Fiesta is everywhere, houses adorned with paper-flower wreaths, multicolored yard garlands, the sound of fireworks at night. It's a beautiful time to visit San Antonio.
Fiesta includes elaborate parades, an oyster bake, band concerts, an arts and crafts fair, NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio), and hoards of beer and margarita drinkers at night events. The finale happened today in my neighborhood--the Pooch Parade--an event that draws hundreds of dogs and their people.
People come from all over for the Pooch Parade. Vendors sell Fiesta medals, dog treats, and other dog-related fare. Adoptable dogs find new homes. Proceeds from the parade help dog shelters and service animals. It's a good thing.
For the first time I sat it out--literally. I knew it was going to be a Foot Day, so I stayed in my car at McDonald's parking lot and talked to my brother Bob for an hour. When the foot pain abated, we went to a thrift shop to drop off a few donations.
Whether it's a Foot Day or not, a short walk around the block first thing is non-negotiable. On that early walk, cars and vans were parked everywhere, and we did get one visit with a woman and her standard poodle, both dressed in pink:
A man pulled up beside us and asked, 'Is this your one-dog parade?" A woman in a white van called out, "I love your puppy!"
Fiesta is a defining trademark of our city. But it stretches out into smaller festivals in every little town around here, too. It's party time always somewhere.
I think of Robert Earl Keene's rendition of: "The road goes on forever and the party never ends."
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