The Fiesta Store

Dropped by to pick up a few medals for my nephew who is visiting later this summer — nothing rare or expensive, just some stuff a 4 year old would like.
Fill out my order sheet, hand it of to the gentleman collecting them and get in the checkout line. Only three people in front of me.
Get to the register and they don’t have a basket with my order. Point out who I handed my order sheet to. Nope, doesn’t have it either. Uh… so can I fill out another one? No, they didn’t think that would be a good idea. Maybe I should get the $ 3 Fiesta calendar instead?
Fine. I got the message. Exit, stage left.
Just when I was wondering if I had hallucinated the whole thing, another customer came up to me in the parking lot and started with the «Um, excuse me but…»
I don’t want to repeat exactly what she said as young children may be reading, but it was made clear that «people like me» are not supposed to buy medals at the Fiesta Store. Or tickets. Or anything else Fiesta related.
Happiest time of the year indeed.

They apparently close early for Good Friday and Easter. I’m not sure what’s worse: closing the store when a lot of clientele would want to come during Fiesta’s kick off weekend, or how rude the lady was behind the counter to two women who drove all the way here from Idaho to pick things up for their first Fiesta.
As I’m writing this review, I’ve literally watched 15 different people turned away in just five minutes, not to mention me and four other people prior to this review. Good job, Fiesta Store.

The FIESTA Store still gets 5-​stars, but I have a few UPDATES to mention.
*They must have implemented extended hours! Unless they’ve always had these hours, I’m not too sure to be honest. But they’re open on Saturdays and Sundays! Super convenient.
*They need to ANSWER THEIR PHONE!!! A whole bunch of us traversed across SA last Thursday just to encounter a dumb sign that said «THE FIESTA STORE IS CLOSED TODAY.» Ugh, well if they would just answer their phone every once in a while, then maybe we would have known!!!
*They really should consider making the store bigger. I think the other half of the building (ticket area) is larger than the store itself which is silly because it’s mostly a lot of unused space.
*And finally, people in there go a little too wild over those medals. I know there’s nothing the store can do about it, but maybe if customers could dial down their excitement just a tad and stop cutting in front of me because I wanna look at the medals too dammit!
That is all :) Viva Fiesta!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Whenever someone asks me what I love so much about San Antonio, Fiesta is the first reason that comes to mind. The thing I love most is that it’s accesible to everyone. Poor people, rich people, old people, young people, out-​of-​towners, locals, you name it. Anyone can enjoy Fiesta. And you should too.
I guess I might see how people that have spent their whole lives here are a bit jaded, but then… leave town during Fiesta. Or just stay in. I don’t want to hear your bah-​humbug shenanigans.
My suggestion for newbies? Find your Fiesta-​niche. Is day drinking your thing? Gather some friends and have a Battle of Flowers parade watch party. More of an all-​nighter? Fiesta Flambeau is a nighttime parade that usually lasts until 10 or 11. Looking for family-​friendly fun? King William Fair has the cutest, quirkiest parade that leads into a day of kid-​friendly festival-​ing. Want to poke fun at the Fiesta traditionalists? Buy a ticket to Cornyation and get rowdy and throw things on stage at the Empire Theatre (seriously, it’s the only time it’s acceptable). Want to stay away from the puro scene? Taste of the Northside is the classiest Fiesta event I’ve been to (see my review for that for more details).
Fiesta is what you make it. Love Fiesta and it will love you in return.

This is the place to go for all your Fiesta needs!
They are the ones that’ll sell you the tickets, the medals, the cascarones. It’s a one-​stop Fiesta shop! The only thing they can’t help you with is the hangovers from NIOSA.
The staff seems to be mainly volunteers, who are more than happy to help you. They sell all the parade seats, and will even show you pictures of where your seats are, so you can figure out if they’re going to be in the sun or not.
Since this place isn’t open all the time, and they don’t seem to have a regular staff, don’t ask them too many questions, because they’re there with a Fiesta kinda attitude. They’re more than happy to help.