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Weslaco moves forward with Texas 1015 onion statue as tourism and education piece
Summary
City staff presented a plan to host a roughly 10‑foot Texas 1015 onion statue funded in part by TIPA ($13,500) and the chamber ($5,000); the project will use hotel‑occupancy‑tax funds for installation and aims to support destination marketing and school curriculum uses.
At the July 1 workshop, the city’s destination‑marketing staff outlined plans to install a Texas 1015 onion statue in Weslaco as part of a broader set of public‑art and destination projects.
Barbara, the staff lead on destination marketing, said Weslaco was selected by the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) to host a roughly 10‑foot onion statue to celebrate and educate about the Texas 1015 onion. "This is going to be approximately a 10 foot statue," Barbara said, and the project would be placed at the corner of West Railroad Street and Texas Boulevard near an existing monument.
Funding commitments cited at the workshop included $13,500 from TIPA and $5,000 from the chamber; staff estimated total installation and associated costs at about $18,000–$20,000 and said hotel‑occupancy‑tax funds are an eligible source for the work. Staff also said TIPA will lead the RFP for a designer and that the city will use the statue as part of a destination‑marketing program and an educational piece for schools (staff noted they had produced a documentary about the Texas 1015 onion for classroom use).
Staff said they are targeting March 2026 for installation if design, procurement and shipping timelines allow; they also discussed adding seating and landscaping to create a small public gathering area around the statue.
What happens next: staff will work with TIPA on the RFP and return to the commission with final design proposals and any installation costs beyond the $18k–$20k estimate.
