Submitted by UvaldeRadio.net
4-27-26
UVALDE — Community, conservation and local heritage came together Friday evening as residents gathered in the heart of downtown for UvaldeRadio.net’s Trees & Bees Party On The Plaza, a celebration honoring Arbor Day and Uvalde’s enduring identity as the Honey Capital of the World.
Held from 6 to 9 p.m. beneath the mature oak and pecan trees of the downtown plaza, the event transformed the historic square into a lively community gathering space framed by the Uvalde Grand Opera House and the County Courthouse. The evening also marked the latest installment of UvaldeRadio.net’s monthly Party On The Plaza vendor market, held every final Friday of the month, with this edition centered on the intertwined importance of trees, bees and natural resources in the region.
The event coincided with Arbor Day and served as a reminder of Uvalde’s heritage as a designated Tree City USA community. Organizers emphasized the ecological, historical and economic roles trees and pollinators play in Southwest Texas, where agriculture, native brushland and conservation remain deeply connected.
Local and regional vendors filled the plaza offering artisan goods, food, drinks, crafts, and potted plants and trees, while the Texas Master Naturalists Brush Y Canyons chapter shared information about its mission to develop well-informed volunteers dedicated to education, outreach and stewardship of natural resources and natural areas across Texas communities.
On the honey side of the celebration, local honey vendors were also featured, including The Blinged Buck, UvaldeRadio.net’s official Uvalde Honey partner, offering its 100 percent raw Uvalde Brush Honey. The event also welcomed Uvalde County Honey Queen Cashlyn Varnon, who posed for photos with residents, autographed 8×10 photos, and handed out golden paper crowns to children, making them honorary princes and princesses for the evening.
During a short interview conducted by UvaldeRadio.net Promotions Assistant Mercedez, Varnon spoke about her pride in representing Uvalde and the importance of drawing attention to the region’s bee population and honey industry. Known for producing high-quality honey from the nectar of guajillo brush, Uvalde’s honey industry remains a defining part of the area’s identity, agriculture and culture.
Varnon also announced the return of the Uvalde Honey Festival, set for April 8-11, 2027, when the annual event—canceled for 2026—is expected to return as an expanded four-day celebration.
UvaldeRadio.net Program Director Robert Miguel Rodriguez, who organized the event, emceed the evening, conducted giveaways and introduced special guests City of Uvalde Mayor Hector R. Luevano and Rachel Sarlls, regional urban ecologist with the Texas A&M Forest Service for the San Antonio region.
Mayor Luevano addressed attendees with an official Arbor Day proclamation, reflecting on the holiday’s origins in 1872, when the Nebraska Board of Agriculture first established a day devoted to planting trees. He also spoke about Uvalde’s past recognition as a Tree City USA community and the importance of renewing that civic spirit.
In one of the evening’s most memorable moments, the mayor quoted Isaiah 61:3, saying residents “may be called the oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified,” drawing a parallel between the strength, stability and long life symbolized by oak trees and the enduring spirit of the Uvalde community.
Mayor Luevano then presented the framed proclamation to Sarlls, who encouraged residents to recognize the vital role trees play in everyday life. She pointed to the shade the trees provided during the event, noted the pecans scattered in the grass and invited the crowd to take a deep breath and appreciate the oxygen created by the trees surrounding them.
Following the event, Sarlls praised the community’s efforts.
“It is amazing to have a community come together to celebrate not only trees for Arbor Day but honey as well, two things that go hand in hand,” Sarlls said. “Our pollinators and trees help support each other, the planet, and us and our communities. Bringing the community together to connect with nature is always a worthwhile cause. Trees help clean our air and water, provide shade, and also just simply make people happy. Thank you for celebrating trees and proclaiming April 24th as Uvalde Arbor Day. It was an honor to be a part of the celebration. Keep moving forward in celebration everything you have grown and everything future generations will plant.”
The proclamation was met with cheers before music resumed and the plaza returned to the sounds of conversation, laughter and shopping. Families lingered into the cooler spring evening, children gathered fallen pecans beneath the trees, and residents enjoyed the sense of shared community as the sun set over downtown.
Organizers said the event reflected how conservation and community can go hand in hand, linking Uvalde’s agricultural roots, environmental stewardship and civic pride.
UvaldeRadio.net will continue its monthly Party On The Plaza series with a School’s Out Party On The Plaza scheduled for May 29, coinciding with Uvalde High School graduation, followed by an America 250 Party On The Plaza celebrating the semiquincentennial birthday of the United States the weekend before July 4.
More information about UvaldeRadio.net events and programming is available at uvalderadio.net and on the station’s Facebook page.
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