It’s Fiesta season in San Antonio, and more than 2.5 million people are expected to make their way to events across San Antonio over the next 11 days.
Thursday’s Fiesta Fiesta, long Fiesta’s kickoff celebration, will be held at Travis Park this year, to avoid the street closures and traffic woes around Hemisfair, the event’s most recent location.
Construction on downtown San Antonio streets, which has been frustrating locals for months, is about to confound a wave of Fiesta tourists and visitors commuting to the area where the biggest Fiesta events will take place.
That includes Fiesta De Los Reyes at Market Square, the Rey Feo Public Crowning at Main Plaza, plus the three major parades, the Battle of Flowers, the Texas Cavaliers River Parade and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade.
The Fiesta Commission has worked closely with the City of San Antonio to shift events around due to the construction underway downtown, said Steve Rosenauer, executive director of the Fiesta Commission.
“I definitely encourage anybody to take rideshare and to take VIA Park & Ride if they’re going to Fiesta events, or make a little bit extra time on your plan to get downtown,” he said.
Inside the Fiesta Commission office on Broadway, it’s clear Fiesta is here. Boxes of decorations lay piled on the tables and floors across the office. Posters of prior Fiesta years, going back to 1977, hang on the walls.
The city’s Public Works Department confirmed that heavy traffic is expected as a result of the construction and the number of people expected to flood downtown, especially in areas with street closures.
Several streets around Travis Park, including Navarro, Pecan and Jefferson streets, closed Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. for Fiesta Fiesta. Streets will reopen Friday at 6 a.m.
The city is strongly encouraging Fiesta attendees “take alternative modes of transportation, such as VIA Park & Ride from Crossroads, walking or riding a bike,” said April Luna, spokesperson for the city’s public works department.
To get to all Fiesta events, VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Park & Ride will be available from multiple locations for many events, including the Fiesta parades, A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) and the King William Fair. Fares to and from other Fiesta events start at $1.30.
Fiesta attendance is expected to exceed last year’s festivities, Rosenauer said, which were held earlier in the month than usual. He said the commission projects more than 2.5 million people will attend Fiesta events this year.
Rosenauer said Travis Park was the perfect place to relocate Fiesta Fiesta, which is hosted by the Fiesta Commission, because it meant the event could stay downtown and the park is well known to the public.
Fiesta Fiesta is free and pet-friendly. The celebration starts at 4 p.m. Nonprofits will be selling their official Fiesta medals to raise funds for their organizations.
In addition to food and merchandise vendors, there will be performances by the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the U.S. Army Drill Team. The opening ceremony will feature Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Fiesta royalty. The event also includes a People’s Parade, where Fiesta royalty, Grand Marshal Michael Quintanilla and fife and drum corps will march and interact with attendees.
Fiesta Fiesta started in front of the Alamo years ago, when elected officials and others first began cutting their ties in half to symbolize the start of the days-long party. Guyaberas, medal sashes and towering hats replace suits for the remainder of festivities.
In 2017, Fiesta Fiesta moved to Hemisfair. Rosenauer said next year, it will return to Hemisfair, to the still-under-construction Civic Park.
This year’s Fiesta theme is “Fiesta Family Spirit.” The official 2023 Fiesta medal design includes a doorway, showing that San Antonio welcomes everyone to the citywide celebration.
