Fiesta San Antonio Commission

About Us

With the immediate popularity of the “grandmother” of Fiesta events—the Battle of Flowers Parade—and other early activities, Fiesta soon needed someone to coordinate the festival. The Spring Carnival Association was established in 1906 to organize the festival. Some years later the Fiesta San Jacinto Association took over Fiesta responsibilities.

Even parties can have disagreements. In the 1950s dissatisfaction grew among many Fiesta organizations over Fiesta San Jacinto Association operations. In 1959 those groups withdrew from the association and formed a new one—the Fiesta® San Antonio Commission.

The commission is an independent nonprofit organization. It has grown from a membership of 11 organizations to 100. The commission is led by a volunteer committee that includes members of Fiesta organizations and community leaders. It has a small full-time staff, seasonal employees and volunteers.

The commission works year-round to manage the thousands of details and day-to-day tasks essential to planning and executing the huge citywide celebration. It also acts as liaison between its nonprofit members, local military activities and city departments.

The commission provides funds for Fiesta events that are not financially self-supporting. The organization itself is funded entirely by the private sector and receives no direct city or other public funding. It relies heavily on membership dues, corporate partnerships, carnival income and licensed merchandise sales.