With Night In Old San Antonio (NIOSA) out at La Villita, another annual Fiesta event is moving in and expanding to four days.
Centro San Antonio leaders announced Friday that Guayabera Fest will be hosted in the historic arts district and go from a one-day event to four days.
The event dates, April 20-23, coincide with the same days when NIOSA would have been held during Fiesta 2027 before it was paused by Conservation Society of San Antonio leaders in September.
“We’re incredibly excited to work alongside the City of San Antonio to bring Guayabera Fest to La Villita, creating new opportunities to celebrate Fiesta while investing in a place that means so much to our community,” said Trish DeBerry, president and CEO of Centro San Antonio.
Previously held in Peacock Alley, and later Travis Park, Guayabera Fest is a nod to the embroidered and pleated summer “wedding shirt,” and brought out local businesses, artisans and musicians to celebrate Fiesta.
In 2027, the event will feature live entertainment across three stages, local vendors, food and immersive cultural experiences within the historic village, Centro leaders announced. Guayabera Fest will open at 5 p.m. each day and continue until 10 p.m.
A portion of festival revenue will be dedicated to supporting the historic village, Centro leaders said, helping to preserve the historic and cultural space in downtown San Antonio.
A lease agreement between Centro and the City of San Antonio, which owns La Villita, is “in the works,” and lease details are not yet available, said a Centro spokesman. In late September, the city accepted the Conservation Society’s request to end its 10-year lease of the venue, with nine years remaining in the contract.
Last month, DeBerry said she was confident NIOSA would be back, maybe even reinvented.
“I hold out hope that we’ll have a reincarnation of something perhaps over at La Villita,” she said. “It may not be NIOSA, which we all love, but there could be something. We’ll see.”
Chief Downtown Officer Shanon Miller said La Villita is the perfect home for Guayabera Fest’s next chapter. “This expansion promises lasting support to one of our most iconic historic neighborhoods.”
Ticket prices will be announced in the coming months.
Centro is also moving its annual Holidays on Houston Street event to La Villita this year, one of several changes announced last week.
Despite the name, the holiday event featuring artisan and food and beverage vendors will be set up several blocks away in the historic arts district and be held over two weekends, Dec. 4-6 and Dec. 17-20.
