GALVESTON, Texas – Fun summer days are just around the corner.
The 13th annual Galveston Island Beach Revue, the city’s official kick-off to summer event, is happening Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 20-22.
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According to Discover Galveston Texas, the event offers a “classic car show, food and vintage vendors, concessions, and more located throughout Beach Central.”
According to the Galveston Historical Foundation, the Galveston Island Beach Revue is based on Island events such as “Pageant of Pulchritude,” the Galveston beauty contest that began in the summer of 1920.
Here’s a look at its history:
The Pageant of Pulchritude marked the kick-off for tourist season, much like how the Galveston Island Beach Revue kick-offs summer.
According to the Galveston Historical Foundation, the event originated in 1920 and by 1928 had morphed into the “bathing girl revue,” which became so popular that it tripled the island’s population during the event weekend.
The pageants, which are said to have been the beginning of what we know today as the Miss Universe Pageant, were short-lived, as they came to an end in 1932 due in part to the Great Depression, according to the Galveston Historical Foundation.
In 2009, the Galveston Island Beach Revue, inspired by the beloved event, was resurrected.