Irma Chapa, the city of McAllen director of communications, opened a Fall for the Arts event on the morning of Oct. 16 to mark National Arts and Humanities Month and to underscore recent gains for the Rio Grande Valley’s cultural organizations.

Why it matters: The event combined celebration and advocacy: elected officials and arts leaders described how new state funding will support local operations and student access to performance opportunities, and they outlined a season of concerts and festivals that officials say drive tourism and jobs.

City context and funding: Chapa and city manager Isaac Tewill said McAllen’s cultural tourism now represents more than $100,000,000 in annual economic impact. Dr. Diane Milliken Garza, a commissioner on the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), told the audience that the 89th Texas Legislature increased the TCA budget and that the agency is guiding potential applicants on grants and cultural-district designations. The TCA commissioner said the state appropriated a $7.9 million increase for the agency and an expanded film incentive; she described grant categories including Arts Create and Arts Respond used by local nonprofits.

Local programming and priorities: Yajaira Flores, McAllen’s director of convention and performing arts facilities, outlined the season’s highlights — including Symphony in the Park (a free outdoor concert), a Broadway series and Fiesta de Palmas — and said the city will continue to prioritize student access to stages. David LaBelle, executive director of the Valley Symphony Orchestra, said the VSO received four TCA grants for the coming season, the most in the organization’s history, enabling education concerts and expanded programming.

Quotes from leaders: “The arts are not an extra. They are essential,” Chapa told attendees, while Dr. Garza described grant opportunities and the TCA’s appointment process. Tewill emphasized partnerships between the city, cultural organizations and state leaders in expanding both audiences and arts-sector jobs.

What’s next: Event hosts urged arts groups and individual artists to pursue TCA grants and to use newly available state funding for operations and youth programs. Several presenters pointed to calendar events in October and the coming months as opportunities to see the expanded programming live.

Sources and provenance: Reporting is based on remarks and materials presented Oct. 16 at the McAllen Fall for the Arts press event, including opening remarks by Irma Chapa (00:02:11) and a TCA presentation by Diane Milliken Garza (00:17:47).