King Williams Fair-- San Antonio Fiesta

When we first moved to San Antonio three years ago we kept hearing about a huge event called Fiesta. Fiesta is a huge city wide event that is held for a few weeks, yes, weeks, in the month of April and kids even get a day off of school. There are so many city wide celebrations that take place throughout these weeks that it is hard to choose which ones to attend.

For the past two Fiesta's one event that our family chose to attend was King William's Fair. As stated on their website, 'the King William Fair is the primary fundraising event for the King William Association, a non profit organization which works to preserve and protect the oldest historic district in Texas and promote the unique cultural heritage of San Antonio.'  

The festivities at the King William's Fair begin at 9am with a fun street parade. We always make sure to arrive at least 30 to 40 minutes early so that we get a decent parking spot and get the parade spot we want. The first year we went we sat outside of the fair in a little neighborhood and the second year we sat on the inside of the fair very close to the porta potties. (Sadly my daughter's tummy decided not to feel so well, but I have to say since it was still early the potties were clean).

The parade is fun, bright and colorful. We love the wacky floats that represent many companies throughout San Antonio. My advice is to study the parade route and choose the seat that is near the beginning of the parade; especially if you have kids. The first year we went we were at the beginning of the parade route so the girls got a lot of treats from the people in the parade, but the second year we were near the end of the parade so there were not many goodies left for the kids. 

All types of vendors, from food to crafty ones, line the streets of the Fair. I will be very honest and say that if you want to comfortably look at the vendor booths or/and if you want to eat from the food vendors, go early because these streets and the lines can get ridiculously crowded. 

My favorite part of King Williams Fair is the King's Kingdom Vendor. This is a sectioned off area that has little games and very little rides (maybe 3), live kid music/ entertainment, and a craft station. The only reason why I enjoy this area is for the main craft area. They have a couple of long tables set up with all types of decorating items from fabric to glitter to markers to streamers. Before you go to the table they have people with brown paper bags standing next to little chairs waiting to size your head for the bag. After your head is sized, they shape the bags into big hats for your head. Afterwards, you proceed to the table so you can decorate and jazz up your new hat. Beware, you must be slightly but politely aggressive to help get your child's hat decorated. The King's Kingdom Vendor is a great area for kids, and making the hat can be fun, but the area is small and it gets ridiculously crowded. If you only have one child, it may not seem too bad, but if you have multiple kids it can put a toll on you. 

The past two years I enjoyed King William's Fair, but I think I will skip it this year. With three kids under the age of 10 and one still in a stroller the crowd put a huge toll on me and made it not as enjoyable as I had hoped. If you have kids, my advice is to arrive early, watch the parade, go immediately to the kid area and then grab some food. It is amazing how quickly the streets fill up with people. I do love the ambiance. The houses on each street are so beautiful and I wish that someone would invite me in to take a tour of these homes, but so far none have. The cost to enter King William's Fair is only $10 for ages 15 and up and kids are free. If you have never been to King William's Fair you should at least go one time for the experience, but watch out for the Cascarones -I've linked my Cascarones tutorial so you are ready! 

Written by: Aimee Fauci