festival history
Palomino Fest kicked off in 1996 when Uvalde’s own Grammy Award-Winning
music group Los Palominos joined other dominant musicians to create a
weekend full of fun, family entertainment in their hometown. Proceeds
from the event have gone towards student scholarships. In 2003, a Southwest
Texas Junior College Palomino Fest Scholarship fund was created. Since
that time $20,000 has been contributed from Palomino Fest proceeds.
Palomino Fest has progressively grown at a rapid rate with many guests traveling hundreds of miles to enjoy the wide variety of entertainment. Crowd estimates of approximately 5,000 – 10,000 have attended Palomino Fest in recent years in what has been a single-day event.
In 2004 the festival became a full weekend event when Palomino Fest added Saturday entertainment to the already action-packed single day Sunday fest. Saturday and Sunday feature two full days of action-packed entertainment and activities with a wide variety of food, commercial and arts & crafts exhibits, along with local, regional and nationally known stage performers.
Palomino Fest is a huge community effort coordinated by a board of directors who are supported by hundreds of fellow volunteers, civic-minded businesses and individuals. Through dedication and support by our sponsors, the commitment to enhance the lives of students, is returned through college scholarships, educational programs and other donations.