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San Antonio Shines During the Holidays
The holiday season traditionally kicks off the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s no different in San Antonio, where the River Walk—normally lit by those big Texas stars—bursts into its brightest display of the year, ushering in a month’s worth of festivities.
Enjoy the holiday lights with a stroll along the River Walk, a carriage ride, a trip on a river cruiser, or get a bird’s-eye perspective from high up with Alamo City Helicopter.
Ford Holiday River Parade & Lighting Ceremony
November 25, dusk, downtown River Walk
The winding San Antonio river becomes a glittering ribbon of light and color when the annual Ford Holiday River Parade & Lighting Ceremony officially heralds the beginning of holiday festivities. The switch is thrown, turning on 1.8 million LED lights along the downtown River Walk which continue to shine through Jan. 7. An hourlong parade follows with decorated, illuminated floats cruising along the River Walk in one of the country’s only nighttime river parades. Celebrities, bands and lavishly-costumed participants entertain the crowd viewing from reserved seats at the Arneson River Theatre.
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San Antonio River Authority's River of Lights, sponsored by CPSEnergy
December 3, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., River Walk Museum Reach, Pearl Amphitheater
Come early to enjoy the Pearl’s Tamale Festival as you make your way to the Pearl Amphitheater. Guests will enjoy music, story reading, caroling and more as the Museum Reach lights up with over 100 underwater lights, walkway posts wrapped in festive LED’s and water features glowing with changing colored fiber optics, sponsored by CPSEnergy. Come enjoy food, fun, and a visit from Santa! Hop on and off a free barge provided by the San Antonio River Foundation and head down the Museum Reach as the fun continues through the evening with music at San Antonio Museum of Art and festivities at VFW Post 76.
Alamo Plaza Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
November 25, dusk, Alamo Plaza
The switch is thrown on the lights encircling a huge Christmas tree in historic Alamo Plaza. Families love to snap photographs at the site, where the lights burn bright through New Year’s.
Ford Holiday Boat Caroling
November 25 to December 18, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., downtown River Walk
School, church, corporate and civic choral groups sing traditional holiday carols on barges that cruise the river. Bell choirs, folk groups and Latino ensembles add to the eclectic mix, and visitors from all over the world often join in from along the River Walk for a charming impromptu sing-along. If you're so inclined, rent a barge and throw your own party for up to 20 people.
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Ford Fiesta de Las Luminarias
December Weekends, dusk, downtown River Walk
One of San Antonio’s most beloved and centuries-old holiday traditions is to line walkways with luminarias – warmly-glowing candles set in sand-filled bags. They symbolically mark the “lighting of the way” for the Holy Family. The Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias along the River Walk uses more than 6,000 luminarias to create an unforgettable scene of peace and serenity along the river’s lush banks at dusk on weekends in December.
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Holiday Festivities at Market Square
December, Market Square
The pageantry and traditional celebration of the Christmas spirit pervade Market Square, the nation’s largest Mexican market, during December. At San Fernando Cathedral, the nation’s oldest cathedral sanctuary, parishioners re-enact Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in an event called La Gran Posada. Bring pets to be blessed, then shop for authentic finds such as indigenous Mexican pottery and jewelry at the mercado.
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Light the Way
November 19, dusk, University of the Incarnate Word
Several miles north of downtown, the sprawling, tree-studded campus of the University of the Incarnate Word glitters with a million twinkling lights during its annual Light the Way celebration. This San Antonio-style holiday tradition began more than 20 years ago as a way to unite the community in the spirit of the holiday season. Visitors can take a driving tour of campus; the lights stay on through the first week of the new year.
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Theme Park Holiday Celebrations
San Antonio’s renowned theme parks get in the holiday spirit with special events, too. Santa joins Shamu at SeaWorld San Antonio’s Holiday Celebration. Lights transform the park into an illuminated village, while Shamu dons Santa’s red cap and puts on a Christmas show with holiday music and lighting. It’s the most wonderful time of year at Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ Holiday in the Park, an annual extravaganza with light displays, holiday-themed shows, food and caroling.
New Year's Eve
December 31, Tower of the Americas
Ring in the New Year with San Antonio’s biggest New Year’s Eve party downtown when fireworks pop, flash, and sparkle at midnight from the 750-foot-tall Tower of the Americas at Celebrate San Antonio! Musical entertainment, 50 food and beverage booths, an HEB children’s area in La Villita, carnival games and more make a memorable start of another year of fun, San Antonio-style!
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Copyright (c) 2011 by City of San Antonio. Any party wishing to reproduce content displayed on this website must obtain the express written permission of the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. Phone: (800) 447-3372
