Beer Kickoff week festivities reminded me of a relaxing concert in the park...come drink beer,…read morelisten to the music of Outlier and stay a while. Blue star Brewery had a trailer with about 10 beers on tap that included the Guadalupe honey ale, Freetail bat out of helles and more, priced at $5 cup. Both beers were nice cold and delicious . Who would have known that there are so many local breweries ?The event was at the Main St Plaza right in front of the San Fernando Cathedral and lasted 4 hours in the evening. Lots of places to sit on the concrete seating but it was limited shade. The schedule of events for beer week for the next 6 days includes a minimum of five events at different local breweries daily. Just a fraction of events include beer pairings with donuts, beer pairings with cheese , beer pairings with BBQ , beer & yoga, painting with beer and a lot lot more. Sounds like a great week !

With the exception of Luminaras and First Friday there really are no major vehicles in order to…read morecelebrate art in our city. Una Noche De La Gloria is a yearly celebration in the Westside which highlights local and regional artists. It also gives immerging fashion designers, visual artists, poets and musical acts a forum to display their works. It encompasses all of Guadalupe Street with various stages and vendors a block wide. In every nook and cranny there is some sort of art vying for your attention. For example an artist had cool glow in the dark paintings in a doorway. Another vendor sold epic sized canvas portraits meant for some loft or high ceiling downtown apartment. In the center of Guadalupe Street a high end fashion show seemed to be the focal attraction. In the audience hipsters, professional types, photographers were all next to people within that community enjoying the celebration. It certainly was a feast for the eyes and the senses. All throughout the program it seemed like something was going on. On one end a metal band was blaring loudly with a fog machine machine accompanying them. On an another end vendors with a pachuco flair were selling shirts with hip hop playing. Muscle cars and lowriders were lined along the block; nearby a trio were playing xylophones and flutes. It seemed to be a contrast of things and ideas. For example the fashion show had models dressed as dolls, a play on the innocence of the night. But then in the plaza more designers brought out items that were edgy and had a level of darkness to them. And certainly not to be outdone I saw Adan Hernandez and Jesse Borrego, both local artists who were promoting the anniversary of the movie, "Blood in, Blood Out." Almost every space in the plaza, street and block was touched by something visual or sonic. It was very overwhelming needless to say, reminiscent of First Friday in its heyday. While I did enjoy it I did have a few criticisms: 1.) Parking was non-existent. 2.) As the event grew darker, it was harder to see artist's works. 3.) Entertainment was scattered. Rather than having five acts going on at the same time it would have been more beneficial to have three strong acts or stages as centerpieces. 4.) I think the diversity of artists and art could've been much stronger. 5,) I know this event coincides with the Diaz y Sies Celebration on Guadalupe. It would be cool to move it to mid October when the weather is much cooler. And then to have it earlier and then ending it much earlier. While this issues are minor and can be adjusted if at all I like that it brings the arts, especially to an underappreciated side of town. Some of the works blew me away! In addition I appreciated the cross section of different personalities and socioeconomic classes that were there. Una Noche De La Gloria is a festival that celebrates our city by celebrating art. It represents where our art scene is and ultimately can be. But for me I was left with the impression that San Antonio still has a ways to go. But then again how often do you get to see a fashion show that integrates elements of Chola/Zombie/Goth on one stage? Not many.

First to review! I live for this!…read more This event is hands-down one of the coolest beer-related events I've been to in San Antonio. You guys...it's FREE. For absolutely nothing, you can enjoy a plethora of homebrew and craft beers, live music, a moon bounce for the kiddos, food trucks available to buy snacks (kefta from Wheelie Gourmet FTW!), and you can even bring your dog! For all you beer nerds, there is also an educational aspect where you can learn homebrew techniques from San Antonio enthusiasts in the SA Cerveceros club. Get info on water, hops, yeast, grain, etc and how each component affects your brew. My favorite homebrew was the pumpkin ale #2. Light, refreshing, with just a subtle hint of pumpkin that didn't sweeten up the beer too much. I look forward to this day of beer enjoyment becoming more and more popular, so if you missed it this year, bookmark this now! You won't want to miss it again.

