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    Jazz'salive

    4.3 (12 reviews)

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    Out enjoying another one of San Antonio's great events. San Antonio Jazz SA, great music, food trucks, you can easily social distance if you choose to. The weather couldn't be better...even the parking was bearable.

    Jazz Alive 2014!  Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's cold and sometimes, it rains. But the good music is always constant!
    Daniel C.

    In the city there are two bookends that mark the seasons of the city, Fiesta Week and Jazz'SAlive. You will eventually go to both at some point in your life, that is a given. And while at Fiesta Week you will overindulge on food and drink at Jazz'SAlive your ears and senses will be treated to musical bliss. Jazz'SAlive is a festival that takes place every year at Travis Park. It is free and open to the public. Some of jazz's biggest names perform here for example: Chuck Mangione, Sergio Mendes, Hiroshima, Spyro Gyra, The Yellow Jackets, and one year the late great Tito Puente played here, to name a few. On two stages in the park music shifts from a smaller stage to a larger one by sundown. The event itself is perfect to bring your kids and pets along. Patrons usually take folding chairs and blankets to mark their spot for the headlining acts. Vendors that sell food, drink and art are spread around the park. The festival specifies that outside food and drink are prohibited but you still see people bring gigantic Igloo coolers filled with snacks or Bud Lites. As long as you don't cause a commotion the park police will leave you be. It is certainly a great event, it brings some level of sophistication and musical integrity to our city. I must relay to you these suggestions: 1. The likelihood that you will pay for parking is great. Since the event is free just see it as a simple tradeoff. 2. Never go alone. Go with friends or a date. 3. The weather can change on the drop of a dime. Pack a bag with sunblock, umbrella and light sweater. It can be cool, sunny or pour rain endlessly. 4. If you are claustrophobic don't go. By nightfall it gets packed and you are chair to chair next to your neighbor. 5. And lastly since it does get packed position yourself closer to the edges so you can move more freely to get food, drink or more importantly; to use the porta-potties. Jazz'SAlive is a great event, one that invites the whole city to its celebration of music. It is an occasion where generations of families go and in turn create new traditions and special memories. While Fiesta Week gives us an excuse to be wild, Jazz'SAlive gives us the license to chill and relax.

    Light crowd, early and hot
    Tina R.

    First time I came to this event was 1993. That year Maynard Ferguson headlined. Was an amazing show. The venue is spectacular. Travis park, home to transients, but the city always gets her pristine before the event. It's really grown over the years. This year was Henry Brun, and Kurt Whelum. Some years is cool, sometimes rainy; this year was blazing hot, and I do mean the kind that makes hell jealous. Great food vendors, decent enough drink options, excellent music, and plenty of parking. The park is sandwiched between two city historical powerhouses. The St Anthony, around since 1909; and St Mark's Episcopal church just the other side where LBJ married Lady Bird. It's an annual event, and it's free. If visiting town this time of year, add this festival to your must-do's. You'll be glad you did.

    Pam M.

    This was our first time going to this fabulous outdoor jazz event. We love Jazz and enjoyed seeing some artists we have seen before as well as seeing some new ones. We were fortunate that the weather was beautiful with a nice breeze. We ate from the food vendors...my husband had jambalaya and I had nachos. Definitely need more food vendors with a variety of options. I love that we lived close enough we could just walk to this event and enjoy the live music.

    check in on Yelp today 9/21 and get $2 off the Cheesy Combo from Cheesy Jane's food truck!
    Gloria C.

    I experienced this downtown jazz fest for the first time this year, and can't believe I had no idea what I was missing. Live crowd, live music, multiple dancing Elvises, festival food, booze, lawn chairs, and picnic blankets. It's a great way to ring in the start of fall in South Texas! If homeless people give you the heeby jeebys, just be aware that they like to hang around Travis Park, and particularly large free festivals like this. They're harmless, but just keep your head on a swivel! I was pleased to find out you can purchase wine and champs by the bottle, for around $20, which is a really good deal considering festival mark-ups can be a kick in the ass at times. You can also get your grub on food-booth style with items like papas locas, roasted corn, funnel cakes, sno cones, and puffy tacos. If the people watching isn't enough (which is hard to believe) there's also local artists and craftsmen selling their wares. Shop, sip, listen to some smooth tunes and support the local music scene!

    Rudy R.

