Social Fest launches RGV Creator of the Year award
Yaw Sam, co-founder of SocialFest, speaks during a media event announcing plans for the 2026 festival in McAllen. Courtesy of | Yaw Sam

Social Fest is launching a new award aimed at recognizing the Rio Grande Valley’s growing community of social media and digital content creators.

A glass RGV Creator of the Year trophy illuminated with blue and pink lighting.
The RGV Creator of the Year award.
Courtesy of | Social Fest

The organization announced Thursday the creation of the inaugural RGV Creator of the Year Award, which it describes as the first award dedicated exclusively to a creator rooted in South Texas.

Nominations opened Aug. 27 and will continue through Sept. 21. Any creator based in the Rio Grande Valley is eligible, and there is no minimum follower requirement, opening the competition to creators regardless of the size of their online audience.

“The RGV has always had world-class creators. They just haven’t always had a stage. This award changes that,” Yaw Sam, co-founder of Social Fest Experience, said in a news release Thursday. “We’re not bringing an award to the Rio Grande Valley, we’re building one from it.”

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