Fiesta is an important time of the year for me. So what did I do this year? Let me give you the low-down:
Monticello Park Fiesta Home Tour
Monticello Park is a historic neighborhood full of beautiful historic homes. Each year, the neighborhood association gets 6 homeowners to open their home for a full day so people can walk through and appreciate the homes. My home was on the tour this year! We are actually also putting it up for sale. Take a look at inside410.com, it is the red and yellow brick house. Our house was built in 1927 and it has all wood floors, working fire place and original crown molding and tile.
So we had about 400-500 people walk through our home. What a day! It was the perfect way to start off the Fiesta Week. It was beautiful outside and everyone coming through were true Fiesta goers.
Texas Cavaliers River Parade
The River Parade is run by the Texas Cavaliers. It is held on Monday evening at the beginning of the Fiesta period. The parade features river barges all decked out running down the beautiful River Walk. My fiance works at the Weston Center in downtown San Antonio located right on the River, where the parade comes through. So each year, the Weston Center throws an amazing Fiesta party for all the tenants right before and during the River parade. They have catering by Fresh Horizons, who always do an amazing job with food and decor, very creative! They have an open bar and 2 bands. It is truly an amazing Fiesta party and you can walk a few feet to sit directly on the River and watch the parade. We had a good time!
NIOSA-Wednesday Night
NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) starts on Tuesday but we started on Wednesday
this year. NIOSA is a party held in La Villita in downtown San Antonio from Tuesday through Friday, 5pm-10:30pm. There are different areas that feature different foods and bands such as the Irish Pub, Clown Alley, Frontier Town, French Quarters, China Town…just to name a few. NIOSA gets extremely crowded so if you do not like crowds, it is not a place for you. If you can relax, have a few drinks, eat some good food and not have a care in the world (even if someone spills beer on you) you are will be fine at NIOSA.
NIOSA-Friday Night (My Birthday too!)
We went to NIOSA on Friday night, the last night of NIOSA. My birthday ends up in the middle of Fiesta Week every year, how convenient is that? Whenever someone asks me what I am doing for my birthday, I just say that the city of San Antonio is throwing me a party. Usually, the last night of NIOSA, I go crazy on the food. I eat everything! Just because I won’t be able to eat until the next year. My favorite are the fried mushrooms; they are huge, not too bready and have the perfect spice. Yum! I also like the Maria’s Tortilllas. They have these ladies making homemade tortillas and they put some cheese and salsa in that warm tortilla and the cheese melts nicely and… you get the idea. The meat on the stick is good too. So this year, I spent my birthday with my whole family. We all went to NIOSA together and I had such a good time!
King William Fair
The King William Neighborhood is a historic neighborhood located South of downtown San Antonio. They feature old Victorian homes, most of which are mansions. Absolutely gorgeous homes and great location too. So each year, there is a Fair that is held right in the middle of the King William area. This Fair is a good event to bring children as it is a good family affair. There is food and drinks but most importantly, there are vendors selling jewelry, art, clothing and other cool items. You are allowed to b
ring chairs and and ice chest. There is a big grassy area in the middle of the Fair where the gazebo is located and this is where we park our chairs and ice chests and kick back and listen to the band that is playing. King William is one of my favorite Fiesta Events. I ate so much but the most memorable was the Turkey Leg and the gordita that I spent an hour in line waiting for! It was well worth it. My dad spent an hour in line for a turkey leg for my little brother and definitely tore it up!
Fiesta Flambeau Parade
There is a Battle of Flowers Parade held on Friday during the day and the following
evening on Saturday, the Night Parade (Fiesta Flambeau) is held. Although my family attended the day parade, I only attended the night parade. It is the largest parade in the nation. This year, my uncle reserved a parking slot on Broadway, one of the main streets the parade comes through. He had a huge trailer parked with a platform built on top and canopy. All my little cousins were able to sit down and have a good view of the parade. It was a really cool set up. The parade was really cool and it opened up with the University of Texas band. Following was the Grand Marshall with a special float for Mario Lopez (aka AC Slater). Since it is at night, all the floats and bands coming through have really cool lights to brighten things up. It is a really neat sight!
So Fiesta was good this year. There are 100 events to attend and I only did a few (I do have to work!). I had a great time though. One thing I did notice is that there were NO RECYCLING BINS at any of the events. All the beer bottles, plastic cups, paper items were being thrown away as trash, I couldn’t believe it. I am definitely going to have to get involved with the Fiesta Commission and see how I can some how change that next year. It’s just so unfortunate to waste all those items.
So that is a wrap for 2007 and I will make sure to post in 2008.
