ABC13 Eyewitness News

Volunteers are set up for the first Comic Fan Festival that included live art shows, local food trucks and, of course, a big cosplay contest.

Roy Rodriguez, manager of the East End Farmers Market, is hopeful the Fan Festival will be an annual event.

“I would describe it as an area that had been forgotten for a time and one that has so much history that should never be forgotten,” Rodriguez said.

Houstonia Magazine

Ann Pinchak spends her days gardening in her yard and handing out extra produce to passersby walking along her street’s promenade, or checking in with the vendors at the Sunday East End Street Market, where she’s a regular. Now that she’s found her way back to the neighborhood, she plans to stay put. “It’s diverse, it’s eclectic, it’s open-minded,” she says. “It’s just the most accepting neighborhood I’ve ever been in, and I’ve always felt alive here.”

Houston Chronicle

“I started realizing the city and the management district was really committed to creating a new East End,” Andrew Kaldis said. “They’ve done everything they planned on doing, improving sidewalks, improving navigation, creating a synergy around the esplanades there in front of Ninfa’s and El Tiempo.”

Houston Public Media

Diane Schenke with the Greater East End Management District says it’s a big deal in her neighborhood and they’ve been trying to do something about it.
“A lot of the light rail stations, the streets coming to those stations did not have sidewalks,” says Schenke. “So the focus of our 35 miles of sidewalk is connecting neighborhoods both to those bus stops and light rail stations.”