As snowbirds return in droves to winter in Puerto Vallarta, activities step up during the second half of November and the beginning of December.  

Texas natives residing in this region might want to pencil June 11-18 in their diaries.  Those are the dates of the ninth edition of the Texas Music Festival at the Marival Resort and Suites and at the Marival Residences and World Spa in Nueva Vallarta.

There will be nightly beach parties with Texan bands playing, as well as a Texas-style gastronomy event.

Marival guests can party for free, while the general public pays a nightly pass fee granting them access to the hotel and its entertainment centers between 6 p.m. and midnight.

Puerto Vallarta’s first annual LGBT “Vallarta Pride” event will take place this year on the weekend of May 24. According to organizers, the three-day event will include music festivals, beach parties, fashion shows, a mass commitment ceremony, and activities in participating bars and clubs.

The 9th annual Puerto Vallarta Altruism Festival takes place in the beachfront garden at the Marriott CasaMagna Resort in Marina Vallarta on Sunday, May 5, 6 p.m.

Swimmers are invited to take part in the third edition of the Aguas Abiertas Riviera Nayarit, at Marina Riviera Nayarit in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle on Saturday, April 27.

One might think a writers’ conference would be a stodgy affair featuring egg-heads pontificating pie-in-the-sky views.