Becca Nelson Sankey Thursday, May 14, 2009 Like any successful event, the Junior League’s annual Festival on the Concho — formerly Fiesta del Concho
— has grown and evolved with the help of organizers’ hard work and ideas. The event, which is expected to draw 10,000 to 15,000 people this weekend to the Concho River downtown, was organized by the Chamber of Commerce for decades before the Junior League of San Angelo revived it years after it died out. “We certainly brought (The Chamber of Commerce) in to get us started,” said festival co-chair Suzan Gargan. “The main thing was they were no longer able to use the section of land they’d always done the Fiesta del Concho on. A lot of it is, with time it becomes harder to run and do things.” Gargan knows all too well the work that goes into organizing an event of the festival’s caliber. She said planning it is a yearlong process, one made possible by the more than 100 Junior League members and community members who volunteer their time. With Angelo State University students graduating this weekend, the move has already paid off, Gargan said. “Several parents have already gone in to the Chamber asking what’s going on for the weekend,” she said. “We’ll have our own hometown crowd, but we’ll also have a lot of visitors, and it’s a chance to really show them how great San Angelo is.”
But because of the move, the hot air balloon shows that have become synonymous with the festival will be lost this year, primarily because May is not ballooning season, Gargan said.