Fiesta San Antonio facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fiesta San Antonio |
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Event at Fiesta 2009
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| Genre | Festival |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Location(s) | Greater San Antonio, Texas |
| Years active | 1891 - present |
| Most recent | April 18, 2024 - April 28, 2024 |
| Next event | April 24, 2025 - May 5, 2025 |
| Attendance | 2.51 million |
Fiesta San Antonio, often just called Fiesta, is a huge yearly festival in San Antonio, Texas. It happens every April and is the city's most famous event. Some parts of Fiesta also take place in nearby towns like Boerne and Alamo Heights.
This festival is also known as the Battle of Flowers. It remembers two important battles from April 1836: the Battle of the Alamo (which happened in San Antonio) and the Battle of San Jacinto. These battles helped Texas become independent from Mexico.
Fiesta is San Antonio's biggest party! Over three million people join in, and it has a big economic impact of $340 million for the city. There are more than 100 different events happening all over the city and beyond.
How Fiesta San Antonio Started
The Fiesta festival began way back in 1891. Local women decorated their carriages, baby buggies, and even bicycles with fresh flowers. They then threw flowers at each other, which gave the event its fun name: "Battle of Flowers."
Soon, more activities were added to the flower parade. These included fancy balls, parties, and a carnival. Over the years, the celebration's name changed a few times. It went from Carnival to Spring Carnival, then to Fiesta San Jacinto, and finally, in 1960, it became Fiesta San Antonio.
Early Fiesta Royalty
In 1895, the Battle of Flowers Parade Association started choosing a "Carnival Queen." Later, in 1909, a local businessman named John Carrington created The Order of the Alamo. This group's goal was to crown a queen, a princess, and 24 duchesses. Twelve duchesses were from San Antonio, and twelve were from other towns.
These coronations of local "royalty," along with the carnival and other activities, were the early versions of today's Fiesta. In 2016, Fiesta celebrated its 125th birthday with many special events.
Exciting Events at Fiesta
Today, more than 100 local non-profit groups help put on Fiesta. These groups are part of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. They organize over 100 events during 17 days, with the help of about 75,000 volunteers!
Parades and Floating Fun
Fiesta has three main parades. Two of them travel along Broadway and past the famous Alamo. The third is a unique boat parade on the San Antonio River Walk. Here, the "floats" are actually boats that float on the water!
Food, Music, and Culture
You can find delicious Louisiana cuisine at "A Taste of New Orleans" in Brackenridge Park. There are also oysters and other tasty foods at St. Mary's University's Fiesta Oyster Bake.
Fiesta also features many music and cultural events. There are six stages with live performances that last for two days.
A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) is a popular four-evening block party. It takes place in La Villita downtown.
Fiesta in Blue is another yearly event. It features the USAF Band of the West. They put on two evenings of concerts in downtown San Antonio, playing classical, jazz, rock, and popular music.
You can hear all kinds of music at Fiesta, including Tejano, jazz, mariachi, rock, big band, classical, and pop.
History and Sports
History events are held at the Pilgrimage to the Alamo or This Hallowed Ground. Sporting events include races, soccer, rugby, and lacrosse.
Cornyation: A Funny Show
Cornyation is a funny musical and comedy show for adults. It was first performed in 1951 by director Joe Salek. He got the idea after seeing the serious coronation of the Order of the Alamo's Queen in 1950. Cornyation makes fun of these formal Fiesta coronations. After a few years off, it came back in 1982.
Visitors and locals can collect souvenir pins and medals. These often come from different important people, groups, and even Fiesta royalty.
The Big Parades: Battle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau
The Battle of Flowers Parade is the oldest Fiesta event. It is completely organized by women volunteers. This parade draws huge crowds, with over 350,000 people watching on the second Friday of Fiesta. It's the only major parade in the U.S. that is planned and run entirely by women volunteers.
On parade day, these women wear yellow clothes and hats. They direct everything with help from the Army National Guard. Many school districts in San Antonio even have a holiday on the day of the Battle of Flowers, so students don't have classes.
The Fiesta Flambeau Parade starts at sunset on the second Saturday of the festival. This parade began in 1948. It's lit up by thousands of lights on the dancers, band instruments, horses, cars, and floats. In 2011, an estimated 600,000 people watched the Fiesta Flambeau Parade.
Who Organizes Fiesta?
The entire Fiesta festival is overseen by one non-profit group called the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. Other organizations that want to be part of Fiesta must meet the commission's rules to get approval.
The commission is run by a board of community leaders. All of them are volunteers. The board also includes representatives from the non-profit groups that participate in Fiesta. This group works all year long to plan and coordinate all the details for this huge citywide event.
The commission also helps connect its non-profit members with local military activities and the City of San Antonio. City services are very important for Fiesta to happen smoothly.
The Fiesta San Antonio Commission does not get money from the government. Its income comes from partnerships with companies, sales at the Fiesta Store, membership fees, and money from the Fiesta Carnival.
Images for kids
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Carnival Flags—The Battle of Flowers, San Antonio (postcard, circa 1907–1911)
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On the way to the Battle of Flowers (postcard, circa 1907–1911)
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Popular float in the Battle of Flowers, San Antonio, Texas (postcard, circa 1907–1911)
