It's hard to not write this as some sappy love letter to the Countdown City, but as a 14-year-resident of our fair metropolis, I can say that the only way one would be bored in San Antonio is if they decided to actively avoid having fun.
Boring and San Antonio just shouldn't be used in the same sentence going forward.
This past weekend, amidst almost-too-much Halloween revelry, I took a moment aside (or maybe it was the gnarly hangover I was trying to nurse back from that caused such sudden introspection) to ponder how far San Antonio has come. Take Friday, for instance, as two friends and I bar-hopped from The Brooklynite (a brief stop at Gryffindor), to Shuck Shack (for $2 East Coast oysters and too many oyster shooters), to Rumble (because the Rowena cocktail with Boo-very cereal milk sounded too good to pass up), to a house party, to The Last Word (because I was sorted into Slytherin) to Spurs Jesus' Halloween bash atop the St. Anthony, only to end the night at Squeezebox for some dancing and tall boys (Lone Star, not actual tall boys, unfortunately).
In previous years, that would have been impossible to accomplish without Uber (shout-out to all our drivers for keeping my score relatively high), and would have likely been the high-note of the weekend, except this isn't 2004, or 2010 even.
This is 2016. And San Anto has so much to offer including, but not limited to the first-ever Mala Luna Music Festival (Saturday-Sunday) at Lone Star Brewery, where 30,000 total attendees proudly enjoyed their love of EDM and hip-hop. So much for it being dead...
Alamo City Comic Con (Thursday-Sunday) fulfilled nerdy fantasies with several high-profile celeb visitors including the Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant, two boy band members (SA is all about nostalgia, we know this), and Green Ranger Jason David Frank along with a gaggle of artists and vendors. The Alamodome hosted a late UTSA football game where the Runners came out victorious.
Yes. All these things cost money. Sure, if you're waiting for payday, it would have been difficult to enjoy most of these. Blah, blah. Friday's Night of the Creeps II at Paper Tiger was all of Free.99 to watch fun bands cover your favorite spooky songs. La Villita's Muertos Fest (Saturday-Sunday) was also an option to while away a few hours and it was free to pay respects to late abuelas and abuelos, Bowie, Selena, Juanga, and even the victims of the Orlando shooting in June. City estimates put the festival at more than 60,000 attendees throughout both days. And it was easy to stake out a spot and people-watch both those wearing Catrina or sugar skull makeup or spillover from Alamo City Comic Con donning their finest cosplay.
Low-key, San Antonio is not. Boring? Far from it. Going through growing pains? Yes, as with any major city trying to reactivate its core. But if you're looking for something to do, there's plenty for every price and age range. So clock out of work, get out of the house, and get to exploring our evolving city.
Boring and San Antonio just shouldn't be used in the same sentence going forward.
This past weekend, amidst almost-too-much Halloween revelry, I took a moment aside (or maybe it was the gnarly hangover I was trying to nurse back from that caused such sudden introspection) to ponder how far San Antonio has come. Take Friday, for instance, as two friends and I bar-hopped from The Brooklynite (a brief stop at Gryffindor), to Shuck Shack (for $2 East Coast oysters and too many oyster shooters), to Rumble (because the Rowena cocktail with Boo-very cereal milk sounded too good to pass up), to a house party, to The Last Word (because I was sorted into Slytherin) to Spurs Jesus' Halloween bash atop the St. Anthony, only to end the night at Squeezebox for some dancing and tall boys (Lone Star, not actual tall boys, unfortunately).
In previous years, that would have been impossible to accomplish without Uber (shout-out to all our drivers for keeping my score relatively high), and would have likely been the high-note of the weekend, except this isn't 2004, or 2010 even.
This is 2016. And San Anto has so much to offer including, but not limited to the first-ever Mala Luna Music Festival (Saturday-Sunday) at Lone Star Brewery, where 30,000 total attendees proudly enjoyed their love of EDM and hip-hop. So much for it being dead...
Alamo City Comic Con (Thursday-Sunday) fulfilled nerdy fantasies with several high-profile celeb visitors including the Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant, two boy band members (SA is all about nostalgia, we know this), and Green Ranger Jason David Frank along with a gaggle of artists and vendors. The Alamodome hosted a late UTSA football game where the Runners came out victorious.
Yes. All these things cost money. Sure, if you're waiting for payday, it would have been difficult to enjoy most of these. Blah, blah. Friday's Night of the Creeps II at Paper Tiger was all of Free.99 to watch fun bands cover your favorite spooky songs. La Villita's Muertos Fest (Saturday-Sunday) was also an option to while away a few hours and it was free to pay respects to late abuelas and abuelos, Bowie, Selena, Juanga, and even the victims of the Orlando shooting in June. City estimates put the festival at more than 60,000 attendees throughout both days. And it was easy to stake out a spot and people-watch both those wearing Catrina or sugar skull makeup or spillover from Alamo City Comic Con donning their finest cosplay.
Low-key, San Antonio is not. Boring? Far from it. Going through growing pains? Yes, as with any major city trying to reactivate its core. But if you're looking for something to do, there's plenty for every price and age range. So clock out of work, get out of the house, and get to exploring our evolving city.
