The San Antonio Conservation Society is making changes to its flagship Night in Old San Antonio Event known as NIOSA. What those changes will look like is unclear.
The Conservation Society announced a “reset” of the event in a press release Wednesday, along with the news that two full-time staff positions would be eliminated.
NIOSA is a four-day celebration hosted in La Villita during Fiesta San Antonio in late April. It’s been one of the celebration’s signature downtown events for more than 80 years.
“Now, with an eye toward the future, we are taking some time to review and reimagine NIOSA,” said Conservation Society President Betty Bueché.
“Unfortunately, aligning our resources with this new direction means saying goodbye to some of our valued team members through a staff reduction,” she added.
Bueché said construction around La Villita had impacted the space available for the event. A new food hall is being put into a renovated La Villita Assembly Hall. Three new restaurants will be built at Maverick Plaza.
In 2025, NIOSA organizers said they would be able to work around changes to La Villita Assembly Hall, but Bueché said now, too much space had been lost.
Bueché added that attendance had decreased in recent years.
“Costs to produce the event have risen and sales are reduced due to lower attendance,” she said in an email.
Bueché said the planning process for a reimagined NIOSA will start next week.
“Our goal is to hold NIOSA 2027. When we have some plans we will present it to our Board of Directors for them to decide,” Bueché said. “Hopefully, we will have approved plans within a month or two.”
It’s one of the first major announcements Bueché has made in her new leadership role. She was elected president of the Conservation Society in June and previously served as director of the Bexar County Heritage and Parks Department. The organization also hired a new executive director, Angelica Docog, in July.
NIOSA was put on by a full-time staff of six, with another 6,500 volunteers taking on a bulk of the work, Bueché said. Four of the full-time staff — an office worker and three warehouse and maintenance workers — are still employed.
The two layoffs will help the society save money, but both workers could be eligible to reapply if NIOSA requires more permanent staff in the future, Bueché said.
NIOSA proceeds have helped the Conservation Society fund charitable education and historical preservation efforts, Bueché said, including protecting local buildings like the Aztec Theatre or Casa Navarro.
“Our priority is to fund the education and preservation programs which will continue. Some savings [from cuts] may be used to fund the future event,” Bueché said.
NIOSA has been held in some form since 1936, according to the event’s website, with two interruptions during World War II. The website estimates it attracts 85,000 visitors annually. The 79th edition is set to take place in 2027.
