![Big Bend 4th of July Parades](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Terlingua-4th-float-669x272.jpg)
Big Bend 4th of July Parades
Celebrate the 4th in Big Bend country! Have fun at the 4th of July parades in Marathon and Terlingua!
![Intermittent clouds](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-forecast/icons/04.gif)
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![West Fest Cabrito Cook Off](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/marathon-cookoff-people-669x272.jpg)
West Fest Cabrito Cook Off
Marathon, Texas West Fest Cabrito Cook Off brings competitive cooking and crafts to Post Park to raise funds for Marathon Volunteer Fire Department each year!
![Marathon Quilt and Craft Show](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-17-at-5.20.30-AM-669x272.png)
Marathon Quilt and Craft Show
The Marathon Quilt and Craft Show is a long-running, free event held one Saturday each year at the Community Center in Marathon, usually in September.
![New Moon Nights in Marathon](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/marathon-669x272.jpg)
New Moon Nights in Marathon
Come to Big Bend for great night skies! Marathon’s New Moon Fest celebrates dark starry nights with educational talks, star parties, tacos, music, and more!
![Marathon’s “WestFest” is the Best Fest!](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WestFest17-artist-669x272.jpg)
Marathon’s “WestFest” is the Best Fest!
It’s a casual atmosphere of fun and food at West Fest every year where cabrito rules but there are also brisket, ribs, salsa and dessert competitions plus so much more.
![Marathon does Christmas the right way](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/marathon2-468x272.jpg)
Marathon does Christmas the right way
If you’re in the Big Bend during the holidays, be sure to check out Marathon. It’s a little town off Hwy 90 that knows how to have big fun during Christmastime.
![MARATHON HISTORY](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/historic_marathon-669x272.jpg)
MARATHON HISTORY
Brief History of Marathon Texas
Marathon is located in a broad basin between the Glass Mountains to the north and the Del Norte-Santiago range to the south. This area is a transition zone between the higher mountain grasslands and the thorny chaparral of the Chihuahuan Desert, as well as a remarkable fusion of “old” and “new” mountains.
![Marathon](https://visitbigbend.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/marathon-sign-final-669x272.jpg)
Marathon
Marathon was established with the coming of the railroad in 1882. However, the establishment of Big Bend National Park made Marathon the closest gateway town to the Park, and a jumping off point for Park visitors.