When the sun finally appeared on Wednesday after days of rain, Adriana Quinones got busy.
The president and CEO of Arboretum San Antonio was out spreading mulch at the site of the future tree park in preparation for its very first Fiesta event, ¡Viva El Bosque!
Planned for Sunday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the free and family-friendly event will be held at 4226 S.E. Military Dr. on the grounds of the arboretum.
While the place for trees itself won’t be complete and open to the public until 2029, Quinones wanted the place to put its best foot forward for the fiesta-themed fundraiser.
“Welcome to a small organization where a job title is just a job title,” she said of her hand-on landscaping work. “Whatever it takes to get things done, we’re going to do it. And if that means I’m out here spreading mulch today, then that’s what I’m doing.”
Besides, beautifying the wooded area and former golf course for ¡Viva El Bosque! would take only a little mulch and a few plants, she said. “It’ll be beautiful,” she said.
The event will feature park tours, food trucks and music. Activities include birding, crafts and immersive nature experiences for all ages.
A group of indigenous people will give a presentation on how Native Americans used the forest throughout history.
Artist Mark Menjivar will teach festival-goers about birds and artist Jose Sotelo will demonstrate screen printing using natural materials. A pruning principles class with a certified arborist is also on the lineup and a free tree giveaway is planned.
The group Latino Outdoors is hosting the Bajo los Arboles 5K. The run is sold out online.
Arboretum San Antonio’s project founder is Henry Cisneros, a former San Antonio mayor and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who has visited many of the 41 arboretums in 50 cities across the country.
Plans for the $50 million Arboretum San Antonio were revealed nearly a year ago. Since then, Quinones and the board have created a strategic plan, operations plan and business plan.
They hired two staffers — Logan Bartlett, chief development officer, and Juan Lopez, director of operations and facilities — who with Quinones and Operations Manager Marline Diaz, are moving the project forward, she said.
“The four of us together have been doing all this work, and are really a group of people who are passionate and love the project, and really want to work hard to make it happen,” Quinones said.
Hiring for another position, programs director, is next. Even before the arboretum opens, during what they call Phase Zero, it will be activated with programming, she added.
A recent donation from H-E-B of $1 million for the project and another challenge grant of $500,000 from the First Day Foundation is making a big difference toward achieving an overall goal of $40 million for the arboretum.
In February 2025, Quinones spent her first day on the job explaining to City Council why the arboretum should be included in the next bond program — at $25 million.
“You could hear a collective gasp,” Quinones said. “It sounds so big but it’s not an unreasonable number considering the scope and the impact it will make on the city and state.”
Admission to the arboretum will be free.
Bexar County has committed $7.3 million in funding for the arboretum and the City of San Antonio has so far contributed $400,000 for a tree nursery.
¡Viva El Bosque! is a back-to-nature event, but Quinones said she welcomes all the Fiesta traditions to the arboretum. “They can crack cascarones if they want!”