    I've been to Jazz SAlive a few times in my younger party days. It was always blast Jazz, beer, and friends on September night at Travis Park. What else could you ask for? Now, that I'm older, and a big time jazz fan. Jazz SAlive is more than just another festival to get drunk at; it's a Jazz explosion. Two days, two stages of non-stop Jazz on Saturday and Sunday from noon till 11pm. This year I took my wife and kids; my youngest always complains whenever Jazz is invovled "I HATE Jazz" as he always says. But, surprisingly he and oldest really enjoyed themselves. The food booths at Jazz SAlive were good. Reminds me of the some of the good food booths you get at fiesta. My youngest son had his first footlong corndog; he really liked it. I ate one of the best funnel cakes I have ever had. It was so good I ate most of it by myself. This year's Sunday evening lineup begin with David Benoit the Jazz Painist; he really jammed out. He entertained the kids with Peanuts theme song. San Antonio's own Urban 15 also did their thing; they marched around the park with lights and all. Jazz'SAlive also has Children's Symposium a hands on music workshop for the kids, so they have an appreciation for music. Jazz SAlive is fun for all ages, it's a great festival with jazz, food and beer. I give Jazz'SAlive 5 stars Get Hooked On Jazz.

    Lawn chair city now

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    Review Highlights - Jazz'salive

    Travis park, home to transients, but the city always gets her pristine before the event.

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    Meatopia Texas - After party

    Meatopia Texas

    4.4(7 reviews)
    1.3 miTobin Hill

    Like the food nerd that I am, I researched all 32 participating chefs weeks before the event. I…read moreconcentrated on their culinary training, foods they like to eat themselves, & heritage even. This was my Superbowl! I needed to know stats to build a game plan. I made notes and drew out plans of attack. I went over it many times with my eating assistant (aka my husband) and felt confident that we would be able to hit up every station, take great photos, try all the amazing food, & chat with the chefs. November 3rd... Game Day - Meatopia was finally here. I was pumped! We arrived at 11:58am. Easily found parking off Grayson. Crossed the street to the event area and was immediately accosted by the wonderful aromas of grilled and roasted meats....aahhhh...happy dance! Butterflied carcasses, organ meats, musicians, the media, foodies, chefs & assistant chefs galore...water stations, beer stations, food stations... it was a lot to take in at once. I started to take pictures of where we entered - by the big yellow Pearl can. My "assistant" was supposed to trail after me and help take notes, carry my bags etc. Next thing I know, he's in my frame and was heading towards the food like a hypnotized man. He was grabbing lamb chops, quail, ribs, chicken feet and was devouring everything like the Tasmanian Devil. Dude...we had a plan!!! So I spent the next few hours sampling like crazy without having a clue as to what I was eating exactly. My husband would dash off, grab something & dash back to me with several offerings. "Honey, which station did these come from?" I'd ask. "Don't remember," he'd reply in between greedy bites and satisfied sighs. Oy vey! Each portion was very generous. Some beautifully garnished. All tasting pretty darn good! Overall, I don't remember any clunkers. There were some standouts for me such as the lambs chops by HEB, sigsig by Chef Paul Qui, the breast, shoulders, knees, and toes of chicken by Chef Ford Fry, grilled lamb ribs by Chef Ned Elliot, the chicken by Chef Jeff Balfour and the bacon (yes, BACON!) brownie by Chef Laura Sawicki. I shared each plate with my husband. But there was one dish that I had to go back for more of and that was the Trifongo by Chef Nelson Millan. I want that recipe! The event was a home run in terms of food, entertainment, and layout. The lines moved quickly and we never felt squashed. However, the entry points and staff could use some tweaking and extra training. We were eating our way through Meatopia for almost half an hour before we realized we didn't have wristbands like everyone else. Doh...we totally forgot to check-in and no one called us out on it! In addition, we'd ask people in gray Meatopia Tshirts where XYZ was located and many would not know. Great 1st run overall. PLEASE COME BACK TO SAN ANTONIO, MEATOPIA!!!!! I have a game plan! Need to find a better assistant though :\

