Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
One hundred women from across San Antonio gathered on Wednesday in a symbolic gesture representing their support for the future of Brackenridge Park.
The third annual Women’s Picnic in the Park at Koehler Pavilion was a fundraiser for historic art and sculpture garden Miraflores.
The event also contributes to ongoing initiatives and free programming at the park.
Councilwoman Phyliss Viagran was among the local entrepreneurs and women in business who attended last year’s picnic. She returned this year for more social and civic engagement.
“For generations, the women of San Antonio have saved and restored parks and historic items, and now they’re doing it and they’re celebrating as they do it, which really excites me," said Viagran.
The private, sold-out fundraiser had a goal of collecting $25,000 for Miraflores, the historic sculpture and art garden in Brackenridge Park established in the 1920s and filed in the National Register of Historic Places since 2006.
Brackenridge Park Conservancy CEO Chris Maitre said the history of Miraflores is too important to be forgotten.
"When we see Miraflores, we see it as a love letter back to Mexico from San Antonio. We want to honor the tradition and heritage of what it existed as, which was a private, aquatic sculpture garden," said Maitre. "But we want to open it to the public. It's got way too much history for it to be hidden and buried."
Miraflores Park was originally created as a private garden for Mexican physician Aureliano Urrutia and features several works by artist Dionicio Rodriguez. Located about three miles northeast of downtown San Antonio near the corner of East Hildebrand Avenue and Broadway, the section is currently undergoing major restoration works and landscaping to uncover pathways, restore the fountain, and add a new entrance into Brackenridge Park. Miraflores remains closed until renovations are complete.
Viagran said all of the women at the event had a similar aim to attend the picnic.
“The one thing I think that we all have in common, regardless of where we come from, is that we want to highlight the beauty of San Antonio and our culture, and we want to make sure that story is told,” said Viagran.