What do you get when you combine Free Beer, Live Music, Food Trucks and Classes on Home Brewing?…read more You get a very cool "Teach a Friend to Home Brew Day" Event put on by the San Antonio Cerveceros. They had educational classes for those wanting to learn, or learn more, about home brewing. Roughly 18 beers avail to sample some being their own home brews. Numerous booths with additional info on home brewing and the equipment and supplies needed. 2 Food Trucks, Wheelie Gourmet and KHill BBQ were there to serve you some awesome food. The best part though? It was all for free (except the food). No parking charges, no charge for entry, no charge for the beer, no charge for the classes. Other than buying your own food, which you would have to do anywhere else anyway, you did not have to pull your wallet out a single time. I cannot wait for the next one next year!

The Grand Tasting was $75 in advance, $100 at the door - but sold for $35 via an online deal…read more This allowed for the event to sell out, oversell IMO. Lines were too long, trash cans overflowed, and due to the online deal the crowd was decidedly different from years past. Restaurants ran out of food even earlier than last year. Las Ramblas and Kirby's, for example, were out of food by 8:10pm. I'll opt for a Wine Dinner next year unless a press release or article or marketing blitz advertises the Grand Tasting as otherwise improved by way of smaller crowds, shorter lines and actual food that can be tasted until the 10pm close time. Oh, and clientle that does not - literally - put trash on the ground next to an overflowing trash can.

So I got a discount on a ticket to the Culinaria Grand Tasting from Living Social, and was super…read morestoked to attend. Unfortunately, there was no signage anywhere in or near the convention center directing traffic to the event. It ended up taking me about 20 minutes to finally get to the right place, and when I finally did get there, I was totally bombarded by mass crowds. This event was seriously overbooked. It was madness. Not only were the crowds overbearing, but the lines for food were ridiculously long, and so many restaurants ran out of food early! It wasn't even 8:30 when Kirby's ran out of food, and the guys working the station didn't even bother to alert us those of us in line, so we ended up standing there like dumbasses for no reason. Grrr. I skipped the line for Jason Dady's stuff (that damn #dadyland hashtag on Twitter was allovertheplace that night) because it was out-of-control long, but I heard good things about those bites. What little I was able to sample at the event was fine, but nothing to write home about particularly. Most of the people in my party skipped the food lines and opted for wine tastings. Most of the pours were pretty skimpy, which I understand since it is a wine tasting, but I'm just not convinced that the event was worth the $35 I paid via Living Social. It certainly wasn't worth the amount of a full price ticket ($75). All in all, Yelp's two-star rating description says it for me. "Meh. I've experienced better."

Parking: street parking all around or park at the public parking garages and walk over. $10max for…read more3+hours Awesome event! Probably took us 1.5 hrs to walk through the streets. HEB did a great job passing out samples. Very beautiful works of arts. Will be back supporting in years to come!!!

