The World Heritage Festival to celebrate the local Spanish Missions kicks off Wednesday night.
The missions have been recognized by the educational, scientific and cultural arm of the United Nations as a World Heritage Site along with other wonders of the world, such as India's Taj Mahal and the Pyramids of Egypt.
Christine Jacobs, the superintendent of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, hopes San Antonians will take part in festival events this week and see the missions like the international tourists that visit here do.
"I think the events associated with the World Heritage Festival provide some unique opportunities for locals to experience the park in different ways and in some respects maybe see it through the eyes of the international community," Jacobs said.
Events include:
- The showing of local short films, art displays and food trucks at the Mission Marque Plaza on Roosevelt Avenue on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 7 to 9 p.m.
- The lighting of Mission San Jose, off Roosevelt Avenue, in its original colors on Friday after dark. The event is called Restored By Light.
- A bike, walk and run event at the Mission Park Pavilion on Padre Drive on Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon. The event is named the Tour de las Misiones
- Music and Movie Under the Stars at the Mission Marque Plaza on Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m.
- An outdoor mass led by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller at Mission Espada, off South Loop 410, at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
All of the missions, except for the Alamo, are located in the Southside District of Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran.
She said the Restored by Light event at Mission San Jose is a must see event.
"They project what it looked like and then they do a little sort of artistic interpretation, so it's an amazing event and if you haven't been you need to come to see that for sure," Viagran said.
The national park system reports visitors last year spent more than $84 million in neighborhoods near the four southern missions and supported more than 1,200 jobs.
