Community/Local Engagement Promotion - $501,000 - $1 Million

Description: Space Fest 2025 is a community-driven marketing campaign and event led by Visit Brownsville to engage local families, students, and space enthusiasts in celebrating Brownsville’s growing role in the space industry. The campaign features inclusive outreach through school partnerships, local vendors, educational panels, and public performances. The campaign has generated strong community interest and positioned Space Fest as a signature annual event for residents and visitors alike.
Objectives: Its key objective is to inspire community pride, promote STEM education, and highlight Brownsville as a hub for space exploration.

Project Costs: $45,000

In-house or Agency: In-house

Description: Visit Garland’s Día de los Muertos campaign brought cultural heritage to life in a unified, community-wide celebration that honored both tradition and inclusivity. The event, held at the Granville Arts Center, was centered around music, dance, artisan markets, altars, and the popular Catrín/Catrina Contest. Designed to engage local residents, students, and regional visitors, the campaign blended storytelling, education, and entertainment across multiple digital platforms. Through creative outreach and interactive elements, it transformed a beloved cultural tradition into a shared experience that fostered unity, pride, and cultural understanding.

Objectives: The primary objective of the campaign was to deepen community engagement and foster cultural understanding through the annual Día de los Muertos celebration. Focused on the theme “A Celebration of Life, Culture, and Tradition,” the campaign promoted a vibrant, inclusive experience for Garland residents by highlighting community altars, live performances, student artwork, and a Catrín/Catrina costume contest.

Project Costs: Visit Garland utilized a coordinated, multi-channel digital strategy that included the event landing page (VisitGarlandTX.com/dia-garland), targeted email campaigns, organic and boosted social media posts, and video content across platforms. The campaign aimed to increase awareness, drive attendance, and amplify resident pride. In-house or Agency: In-House

Description: Smoke & Saddles was a collaborative event to energize the local community around the kickoff of the 2025 Mesquite Championship Rodeo season—our city’s largest leisure tourism draw. Featuring a carnival, artisan market, sanctioned BBQ Cookoff, and uniquely Texan activities like armadillo races, the event drew over 4,000 attendees and contributed to a 40% increase in rodeo attendance on opening day. The unified campaign theme centered on “Rodeo Capital of Texas” pride and received strong social media engagement and overwhelmingly positive resident feedback. Smoke & Saddles established a successful, scalable event model for our community partners to carry forward annually.
Objectives:
Build community excitement for the 2025 rodeo season through a locally focused campaign.

Increase opening weekend attendance at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo.

Strengthen partnerships between Visit Mesquite, Mesquite Arena, and local businesses.

Provide a high-impact, family-friendly event that showcases Mesquite’s unique identity.

Generate strong local engagement through social media impressions, earned media, and resident participation.

Establish a repeatable event framework for future community-centered celebrations.

Project Costs: Coop project in which Visit Mesquite's share was $20,000

In-house or Agency: In-house