(Preface: I got up early and noticed torrential rain, before the actual Chalk It Up event had even…read morebegun and wondered if it would be a complete wash out. Chalk is such a difficult medium to work with in the first place, how would it translate to wet sidewalk surfaces?) Fast Forward a few hours and much better weather later: Chalk It Up is a yearly event that happens downtown, typically during the fall. It is thrown together by ArtPace, a local youth center that promotes the arts and other visual mediums. Artists of all sorts to include: established painters, schools, academies, afterschool programs etc. use this event to showcase their talent. All along Houston Street artists of varying degrees of skill level draw small to elaborate works, using chalk. High end buildings where the downtown culture congregate become canvases to convey visions. Seemingly every nook and cranny was filled with drawings of some sort, for example I spotted a Sesame Street collage. Not too far away a lady was drawing a portrait of Frida Kahlo. In addition a group of college students were creating an epic sized etching of a head that was mind blowing. Certainly not to be outdone a gentleman dressed as a tree was dancing about near the interior of the River walk. Last year, when I attended art was swirling everywhere you looked, but it appeared as though there were more patrons than actual art. Since the featured artists works were closely together it created traffic and made it difficult to make your way through, much less see any pieces. Families take their children to this event mainly since participation is encouraged; as they can draw on the sidewalks alongside artists. There is music and food, but certainly not enough of it. In the past they had more bands and entertainers all throughout the event. This year the selection was not as diverse and I left with the impression something was missing. In my opinion I think the weather had a huge impact on the initial outcome of the event. It probably kept away some artists or forced others to rethink their various projects. I believe that featured artists' works should be spread out more evenly throughout the event. It would be helpful to have a designated area where kids can draw on and not have people maneuver around them. I do like Chalk It Up. It is always interesting to see what schools, academies and artists will come up with each year. Having said that I think it fell a bit short, in my opinion by artistic scope and due to weather. I have seen a better representation of it in the times I went before. Still I definitely will be back next year. Chalk it Up has the potential to introduce the arts to families. And reintroduce downtown to the city. And what other event gives you the license to scrawl on sidewalks and not be ticketed or grounded for life.

It's a little imports shop featuring large-scale pottery from Mexico along with other imports like…read morelittle calaveras (skeleton) figurines and ashtrays, piñatas and similar. Decent selection of chimineas for $55. Place is a little run down and disorganized, but has some neat items. Good items for adding some local flavor to your decor or gifting a bit of the "puro SoFlo" side of SA.

Like I said last year - this is one of my favorite Fiesta events. I was sad that since the Lion…read moreand Rose closed their Broadway location, they were not there with scotch eggs. So good. Looks like PF Changs took their place with chicken lettuce wraps. Ok, but just not the same. Beer was $5. They offered Angry Orchard apple stuff on draft which I enjoyed. One booth was just canned beer. Also a craft beer booth. Offered Guinness Blonde. Go figure. Angry Orchard, the fun without bloat always a good thing. Ha, ha. The bands are always good: Hotcakes and Suede (Austin) are the headliners. Good stuff. Good cover bands. Go there next year if you didn't this year.

How is it that Alamo Heights Night is no longer in Alamo Heights? What gives?…read more It's a great night to go wine, dine, and '09! It's held now out at the University of the Incarnate Word, which is just outside of AH. Alamo Heights Night is really sort of the kickoff for Fiesta, and is usually the first event. Parking is an absolute nightmare to get to this event, so I recommend parking over at Alamo Heights United Methodist - the Methodome over on Basse by the Quarry. They have a bus that will take you down there. There's always a good number of restaurants participating, so come hungry!

Wonderful time. Enjoyed myself a lot. Getting there and out was a pain however. Great family…read moresurrounding

After living in San Antonio for over 8 years I finally had a chance to make it to the Alamo Bowl…read morethis past weekend. It was a blast; the game was good, the whole atmosphere of fans was cool. I'm really glad that the Alamo Bowl is a San Antonio tradition. This year the bowl had a great TV time slot over the weekend instead of during the week where most people can't make it into town. The attendance was high sellout crowd at 64,000 plus in the Alamo Dome in the past 3 years, proving that football can be successful in San Antonio. This year marked the 17th game/year Texas Tech vs. Michigan State; Big 12 vs. Big 10. The Bowl game it self does bring some good NCAA Football to San Antonio. I really like all the tailgating, beer drinking, and action before the game it self. It's like San Antonio turns a college town for a couple of days. This was the first bowl game I have ever been to, and I am glad that I did finally make it to the Alamo Bowl. I gave the Alamo Bowl 5 stars for bringing some awesome NCAA Football action to San Antonio.