125th Fiesta
Puro San Antonio
If you read my Easter Cheers, Easter Beers post, you understand how much this time of year means to me. The Easter/Fiesta season in San Antonio is never short in laughter and colorful visions, boisterous individuals lining the streets and communities, ready for endless booths of foods on a stick, drinks, souvenirs, "show me your shoes" shouts and cries as a plethora of embellished floats ride down the blocked off streets. Yes, Fiesta is no joke in this culture-filled city. It is a celebration of epic proportions! Whether you are a medal maniac or head wear designer, a chicken on the stick gal or a turkey leg savage, whether you are a soft pretzel for dessert or a funnel cake with all the toppings you can get, Fiesta has got you covered! With the looming uncertainty that this could be "my last" Fiesta (at least for a year), I wanted to take part in ALL that I could. Not only was attending events at the top of my Fiesta endorsed list, collecting medals, as many as I could, became top priority! Fiesta medals are coveted badges of honor, showcasing your support for a specific cause, restaurant, retail company, local business or Fiesta event. What is the point you ask? Simple, they are so pretty! Yes, quite materialistic, however, all the proceeds made from Fiesta medals go to great causes, charities and growth of non-profits and organizations. How can you say no to that? Well, I definitely could not find the word 'no' in my vocabulary this year when it came to Fiesta medals. My family was bordering an intervention for me. Ending the year with 75 Fiesta medals (which, honestly, does not compare to the hundreds some individuals have!), I was able to attend 6 wonderfully delightful events.
The first of the events was Oyster Bake! Always a fun event, sprawling across St. Mary's University campus, with designated areas for every genre of music and a carnival for all those thrill enthusiast. Kicking off Fiesta with two of the best, Beverly & Shelby came along. We hit up everything, eating Chicken on a Stick, grabbing a Turkey Leg, topping it all off with Mini Funnel ("Carnival") Cakes, Beverly took a Oyster Shot, and even with all the drinks we had, by the end of the night, we still had tickets left. So what does one do with leftover tickets? Well, stop by the cupcake truck on the way out, of course! The next I had the most scrumptious carrot cake cupcake in the world!! We rode a couple of rides and listened to some great tunes while walking around the campus a good two times at least. Later, the second event crept upon us, thankfully not washed out by impending rain. Along with Shelby & Sely, I attended the Taste of New Orleans, an event that has grown to be one of my favorites!! The music alone is every reason to attend. With a mix of jazz, hip-hop and soul music, my ears were in music heaven. Coming in a close second to the music is the food. A must is the Alligator on a Stick delicacy. "Taste like chicken", it is delicious and we were given a great amount, but that was only the first course. Our second course, we decided to split up and try different things. I vouched for the Brisket Sandwich and you will find no regrets from me! Perfectly barbecued, with grilled onions and a magnificent barbecue sauce, the sandwich was the ideal follow up after my Alligator on a Stick. Finally, rounding off the night with dessert, Shelby treated us all to Beignets. Needless to say, after the first weekend of Fiesta, I was stuffed to the brim off so much savory food.
Next up on my Fiesta adventure was the Cornyation, which took place at the beautiful Empire Theatre in downtown San Antonio. "An official Fiesta San Antonio event, Cornyation is one of the most popular events of Fiesta Week. Cornyation can be traced back to as early as 1951. Since becoming a non-profit organization, Cornyation has donated almost $2M to local charities. Fiesta Cornyation is a permanently committed non-profit charitable organization with the purpose of enriching the lives of people in San Antonio with HIV or affected by HIV." Creating parodies that reflect upon local and national current events, pop culture and icons of our time, Cornyation delivers an endless amounts of tear inducing laughter. With vibrant and clever costume designs, dazzling musical compositions and comically driven dialogue and introductions, Cornyation was a top-notch performance spent with my lovely mother, Cindy and grandmother, Stella. The first two photographs are of my grandmother and I making new friends. A group of festively dressed men stood in front of us in line and we were mesmerized by their hats. Handmade and taking about 2 weeks to complete, they were embellished with leis, pinwheels, flags, beads and paper flowers. The picture to the right in the above gallery, was taken during The Lady of La Listeria performance, roasting the devastating Blue Bell recall that struck San Antonio.
The following evening, I was privileged to get the chance to hang with my cherished friends, Ashley and Kevin. We ventured to NIOSA (A Night In Old San Antonio). "The San Antonio Conservation Society brings the city's culture alive with a festival of food, drink and music. NIOSA, one of the anchor Fiesta events in April, draws thousands of locals and tourists to the historic downtown La Villita area every year." Another night filled with stuffing our faces with awesome food and drinks, a night well spent. We listened to some great music performed by the Groove Doctors at La Villita's Arneson Theatre. While walking out of the event, my eye was drawn to a building that had lights illuminating certain windows. It looked quite magical and it was not until I reviewed by photographs that I noticed it spelled out GO SPURS. The night was a fantastic mid-point for my Fiesta adventures.
Rounding out my Fiesta was a combo day of King William Fair and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade (the night parade). I was accompanied by my lovely mother, Cindy and her friend Gina to walk to streets of King William, gazing at all the artists and merchant booths that lined the streets. As I am sure you can guess, of course, there was tons of food! A picture above is of me wearing my medals sash. This year, I was fortunate enough to collect 75 medals. It was heavy but I was so excited to show off my collection. We walked around the King William Fair for a couple of hours, finding some truly beautifully crafted pieces of art, jewelry and apparel. Sincerely, my favorite part of the King William Fair experience is simply viewing so many talented individuals' work. As our tummies began to grumble for food and knowing that we had a parade to get to later, we ventured out to find parking and then grub. Looking for something delicious to fill our bellies, we went to Alamo Ice House. Being my first time there, I was hugely satisfied by the cheeseburger I devoured. After relaxing and hogging as much air conditioning as we could, we began our march to find our seats for the parade. It was gorgeous! Marching bands with lights strung on their instruments, trimming their silhouettes in the night, decked out floats with vibrant colours of paper flowers and blaring music, horse drawn carriages with pooper scoopers following close behind, Dutchess, Princess, and Queen's floats displaying elegant and ornamental trains hiding bedazzled cowboy boots under hoop gowns and did I mention the lights! on every single bit of surface that you could find. They created a brilliant glow and glimmer that lit up the evening. I hadn't been to the night parade since I was much younger and it was the fantastically ideal way to end my Fiesta in San Antonio this year.
I truly hope you enjoyed my stories and photographs from this year's Fiesta in San Antonio! Please feel free to check out more photographs by browsing the site's Galleries. Thank you for taking the time and checking in on the WIRE. Remember to send any comments through the Contact on the site. Have a wonderful weekend!
