SAN ANTONIO (July 10, 2020) – Citing its No. 1 priority is the health and safety of Fiesta guests and volunteers, and in alignment with public health directives from the Governor, Bexar County, and City of San Antonio, the Fiesta San Antonio Commission announced it has suspended planning for a November 2020 Fiesta and will turn its efforts toward Fiesta 2021, April 15-25.
“We are very grateful for the City’s partnership and guidance since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we fully support our public health and elected officials’ decision to suspend Fiesta 2020,” said Baltazar Walter Serna, Jr. Fiesta San Antonio Commission President. “The health and safety of Fiesta guests and volunteers is the only priority in this decision. Since some 300 nonprofits and countless vendors depend on Fiesta for a big part of their annual income, and the economic impact is significant for our city that has already been hit hard, we owe it to the community to make the decision carefully, and with the City’s help, we did. Unfortunately, the pandemic creates an inability to perform the hundreds of contracts that make Fiesta happen.”
Fiesta San Antonio brings an economic impact of more than $340 million to the San Antonio economy, and it supports almost 3,500 full-time-equivalent jobs. Each Official Fiesta Event is organized by a different 501(c) nonprofit, and many depend on Fiesta revenue to serve the community year-round. Fiesta 2020 was originally scheduled for April 16-26, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was postponed to November 2020 in hopes that the number of local cases might subside sufficiently to enable a fall Fiesta with added health precautions.
“While we had hoped that postponing Fiesta 2020 from April to November would provide a safer environment, we recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is not likely to subside sufficiently to permit the thousands of Fiesta attendees to celebrate safely,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “Not only is Fiesta South Texas’s greatest charitable endeavor, as I’ve said many times, Fiesta IS San Antonio. My calendar is marked for April 15-25, 2021, when we will celebrate the 130th anniversary of the first Fiesta, and I know San Antonians will be ready to make Fiesta 2021 the best ever.”
Added Mr. Serna, “While each Official Fiesta Event is organized by a different 501(c) nonprofit, we are encouraging those organizations to honor the tickets sold for April 2020 in April 2021. Please give those nonprofits time to prepare to address ticket issues. We haven’t missed a Fiesta since World War II, so we have strong resolve to make Fiesta 2021 a great success.”
By Paige Wolf, Director of Communications
