The McAllen Heritage Center kicked off its 2026 annual Chuckwagon Dinner fundraiser with Romano’s Macaroni Grill of McAllen, opening sales for meals that can be redeemed from June 1 through Sept. 30, 2026. Father’s Day is excluded from the redemption period.
The fundraiser, which helps support the museum’s work preserving and educating the public about McAllen’s history and culture, is offering a single steak dinner ticket on a limited basis for $50.00 and a steak dinner for two with a bottle of house wine for $80.00.
The Chuckwagon Dinner began in 2006 with the PalmFest Folklife Celebration, now known as Fiesta de Palmas. Back then, it was held at the McAllen Civic Center at 10th Street and Expressway 83, then moved to the museum in downtown McAllen until 2014, when it first partnered with Tony Roma’s, now Romano’s Macaroni Grill of McAllen. All money raised goes to the McAllen Heritage Center, which says community support has helped it serve the region for 20 years.
The center is at 301 S. Main St. in the historic former U.S. Post Office building at the corner of Main St. and Chicago Ave. Admission is free, door donations are accepted, and visitors can use free parking in the rear lot. The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. For tickets or more information, call 956-681-2860 and ask for Liz Moncevais; Elva Cerda, the MHC director, can be reached at 681-2861.
Beyond the dinner drive, the museum says it continues to lean on the same local support that has kept it going for two decades, with art exhibits by local artists, book reading events and rotating partnerships with groups including the UTRGV Chaps Program, the Bob Bullock museum, the Valley Land Fund and Humanities Texas.
