The Rain Rock dangles from outside the NIOSA headquarters circa Fiesta 2015. Credit: Twitter / @GJGunit

Organizers of A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) continued the decades-long tradition of the “hanging of the Rain Rock” to ward off bad weather ahead of the four-day-long Fiesta event, according to a report from NEWS4SA.

The hanging of the magic stone — which can be found in front of the NIOSA headquarters at the corner of Presa and Nueva streets — was first started in the 1970s by then NIOSA Chairman Joanna Parrish, News4SA reports.

Parrish was worried about forecasted bad weather ruining the Fiesta activities. But NIOSA volunteer Sue Armitage told Parrish of an old Texas good luck tradition that involved hanging a rock with a hole in it to prevent bad weather.

According to NEWS4SA, it didn’t not rain that year, and a tradition was born. Or so the story goes.

Organizers this year are hoping for similar luck. According to the National Weather Service, there’s a marginal chance for severe thunderstorms in Bexar County that may produce damaging winds and hail Monday evening. Although bad weather could put a damper on some Fiesta activities, the rain is much needed since 95% of the county remains in a severe drought.

Tickets for NIOSA at La Villita, which runs from 5:30 p.m-to 10:30 p.m Tuesday, April 5 through Friday, April 8, are still available for purchase on Fiesta’s website.

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This article appears in Mar 23 – Apr 5, 2022.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...