hand. The hands that make a handmade boot take five times longer than an average boot maker. (And they don’t make average boots.)  Our visit to the factory will include an extensive tour of the facilities.

We’ll enjoy a complimentary lunch, again provided by the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce, at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center in Weslaco, just a short drive from Rios of Mercedes Boot Factory. Lunch will be catered by Chili’s Restaurant.

Located at the geographic center of the World Birding Center network, Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco attracts a spectacular array of South Texas wildlife with its varied landscape of shallow lake, woodlands and thorn forest. Birders and nature lovers alike enjoy exploring this 176-acre refuge.

Join us for this day in the Rio Grande Valley and find out how retail shopping, birding and boots are all big business when it comes to tourism!

Educational Programs

The day’s educational programs will be offered as follows:

-          Estero Llano Grande Staff presentation

-          Shelly Plante, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (Austin) Nature Tourism Coordinator, will tell us about

“How Heritage Tourism & Nature Tourism Can Work Together to Attract the Same Audience”.

Our hosts for the day include the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce, the Mercedes Economic Development Corporation, the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlet Mall and Estero Llano Grande State Park/World Birding Center.

Texas Tropical Trail Region Heritage Tourism Program

The Texas Tropical Trail Region (TTTR) heritage tourism program is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation developed in conjunction with the Texas Historical Commission and organized in February 2005 with an eleven-member volunteer Board of Directors, a salaried Executive Director and over 500 partners in tourism throughout the 20 county South Texas area known as the Texas Tropical Trail Region.  The first public “partner” meeting was held in March 2005 at the La Posada Hotel in Laredo, Texas.

This Region covers over 23,000 square miles and is home to over 1.7 million people. Four sub-regions or Byways (the Gulf Coast Byway, the Rio Grande Byway, the Wild Horse Desert Byway and the Brush Country Byway) are located within the Region.

Kingsville is the home of the Texas Tropical Trail Regional office located in the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce office building at 635 E. King Avenue, Suite 102.

It is the intent of the Texas Tropical Trail Region Board of Directors to showcase the heritage, natural beauty and diverse culture of South Texas for the benefit and enjoyment of Texans and travelers. To achieve this goal, the Board must first join hands with our tourism partners, community leaders, and state and local entities to identify, preserve and interpret our natural, historical and cultural resources.

These monthly meetings/educational presentations are the workshops to help make this goal a reality.  These meetings are open to the public, and you are urged to encourage folks in your city and county to join us.

OPTIONS AVAILABLE

The day has been divided into three parts/options with the tours, educational program and lunch as options.

Option A: beginning at 9:30 am – (The full day) (using your own transportation)

9:30 – 10:00 am – Complimentary Sit-down Breakfast at the Food Court (provided by the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce) at Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlet Mall located at 5001 E. Expressway 83 in Mercedes

9:45 – 10:00 am – Welcome extended by J. C. Hinojosa, Assistant General Manager of RGV Premium Outlet Mall

10:00 – 10:15 am – Travel from RGV Premium Outlet Mall to Rios of Mercedes Boot Factory located at 1740 E. Expressway 83 in Mercedes

10:15 am – 11:45 am – Tour of Rios of Mercedes Boot Factory

11:45 am – 12 noon – Travel from Rios of Mercedes Boot Factory to Estero Llano Grande State Park/World Birding Center located at 154 Lakeview Drive in Weslaco

12 noon – 12:45 pm – Complimentary Lunch (provided by the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce) – Abyss Classroom – Estero Llano Grande

Lunch will be catered by Chili’s Restaurant

12:45 – 1:00 pm – Introductions and Community Updates

1:00- 1:30 pm – Educational Presentation – Estero Llano Grande Staff

1:30 – 2:15 pm - Educational Presentation – Shelly Plante, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (Austin) Nature Tourism

Coordinator, will tell us about “How Heritage Tourism & Nature Tourism Can Work Together to Attract the Same

Audience”.

2:30 - 3:30 pm – Business Meeting – Abyss Classroom, Estero Llano Grande – Open to the Public

Option B: beginning at 12 noon – Lunch, Educational Presentations, and Business Meeting

12 noon – 12:45 pm – Complimentary Lunch (provided by the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce) – Abyss Classroom – Estero Llano Grande

Lunch will be catered by Chili’s Restaurant

12:45 – 1:00 pm – Introductions and Community Updates

1:00- 1:30 pm – Educational Presentation – Estero Llano Grande Staff

1:30 – 2:15 pm - Educational Presentation – Shelly Plante, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (Austin) Nature Tourism

Coordinator, will tell us about “How Heritage Tourism & Nature Tourism Can Work Together to Attract the Same

Audience”.

2:30 - 3:30 pm – Business Meeting – Abyss Classroom, Estero Llano Grande – Open to the Public

Option C: beginning at 1:00 pm – Educational Presentations and Business Meeting

1:00- 1:30 pm – Educational Presentation – Estero Llano Grande Staff

1:30 – 2:15 pm - Educational Presentation – Shelly Plante, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (Austin) Nature Tourism

Coordinator, will tell us about “How Heritage Tourism & Nature Tourism Can Work Together to Attract the Same

Audience”.

2:30 - 3:30 pm – Business Meeting – Abyss Classroom, Estero Llano Grande – Open to the Public

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

An RSVP is necessary to let us know which option (A, B or C) you are interested in so that we can be adequately prepared with breakfast, lunch, seating arrangements and hand-out materials.

Please respond to Nancy Deviney at nancydeviney@yahoo.com as soon as possible but no later than Friday, August 13, 2010.

Directions and maps to the RGV Premium Outlet Mall, Rios of Mercedes Boot Factory and Estero Llano Grande State Park/World Birding Center will be sent to you.

We hope you will join us for this educational and informative day.

Please feel free to share this invitation with your friends and colleagues but remind them that an RSVP is necessary.

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