    A carnivore's carnival! A meaty adventure! A protein spectacular!…read more Here's how it works: You buy a ticket, and you never get your wallet out again! It's a block party in Pearl Brewery, so even though there were close to 3,000 people in attendance, it was never shoulder to shoulder and the lines moved swiftly. Parking was, well, parking. They did their best to keep it organized and as uncomplicated as possible. Suffice it to say that the bang for your buck is pretty freaking remarkable at this event. $75 (they were even selling $50 tickets at times) for all you can eat and drink, and these chefs weren't skimping on the portions. My friends and I were wishing we hadn't eaten anything that day in preparation. These aren't measly bite-sized samples, but rather full on appetizer-sized servings per person. Adam Perry Lang's slider, as simple as it sounds, was barbecue comfort food at its finest. Those homemade spicy pickles kicked it up a notch. The lamb neck gyro from The Whole Beast was like melt in your mouth lamb barbacoa. And, of course, our local SA chefs represented our fine city wholeheartedly! Stuffed veal breast from Andrew Weissman, lamb heart anticuchos from The Monterey, Porchetta from Jason Dady, whole hog gumbo from Steve McHugh. Our guys are truly special, and I believe it's because of people like them that Meatopia chose San Antonio as it's Texas location. It's a pretty big honor! What I would change: I know better than most how things work when you have a beer sponsor situation and that when it's free, beggars can't be choosers, but I would have rather paid to drink better beer than Corona or Michelob Ultra. There were so many amazing chefs serving elevated meat dishes that better beer would've just rounded out the entire experience. Again, even if I had to buy it at the bar.

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    Meatopia Texas
    Meatopia Texas
    Meatopia Texas

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    Historic Market Square - San Antonio - Art outside Market

    Historic Market Square - San Antonio

    4.1(240 reviews)
    0.6 miDowntown
    $$

    It was my first time since I was very young visiting SATX and I am so grateful to have visited the…read moreHistoric Market Square while I was in Texas. It was truly one of the highlights of my trip and I would highly recommend visiting to anyone in the area, and I hope to go again in the future! The parking nearby was a short walk but nothing crazy, and once we got to the Market it was shaded very well and had such a variety of stands both inside and outside of the buildings which I loved. It was a little hot outside so it was nice to be able to rotate between both areas. There was also such a great mix of stores, restaurants, snack stands, and artisans and crafts throughout. We grabbed some aguas frescas to sip on while we explored and they were delicious and a great price for how big they were. We had a big breakfast but it would be nice to try some of the many lunch spots they had throughout the market. The stores had everything but I loved the amount of talavera pottery to choose from and stocked up as much as my suitcase would allow. Prices are super reasonable as well considering these are handmade artisan pieces. I use my tazas everyday and they are the best coffee cups I have ever had. The merchants are super friendly and helpful as well. Everyone was very welcoming and made it a great experience. I hope to be back in the future!

    Meh... I've lived in San Antonio a long time and was super excited to finally see market square…read more.. well. I'm disappointed!!! EVERYTHING looks the same. We went on a Sunday so it was not crowded but it was BORING. My 16 year old called it Lame and the best part about Market square for both of us was the caricature guy. I've waited many years to visit the place and wish I would have left it on my to do list. I'm sure it's really pretty at night but I was bored and Underwhelmed.

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    Historic Market Square - San Antonio
    Historic Market Square - San Antonio
    Historic Market Square - San Antonio

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    Ghost Tracks - And it's still an active train track!

    Ghost Tracks

    3.6(29 reviews)
    7.5 mi

    MUST DO! San…read moreAntonio legend or lore? Grab some talcum powder and head out to the south side. Shake some powder on the back end of your vehicle, jump back into your car, set it in neutral and hold on as it rolls... Sad to make this report, by next week this will no longer be available as Union Pacific is tearing the up the intersection for a remodel.

    Ok, as my first review going towards my list of "haunted" places in San Antonio, I start with the…read moreGhost Tracks. The story is that around the 40s or 50s a bus filled with young kids (ranging in age from 7 - 11yrs) stalled on the railroad tracks at this crossing. A train came as the bus driver was trying to restart the engine but unfortunately it was too late. The children (or at least their souls) don't want the same incident to happen to anyone else so if you stop your car a few feet ahead of the tracks and put your car in neutral, the kids will push you up and over the tracks. It's also been said that the streets in the area are names of the children who perished in that crash (Shane, Cindy Sue, Richey Otis, Nancy Carole and Laura Lee). As with anything deemed 'haunted' people have come to denounce the whole story with scientific findings i.e., it sits on a minor slant which will make your car pull forward anyway. To this day there have been no articles regarding such an accident ALTHOUGH it's still a great place to come to on a late, dark night or especially halloween!! But FYI if you do decide to go on Hallow's Eve, SAPD will be out there to control the crowds.

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    Ghost Tracks - N did not work so well on this side...

    N did not work so well on this side...

    Ghost Tracks - The neighbor

    The neighbor

    Ghost Tracks - The car drove by itself on neutral! We tried it other places up hill, down hill and the car wouldn't move :)

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    The car drove by itself on neutral! We tried it other places up hill, down hill and the car wouldn't move :)

    Jazz'salive - localflavor - Updated May 2026

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