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Oyster Bake, Taste Of New Orleans, Alamo Heights Night Lead San Antonio Into Fiesta 2019

Texas Public Radio

Workers race to build a music stage on the campus of St. Mary's University. Carnival rides are assembled. Food booths are arranged in neat rows. And then there's the oysters -- thousands of oysters. All of that means only one thing: Oyster Bake, Fiesta 2019's first big party, is here.

The 103-year old tradition raises scholarship money for St. Mary’s students. But in the meantime, event spokesman Martin Aguirre said, thousands of visitors will slurp down thousands of oysters.

“We’re looking at about 100,000 oysters, and we have them coming in from various vendors. They’re the ones doing the actual legwork,” he said.

The rock group Starship, country artist Montgomery Gentry, and Amanda Solis, a Selena tribute singer, are among dozens of scheduled musical performances.

“Whole lot of entertainment,” Aguirre said. “We have over 40 bands that are going to be performing. We have everything from, you know, pop music, hip hop, rock, country, Tejano.”

The Oyster Bake runs from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday. Single-day tickets are $30 at the gate and $34 if purchased online. A two-day ticket is $40.

Other Fiesta-related events:

The Taste of New Orleans
Visitors to the event at Sunken Garden Theatre at Brackenridge Park can listen to Dixieland, zydeco and jazz music. The three-day event also begins at 5 p.m. on Friday. It is open Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Admission is $12 online or at HEB stores. Gate admission is $15. Those aged 10 and under can enter for free. The Zulu Association sponsors the event to raise scholarship money for high school students.

Alamo Heights Night
Alamo Heights begins its Fiesta at the University of the Incarnate Word. It runs Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 dollars for adults. Five dollars from those ages 12 to 17. Children under 12 and active and reserve military can enter for free. The Alamo Heights Rotary Club sponsors the event to raise funds for scholarships and charities. The Rotarians provide their own park-and-ride service from nearby parking areas.

Transportation
VIA offers $5 round-trip park-and-ride services to the Bake and to the Taste from the Crossroads bus location. If you take Lyft to get there, you’ll get a $10 discount off your fare. Park-and-ride services will also roll to the Taste from the Randolph bus location.

Brian Kirkpatrick can be reached at Brian@TPR.org and on Twitter at @TPRBrian.