The San Antonio Public Library will host the first of five San Antonio Heritage Workshops on Saturday, Jan. 23, as an opportunity for the community to meet and plan for the City’s Tricentennial celebration in 2018.
The San Antonio Living History Association, Colectiva Arts & Culture, and the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures are partnering to host the four coming heritage workshops for local artists, historians and cultural groups taking place from May through August.
The workshop is free to the public, and takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Central Library Auditorium, 600 Soledad St.
Tricentennial Celebration Commission member Asia Ciaravino said the commission is excited to see the community come together to share the city’s history.
“We look forward to the opportunity to talk about all of these great opportunities that are bubbling up in reference to the Tricentennial celebrations,” she said. “We’re really excited that the community is coming forward to do something creative like this.”
The first workshop will introduce and connect participants, and the following events will prepare people for events at downtown historical sites in 2018.
“The main idea is for people to talk with their organizations, or if they’re artists to develop some projects that they’d like to see in the Tricentennial Celebration,” said Bob Benavides, chairman of the Living History Association. “We want to invite people to start thinking about it and start preparing and getting basic tools for developing their own programs to share with everyone in the Tricentennial.”
The Saturday workshop will also feature a tour of the library’s collection of historical research by members of the Texana/Genealogy department.
The Institute of Texan Cultures will lead the second workshop, and help participants develop effective techniques for presenting cultural history to visitors, as well as interpreting historical artifacts. The following Colectiva workshop will focus on fundamental acting techniques for participants wishing to act in living history reenactments. The Living History Association will help present the final two workshops, which create historically accurate clothing and personas for living history interpretations during the Tricentennial.
Unlike the initial workshop this Saturday, the coming four will be held at the Institute of Texan Cultures Auditorium, with dates to be announced in the near future.
Benavides said the Living History Association is excited to work with Colectiva and the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures on this endeavor, since it’s working to celebrate the city’s deep-rooted history and culture.
“We’re one of the most diverse cities in the country, both historically and culturally,” he said. “So, by having all of these organizations and citizens of this community come together with the City who is sponsoring this, we can share our heritage with the world.”
The San Antonio Tricentennial Celebration Commission was created by Mayor Ivy Taylor in April 2015, and has since partnered with Bexar County to continue planning commemorative events for the city’s 300th anniversary.
For more workshop information, call 210-273-1730 or email salivinghistoryevents@gmail.com.
*Top image: The Alamo. Photo by Scott Ball.
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