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Fiesta Neighborhood Itinerary
Fiesta is San Antonio at its best, brimming with color, music and passion as people everywhere celebrate in the year’s biggest party. The Battle of Flowers Parade draws hundreds of thousands of celebrants to downtown streets. The Texas Cavaliers River Parade packs in crowds along the rio’s banks. Thousands throng La Villita Historic Arts Village for food and fun during the four-night run of A Night in Old San Antonio.
But the action is by no means confined to marquee events or even San Antonio’s historic heart. Fiesta lights up the entire city — and provides a perfect platform for getting to know us from edge to edge and top to bottom. These neighborhood events are some of Fiesta's most popular. Here are a few suggestions to inspire an itinerary.
Consult Fiesta's Official Schedule of Events for event details >
King William / Southtown
The city’s residential neighborhoods flicker to life during Fiesta, and the King William Fair and Parade is the grassroots granddaddy of celebrations. Victorian mansions serve as the backdrop for food and arts booths, and intimate peeks into the historic ‘hood can be had by taking Miss Margaret’s Victorian House Tour or by letting out one’s inner oompah at the German-themed Fiesta Gartenfest.
Alamo Heights / North Central
For a “howling good time” in one of the city’s most agreeable enclaves, consider catching the Canine Costume Contest and Fiesta Pooch Parade, a leisurely three-mile tour through Alamo Heights in which kids in decorated wagons share the spotlight with dogs dressed to the nines. Walkers of a (marginally) more disciplined bent can get a rare look at military life by participating in the Caminada de Fiesta, a European-style volksmarch through historic Fort Sam Houston. A lot of walking stimulates all the appetites, and a great way to satisfy hunger while soaking in festivities is to go to Taste of New Orleans in historic Brackenridge Park’s Sunken Gardens Theater. Here, the Crescent City’s food culture comes to life.
Missions / South Side
Serious walkers and runners can combine exercise and exploration by participating in the Fiesta Mission 10K and Kids’ Runs along the banks of the San Antonio River south of town. This should whet the appetite for a return the next day to the neighborhood for a mariachi mass, at the San Jose Mission Fest on the grounds of the venerable compound, and for activities at A Day in Old Mexico and Charreada, which celebrate the art of authentic, old-world rodeos.
St. Mary’s University / West Side
The city’s colleges and universities, neighborhoods in their own right, also offer events that showcase their settings. Among them is the traditional Fiesta Oyster Bake at St.Mary’s University, one of Fiesta’s highlights with much more than mollusks to offer. (Note: UTSA, Trinity University, and University of the Incarnate Word serve as centers for Fiesta activities as well.) At the gateway to San Antonio’s traditionally Hispanic West Side, Cattleman’s Square hosts several nights of music and more at Tejano Explosion — yes, it’s just what it sounds like. For a more laid back atmosphere, celebrate Earth Day at another West Side landmark, Woodlawn Lake, where vegetarian food booths will complement seminars and demonstrations focusing on the health of both participants and the planet.
Carver Cultural Center / East Side
At the city’s historically black- and Hispanic-serving St. Philip’s College, the Culture Fest and Rib Cookoff will unite aspects of both cultures: robust ribs and heartfelt gospel and Tejano rhythms. A gospel encore is also possible at the Carver Cultural Center, the heart of the city’s African-American community. Here, dance groups from churches all over the city convene for the annual Praise Dance Celebration. It’s the last hallelujah and the culmination of the many activities that add up to days and nights of fun in a city as diverse as the many faces of Fiesta.
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