Friends will be flying into San Antonio this weekend from New York and Chicago, where Saturday night temperatures, alas, will be in the low 20s. Even as April approaches, an especially testing winter is letting go oh so slowly up north. Locally, however, we are looking at clear skies and warm temps – classic South Texas spring weather – as the wildflowers spread their colors, the trees green, and tens of thousands head to Southtown Sunday morning for the YMCA’s Síclovía.
The eighth edition of the popular street fiesta starts at South Alamo and South St. Mary’s streets at 11 a.m and ends at Mission Concepción. Vehicles will vanish from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., giving way to bikes, trikes, skateboards, walkers, people with leashed pets, and the occasional homemade, self-propelled contraption. The Reclovía, or sideshows along the 2.5-mile route, will include H-E-B’s healthy cooking demos at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and wellness events at Roosevelt Park, where Mayor Ivy Taylor and longtime San Antonio Spur Bruce Bowen will kick off the day. There are basketball courts at the community park, so who knows? Somebody bring a ball and let’s test Bowen’s legendary defensive skills.
Humana will be based at Mission Concepción and will host some fitness activities and offer some free health screening. Along the way, on Steves Avenue, Bike World will be set up with 45 new model road, hybrid and mountain bikes of all sizes for adults and children to try out. Take the Síclovía “Safety Pledge” and you’ll be entered in a contest to win X-Caliber 6 Trek Bike that Bike World has donated for the event.
It’s great weekend to stay out of your vehicle and off the expressways. Think we’re kidding? It’s actually National Work Zone Awareness Week for the transportation industry and lane closures will occur on I-10, I-35, and U.S. 281. Click here for times and locations.
“Engrave It and Save It” Bike Registry
The San Antonio police want to help you protect your bike from thieves. “Engrave It and Save It” takes place Saturday from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at the SAPD Central Substation at 515 S. Frio St. Police will offer complimentary engraving of serial number or other identifying numbers of the owner’s choice. That won’t stop thieves, but it will expedite the return of recovered bikes and also help resolve any ownership disputes if your bike is stolen and you later spot it. The engravings are not advised for carbon fiber frames, but a number can be engraved on a metal pedal arm or other part.
Performances at the Tobin and Beyond
The weekend for me starts Friday evening at the Tobin Center for Performing Arts where Ballet San Antonio will get ambitious and perform Balanchine for the first time ever. Tickets to all weekend shows are still available. If contemporary dance in not your thing, Blue Man Group is at the Majestic Theater. Everyone should see Blue Man Group once in life, maybe twice. Be forewarned: If you’re in the audience, you’re in the show. The only thing I know about contemporary rock music acts comes from our two sons, but The Devil Wears Prada will headline at the Aztec Theater.
Free Bus Rides Around Downtown
If you are downtown this weekend, try out VIA Metropolitan Transit’s all-new The E, the free entertainment bus that will run Tuesday-Saturday 6 p.m-midnight. Service begins Saturday at 6 p.m. Just look for The E on Via bus stop signs, and expect service every 10 minutes. Read this Rivard Report story for more, including a route map.
Run, Walk, March for a Cause
If you want to start the weekend on the right foot, show up at Alamo Stadium for the Saturday, 8:30 a.m. SAISD Foundation’s Run4Education, which has become one of the city’s best annual runs. The course will take 2,000-plus runners through Brackenridge Park and the San Antonio Zoo. Get to the stadium between 7-8:15 a.m. if you still need to register.
If walking is more to your liking, make your way to the MDA Muscle Walk at the At&T Center that starts Saturday, 8 a.m. The annual walk is a major fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of San Antonio.
If you’d rather march for a cause than run or walk a 5K, make your way to the Westside and Guadalupe and South Brazos streets for the 19th annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice, with the program starting at 9 a.m. and the march to the Alamo starting at 10 a.m.
Save the Carrots at the San Antonio Food Bank
The San Antonio Food Bank farm is in need of volunteers on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, if you’re looking to get your hands dirty. In the field today, there are 33 rows of carrots ready to harvest but not enough workers to harvest and wash them. That represents thousands of pounds and dollars of useful crops for the Food Bank. The weather has been great and the crop is enormous, but without help, most of the carrots will go to waste. So, the Food Bank has requested a harvest blitz – all the volunteers they can get. Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, volunteers can feel the sun on their faces and the soil on their fingers – one of the surest ways to shed some stress and truly escape from the office. Registration is required beforehand at safoodbank.org or by calling 210-431-8388.
Last Weekend for downtown Children’s Museum
For families with kids, this weekend is your last chance to visit the San Antonio Children’s Museum at its downtown location at 305 E. Houston St. The museum closes for good at 5 p.m. on Sunday and will reopen as The DoSeum at 2800 Broadway across from Brackenridge Park on June 6. The transformation from old to new will be like the The Wizard of Oz when the classic film goes from black and white in Kansas to full color in the Land of Oz.
Labor Street Park Ribbon Cutting
Labor Street Park, located in the historic Lavaca neighborhood, will host an official opening ceremony after a winter of renovations made possible by a $200,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Company to the National Recreation and Park Association. Councilmember Roberto Treviño (D1) will join City staff and Coca-Cola leadership for the ceremony and a variety of recreational activities – including a kickball game, tricycle races, hula hoops, and RoTenGo. Until recently, the park had been a place to find drugs, alcohol, or stray dogs. Nearby low-income housing projects have been replaced with mixed income projects and have contributed to this park’s revitalization, which has become a Millennial favorite for organized kickball league games.
Pearl Farmer’s Market
Finally, you have to eat…healthy. The Pearl Farmers Market has expanded from Saturday to Sunday, too, and has become the city’s best de facto dog show. And as we reported Friday, the Yard Farmers & Ranchers Market will be under new management and open Sunday.
Go Spurs Go! Go, Jimmy Walker, Go!
The San Antonio spurs host the Dallas Mavericks tonight at the AT&T Center. There are always tickets available if you want to go badly enough. The San Antonio Scorpions host the U23 Costa Rican National Team Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Toyota Field. Click here for tickets.
It’s also Valero Texas Open week at the JW Marriott TPC Resort‘s AT&T Oak Course. Guess who holds the second day lead? None other than Boerne’s Jimmy Walker, one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour in 2014 and 2015. You don’t have to be a hardcore golfer to enjoy walking the ropes and watching the world’s best play the game. Even for lifelong golfers, it is astonishing the first time you see the pros strike the ball up close and personal. We love the 19th century writer Samuel Clemens, a/k/a Mark Twain, but we disagree with his adage that “golf is a good walk spoiled.” Go see yourself.
Have a nice weekend, Rivard Report readers, and thanks for making March a record traffic month.
*Featured/top image: A free fitness class during Síclovía in March 2014. Photo by Page Graham.
Related Stories:
Save the Carrots: Volunteers Needed for Food Bank Harvest
A Safer Síclovía Headed Back to Southtown
Pearl Adding Sunday Farmers Market
Read This Before Thieves Steal Your Bike
