Downtown San Antonio becomes a Christmas wonderland of lights

SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio and its partners are investing significant time and money to transform downtown San Antonio into a winter wonderland for visitors and locals.

Kelly Saunders, with the City of San Antonio, says the setup takes about six to eight weeks and involves collaboration with various partners to create a magical experience.

“It takes us, you know, quite a lot of thought and planning into putting the lights up each year. We actually have to start right after Labor Day to hang all of the lights. We have 200 trees, 200,000 lights. If they were laid side by side, the strands, they would cover 25 linear miles,” she said about the lights at the River Walk.

Other illuminated areas include the Pearl, Travis Park, Market Square, La Villita, and most recently, Houston Street. Saunders said there’s ongoing discussion about adding more.

“In the last couple of years there’s been some new things. The bridges are illuminated. If you’re taking a barge, you can go under the bridge and see the bridge will be lit up beautifully,” Saunders said.

Putting a price on how much it costs to light up downtown is difficult, she said.

“We have about 160 staff in our department who work not just on the River Walk, but also downtown parking, Market Square,” Saunders said. “We have our partners at the River Authority who light up the section near the Pearl, the Museum Reach. We have our partners at Centro and Visit San Antonio who help with the Holidays on Houston Street Initiative, Travis Park. The Rotary Club is sponsoring the ice rink. H-E-B is sponsoring the Christmas tree. We have lots of downtown businesses who are participating in our Holidays on Houston Street Initiative.”

The holiday season in downtown San Antonio is quickly becoming as popular as summer, Saunders said. The goal of making downtown festive is to create lasting memories.

“Each year it’s just, you know, a new tradition for your family to come down and enjoy it,” she said.

Special parking rates for downtown are $15 maximum. Parking is free on Sundays and Tuesdays. The lights will turn on Nov. 29 and stay on until Jan. 13.

Here is the list of events happening this holiday season:

Rotary Ice Rink: