Texas Butterfly Festival kicks off this weekend in Mission

MISSION — Those bright flashes of color, the swallowtails and the monarchs and the guava skippers, are as always the stars of the show this time of year. Their stardom this time of year is clearly evident at the National Butterfly Center where the annual Texas Butterfly Festival is being held Saturday through Tuesday. “Preparations are pretty much ready,” said Stephanie Lopez, executive director at the center. “We’re working on a contingency plan for rain,” she said. There is rain in the forecast, but the show will still go on. “Apart from that, we’ve been prepared for awhile,” she said. “The gardens are looking great. Our butterfly numbers are slowly increasing, but we’re hopeful.” Butterfly enthusiasts are arriving in the Valley to participate in field trips throughout the Valley to see butterflies, said John Yochum, park ranger at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco who will be leading tours. “Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we’ll take people out to look for butterflies,” Yochum sa