News Releases

McAllen Chamber of Commerce Plans Poetry Contest

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce, the RGV International Poetry festival, and the McAllen Chamber’s McAllen Arts Council’s ArtE Magazine are sponsoring a poetry contest. Planning the event are, from left, Nancy Millar, McAllen Chamber of Commerce; Daniel Garcia Ordaz, RGV International Poetry festival; Linda Lewis, publisher, McAllen Chamber’s Arts Council’s ArtE Magazine.

     The McAllen Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival and McAllen Arts Council’s ArtE Magazine, will hold a poetry contest as part of its Green Living Festival, Chamber officials recently announced. The poetry contest will be open to youth and adults. Winning poems will be published in the spring issue of ArtE Magazine. “This is an exciting way to combine art and nature,” said Nancy Millar, McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

     Daniel Garcia Ordaz of the RGV International Poetry Festival will be assisting in the organization of the contest. “We see this as a way to support local poets and aspiring poets, as well as to expose more people to the beauty of the natural world that surrounds us here in the McAllen area,” Millar said. “The more our natural resources are appreciated, the more they will be protected.”

City Commission Proclaims October Green Living Month

Commissioner Marcus Barrera, center, reads the proclamation designating October as Green Living Month, supporting the upcoming Green Living Festival. Accepting the proclamation are, from left, Nancy Millar, McAllen Chamber of Commerce; Jesus Lozano Boone, Green Living Festival Chair; Chris Lash, Interim Director, McAllen Recycling Center; Mark Kroeze, McAllen Urban Forester.

     The McAllen City Commission recently proclaimed October as Green Living Month in McAllen. The proclamation supports the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s Green Living Committee, the organization that produces McAllen’s annual Green Living Festival. “The Festival educates about and celebrates green living, which is all about saving money while treating the earth more gently,” said Nancy Millar, McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President and Director of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. It is a free October event open to the family.

     The festival is seeking sponsors and is accepting booth registrations for any goods and services that are earth friendly. For more information, call the McAllen Chamber of Commerce at 682-2871.