The Farrah Fawcett Foundation is bringing its Tex-Mex Fiesta back to Dallas on September 24, with actress Marcia Cross set to receive the foundation's Angel Award for her work as an anal cancer survivor and advocate. The evening at The Rustic will include a Tex-Mex dinner, margaritas, a mariachi band, an awards presentation, and a closing performance from country duo Big & Rich.
According to CultureMap Dallas, the event will raise funds for both Stand Up To Cancer and the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge in Dallas. The gathering takes place at The Rustic, located at 3656 Howell St. in Dallas, and organizers note that plans could shift due to weather or other concerns, advising attendees to confirm with the venue before heading out.
This year's Dallas edition is chaired by Stanley Korshak executive Chuck Steelman, with co-chairs Alana Stewart, Jaclyn Smith, and Donna Mills rounding out the local leadership committee, according to PaperCity Magazine. The foundation held its Dallas Tex-Mex Fiesta at the same venue last October 30, with Stewart joined then by supporters including Mills, Morgan Fairchild, and Smith, per the Curated Texan.
A Foundation Rooted in Personal Loss
The Farrah Fawcett Foundation traces back to the actress's own diagnosis of anal cancer in 2006, according to Forbes. Fawcett established the nonprofit in 2007, and it officially launched following her death on June 25, 2009, with a mission to support cutting-edge cancer research and patient assistance. The Tex-Mex Fiesta itself began in Los Angeles in 2015 as a biennial fundraiser and has since raised over $1.5 million for HPV cancer research through the foundation's partnership with Stand Up To Cancer, as noted by insidewink.
This year's honoree, Marcia Cross, was diagnosed with stage II anal cancer during a routine gynecological exam in November 2017. Since then, the actress has become an international health advocate working to dismantle the social stigma surrounding HPV-related cancers, according to Coping Magazine. She'll accept the foundation's Angel Award at the Dallas event.
Why HPV Awareness Remains a Public Health Priority
The stakes behind the fundraiser are laid out in federal health data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that HPV causes roughly 39,300 cancer cases annually in the United States across six anatomical sites, including about 90 percent of all anal cancers. The CDC also notes that widespread use of the 9-valent HPV vaccine could prevent up to 36,400 of those cases each year.
The American Cancer Society projects approximately 11,270 new anal cancer diagnoses and 1,700 deaths nationwide for 2026, with incidence rates continuing to climb over recent decades and affecting women nearly twice as often as men. The Farrah Fawcett Foundation has pointed to a related shift in the data, noting that HPV-linked throat cancer in men has now surpassed cervical cancer diagnoses in women, a trend that has pushed the foundation to expand its Stand Up To Cancer research collaborations to include head and neck cancers.
Local Support for Patients Far From Home
Part of the Dallas fundraiser's proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society's Gene and Jerry Jones Family Hope Lodge, which opened in 2021 next to the Baylor University Medical Center campus. The 40,000-square-foot facility offers free lodging to adult cancer patients and their caregivers who travel more than 40 miles for outpatient treatment, according to Baylor Scott & White Health.
Attendees are encouraged to confirm the Tex-Mex Fiesta is proceeding as scheduled before the September 24 date, given the standard weather-related caveats organizers have issued. For a night blending Hollywood star power with a distinctly Dallas cause, the mix of margaritas, mariachi music, and a headlining set from Big & Rich caps off an evening built around a cause that reaches far beyond the dance floor.
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