With all the events and cancellations happening in the world, it only made sense for Fiesta San Antonio to not happen in April. Coronavirus is spreading across our country, and it’s important to not over tax the healthcare system—canceling mass gatherings (such as Fiesta) can be pivotal in “flattening the curve” of how our healthcare system is impacted. But instead of cancelling, I’m incredibly happy with the Fiesta Commission and the City of San Antonio’s decision to postpone Fiesta to November 5th through November 15th.
Obviously, I love Fiesta. I love the traditions, food, medals and crowds. And it was that last part that led to the postponement. We need to exercise vigilance and be safe, and quite frankly smashing into people at NIOSA while trying to get a chicken on a stick posed a potential risk.
Fiesta San Antonio has a major economic impact on the city. In addition to providing important tax revenue for our city to deliver municipal services, Fiesta also provides a livelihood for small businesses, like food vendors and medal producers such as SA Flavor, that are built around Fiesta. But more than that, Fiesta is a critical fundraiser for many local nonprofits, both directly and indirectly affiliated with the celebration. Having to go without this “party with a purpose” would have left a lot of important organizations in a lurch.
With the postponement, however, nonprofits who rely on Fiesta medal sales to raise important funds are potentially now left waiting until November for that money to come in. Many have already experienced major delays in receiving their medals due to production delays in China because of the Coronavirus, which caused them to already miss opportunities to sell their medals at events that have already occurred. The postponement of Fiesta could magnify these fundraising shortfalls they have already felt.
I want to offer help where I can. I am very fortunate to have a passionate community that has supported my Fiesta medal business for the past five years. Having partnered with local nonprofits such as Child Advocates San Antonio, NIOSA, and the Fiesta Commission to help sell and distribute hundreds of their Fiesta medals, I have already built the infrastructure necessary to help other nonprofits. If you are a nonprofit and need help selling your medals *now* to keep those fundraising dollars flowing in, email me at fiesta@saflavor.com. And if you are a supporter of SA Flavor, please stay tuned to our newsletter to learn about and to help any nonprofits who are selling their medals on our site.
Both the San Antonio and Fiesta Medal community are kind and generous. And while we’re going to be having a Fall Fiesta, I hope some of my followers can support some of our local nonprofits who need help with selling their medals now.
I can’t wait to have a chicken-on-a-stick and some stacked cups with all y’all in November. But until then I hope you can all stay safe, wash your hands and VIVA FALL FIESTA!
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