Border Town Days: A celebration of sister cities

FARWELL, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Border Town Days celebration will take place tomorrow, July 27. The celebration is a local family-friendly event for both cities of Texico, New Mexico and Farwell, Texas.

“Two sister cities that are separated only by the state line. Over the years, Border Town Days has been an opportunity for our communities to come together and just spend time with our neighbors,” said Chairman of Border Town Days, Rob Pomper. “We often have a lot of family reunions [and] class reunions. It’s a reason to come back to Farwell.”

This will be the 57th year the event takes place. This year, it will be Pomper’s 20th year as Chairman of Border Town Days.

“I took over for my dad, Mike Pomper, who was chairman for the 20 years before that,” said Pomper. “Between the two of us, we’ve covered over two-thirds of the Border Town Days, as we are now in our 57th year.”

Pomper explained that when Border Town Days started, it was a three-day rodeo with the parade and events at the park.

“Because it’s become harder and harder to put on a three day rodeo, now we focus on the local music as much as possible, and we focus on the the class reunions and family reunions, more than anything else,” explained Pomper.

All the Border Town Days festivities will take place on July 27.

“We start the day at 8 a.m. with a 5K Fun Run and also a one mile walk/run, just all through town. It’s great chance to see a lot of the city streets as you go,” said Pomper.

The Border Town Day 5K run and 1 mile walk/run at the First Baptist Church of Farwell, located at 404 Ave E. To register, it is $15 per 5K entry and $10 for the 1 mile walk/run entry.

The parade will start at 11 a.m. central time. The parade will start in Texico, NM at the KKR Park and end in Farwell, Texas. Local businesses and organizations participate in the parade each year. The parade theme this year is “Salute to Agriculture”. Pomper said that this year’s parade theme was the same theme the parade had 50 years ago. After the parade, there will be awards for the top floats that meet the theme.

Following the parade, there will live music, awards, arts and crafts, food and more.

“This year, it’s Micah Ruthardt, who’s a local musician and is fantastic,” said Pomper. “We’re looking forward to him getting up and singing the during the day.”

Pomper said the celebration is an opportunity for both communities to come together and help each other locally.

“It’s just a great fundraiser for our local groups,” said Pomper. “It’s nice, in the fact, that you know that if you buy food at Border Town Days, the money stays here local and benefits our local schools, our local kids, or the local folks that are trying to make a difference in our community.”

Pomper welcomes everyone in the surrounding areas to attend the annual celebration.

“If you or someone, who’s lived in Texico/Farwell or graduated from one of our schools, we do invite you to come back and and relive some of the old memories,” said Pomper. “Texico and Farwell are great communities with so many great people that care about their neighbors. We look forward to seeing all the guests this year.”

For more information on the annual celebration, check out the Border Town Days Facebook page.

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