The city of Marfa has long been known for its famous “Marfa Lights” and in a few weeks, the biggest festival of the year returns for its 35th anniversary.

This year’s Marfa Lights Festival will run from Sept. 2-4 at the Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa.

In a town that’s already well-known for its thriving art community, the weekend-long festival that attracts hundreds of tourists each year will feature many entertainment acts as well as food and business vendors.

All events are free and open to everyone.

Tourists watch for mysterious lights from the Marfa Lights Viewing Area Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 outside of Marfa, Texas. In recent years, the Marfa Mystery Lights have gained in popularity after being referenced in popular culture by musicians such as the Rolling Stones and Paul Cauthen, and TV shows like “The Simpsons” and “Unsolved Mysteries.” Locals in the West Texas art community have taken to the legend as well, often including motifs of UFO’s and mystery lights in their artwork.

This year’s milestone celebration inspired Director of Tourism and Marfa Chamber of Commerce President Abby Boyd to look back and research the history of the festival.

“Every year is special but this year, I spent a little time looking through some archives to see how and why this festival originated and how much it’s changed over the years and how much it’s stayed the same over the years,” Boyd said.

What she found out was that the Marfa Lights Festival has mostly stayed the same.

“It was originated to bring entertainment to Marfa locals,” Boyd said. “Back then, Marfa was a really small town, even smaller than today. Tourism wasn’t as big as it is today. Certain bands weren’t coming to town. So this kind of served to bring talent to Marfans and also be an opportunity for people who are from Marfa who moved away to come back home and spend some time back in Marfa. That’s the same purpose it serves today.”

While the event helps bring in tourists and bands, it still very much remains a big part of the local community.

“We still see family reunions happening around the courthouse over Marfa Lights Weekend,” Boyd said. “It’s part of our largely Hispanic, local audience who are kind of underserved in the community. Today, Marfa has a lot more going on with the community. A lot of that entertainment is geared towards people who have moved here recently or visitors to Marfa. It’s a reason to come to Marfa. Marfa Lights is still very much for the long-term generation Marfa audience.”

Boyd continued to talk about how the chamber has looked at that connection to the community, inviting local bands and performers to take part.

“We’ve invited a lot of local musicians and we’ve invited our local theater,” Boyd said. “They’re putting on an original play. Our Zumba teacher is going to do a Zumba class Sunday morning so we’re doing a little more reaching out to the community this year and hoping to bring that tradition back.”

Judy Dandridge, left, and her husband Thom, of Baker, Florida, point to a light from the Marfa Lights Viewing Area as they travel through the region on a road trip Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 outside of Marfa, Texas. The Marfa Mystery Lights are a local legend to residents of West Texas, often attributed to paranormal sources such as unidentified flying objects, will-o’-the-wisps or the ghosts of Spanish conquistadors searching for gold. In recent history, scientific investigations conducted by institutions such as Texas State University in 2008 and the University of Texas at Dallas in 2004 attributed the lights to motorists traveling along U.S. Highway 67, which can be seen from the viewing platform.

Live music will begin in the evening of Sept. 2 with sets by Marfa products Primo y Beebe and Hector y su Grupo Ambicion. The night will culminate with a performance by Midland’s Destino Band.

“We’re excited to have the Destino Band come here,” Boyd said. “They’ve been around for a long time. I’m really excited to see them.”

On Sept. 3, the events begin with a parade through downtown Marfa, led by Grand Marshall Jo Ann Rodriguez Betancourt, Jumano Nation of Texas Tribal Chair. Marfa is the traditional ancestral, unseeded territory of the Jumano Nation, Lipan Apache and Mescalero Apache past and present.

Entertainment will continue after the parade with a performance by Presidio’s Mariachi Santa Cruz.

“(Santa Cruz) has a lot of talent and we like to showcase what Marfa has to offer,” Boyd said.

Later, Marfa Live Arts will present an original play set in 1920s Marfa called “Juice Joint Criminals,” written for the occasion by Sul Ross State University student Caitlynn Almance.

In the evening, the music will continue with Marfa’s own Grand Tourists and La Reinas de la Noche and Alpine’s Puro Party Allstarz.

“We have a lot of local acts,” Boyd said. “The Grand Tourists played here last year and were a big hit. “A Marfa staple is Primo Y Beebe. They play around Marfa all the time and they’re well-liked. If there’s a party, Primo Y Beebe will be there.”

On Saturday night, the day will cap off with a performance by the weekend’s headliners Erick y su Grupo Massore of San Antonio.

“That’s a younger group,” Boyd said. “It’s really high-energy, really fun music. Marfa Lights is really about dancing in the streets and we picked that group because we felt like they would get people up and dancing and I think they’re going to be a lot of fun.”

Some of the groups performing are relatively new while others have been playing longer.

“Hector Y Su Grupo Ambicion is performing for the first time,” Boyd said. “Then, other groups like Puro Party Allstarz is from Alpine has been around for a while and has done a ton of shows. It’s going to be a wide-variety of entertainment.”

Sept. 4 will be Family Day and kick off with Zumba at the Courthouse led by Elizabeth Guiterrez of Marfa, Jessica Carrasco Meador of San Antonio, Presidio’s Angela De Valle and Alpine’s Keila Vargas.

Joshua Perez, 16, right, uses a stationary binocular to look for mysterious lights Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 at the Marfa Lights Viewing Area outside of Marfa, Texas. Perez and his family traveled from Houston to the Big Bend region and spent Thursday evening at the viewing area with lawn chairs and strong sense of curiosity as they attempted to catch a glimpse of the phenomena first recorded in 1883.

Activities will continue throughout the day including a youth DJ Workshop hosted by Ballroom Marfa and visiting musician Orion Garcia.

Marfa ISD’s Ballet Folklorico will be the weekend’s final performers at the County Courthouse.

Ballroom Marfa will close out Marfa Lights Festival weekend with the West Texas premier of MXTX: A Cross Border Exchange at the USO Hall, a collaboration of 10 musicians from across Texas and Mexico.

One thing that stands out from the festival, Boyd says, is that it shows visitors a different side of Marfa as the festival also showcases the community’s past.

“Sometimes people have a one-sided view of Marfa that it’s a really, neat, art, modernist town that’s great to take photos but they don’t know the rich history,” Boyd said. “They don’t know about our cultural history here which is related to the Texas-Mexico border. They don’t know about the types of people who live here in Marfa and I don’t know if they realize that we’re just a small town that has a lot of interesting things for visitors to check out. This gives people a chance to see Marfa as a real town, a place with real people. I think with these places, especially in Texas, these small towns are becoming more and more rare. They’re getting swallowed up by cities but Marfa remains roughly the same size as it was when this festival started and it still has the same feel. You’re stepping into our world when you come to see Marfa Lights.”

The Marfa Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for vendors and parade participants. For more information, visit the chamber’s website at tinyurl.com/3za3pp9y.

“I hope that everybody who’s interested comes and checks it out. It’s a really good time,” Boyd said. “It’s a family-friendly atmosphere. There’s good food and lots to do. If people have been to Marfa Lights before, they know what to expect but anyone who hasn’t, this is a great opportunity to check it out.”

If you go

  • What: Marfa Lights Festival.
  • When: Sept. 2-4.
  • Where: Presidio County Courthouse.
  • Price of admission: Free.

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