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A shiny gold, red and black accordion sat on the table at the fan booth of Dallas-based Conjunto Prestigio, the four-man band angling for exposure at the 2008 Tejano Music National Convention.

The instrument is inscribed with the name Joaquin Rivera, one of Prestigio's players. The young conjunto music group spent Sunday afternoon greeting fans, signing autographs and posing for photos at the Tejano fan fair inside the Hyatt Regency's Marsalis Hall.

Convention attendees trickled in – Saturday night's Tejano music dance stretched past 1 a.m. – but the Prestigio guys stayed motivated.

"Hopefully we can do it again," said Mr. Rivera, 26, about the band's participation in the fifth annual convention, held for the first time in Dallas after four years in Las Vegas. "We want the tradition of the music to keep on. We want to keep Tejano alive for the young people of the future."

REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor

Fan Maggie Salinas gets her photo taken on Sunday with Conjunto Prestigio band members Jaime Alvidriz (from left), Joaquin Rivera, Ricardo Rivera and John Lozano at the Tejano Music National Convention.

Mr. Rivera performed Saturday afternoon with his musical mates Jaime Alvidriz, 23, Ricardo Rivera, 21, and John Lozano, 24. Sunday afternoon, however, the fan fair featured Dallas-based Joe B and the Baron Band onstage. A few artists manned booths, such as Grammy winner Chente Barrera, Javier Galvan of Fama, Jorge Moreno and Tejano Sound Band.

But there were plenty of empty booths with lonely placards that read Grupo Vida, Garcia Brothers, Michael Salgado, Flaco Jimenez, Sunny Sauceda, Shelly Lares and the True King Band. During the fan fair's first couple of hours, they were no-shows.

The final day of a convention usually has sparse traffic. Folks are busy trying to get home. David Chavez, executive producer of the three-day event, remained pleased with the turnout. He said between 4,400 and 5,000 people attended. Because people could buy a single-day ticket, a three-day pass or slip in and out free at the fan fair and expo, it's difficult to get an accurate count, he said.

"I'm very happy that it was in Dallas," he said. "The Tejano experience, the local experience, the local groups there were here ... we couldn't do any of that in Las Vegas. It was too expensive."

Mr. Chavez is proud of the concert performances, two long nights that featured a slew of big-name acts. "They were second to none," he said. "They rose to the occasion."

The Tejano Music National Convention returns to Dallas in 2009. So the success of the 2008 version was crucial.

"It was the fifth anniversary," Mr. Chavez said. "We had to impress the market. We had to be more than just going to any local festival or club. Everyone made fun of me for booking every artist in Texas. But we had to make a statement."