Where: Majestic Theatre

Tickets : Individual concert tickets range from $8 to $64.75 and are available to purchase at the Symphony Box Office or by calling (210) 554-1010 or visiting www.sasymphony.org. Patrons can also visit the Laurie Auditorium Box Office, any Ticketmaster location, www.ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000 for concert tickets.

Joining the Symphony for the annual Fiesta Pops concert will be Tejano singer Patsy Torres and guest conductor and arranger Troy Peters.

The program will include musical and dance selections from Moncayo’s Huapango, Lionel Richie’s All Night Long, Manuel de Falla’s “The Miller’s Dance” (Farruca) from The Three-Cornered Hat, Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Qué bonita es mi tierra and Jarabe tapatío.

New this season, the San Antonio Symphony has unveiled the 2012 Symphony Fiesta Medal featuring the image of Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing. The medals will be available to purchase at all Symphony performances.

Patsy Torres is one of the most important and influential Tejano entertainers of our time. Billboard Magazine proclaimed her one of the “Top Female Tejano Stars,” and Vista Magazine selected her to represent “What’s Hot in Texas.” Latin Style Magazine describes Torres as “El Sonida del Futuro,” the sound of the future.

The national recognition she received caught the attention of overseas promoters, which led to tours in Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Okinawa, Guam, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Mexico. Six Flags Fiesta Texas contracted Torres as its featured Hispanic star due to her popularity and unique talent of bridging the gap between cultures. She entertained multitudes from around the world there for 10 years.

Torres continues to be a leading artist in her professional career of recording and touring. She wrote a hit song, “Te Juro” (I swear), which became BMI’s Most Played Latin Song of the Year. The Texas Music Association awarded Patsy the Single of the Year and the Album of the Year. Her music video “Chiquitita” won her TTMA’s Best Female Performance in a Video. Torres was inducted into the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame in Alice, Texas, in January 2010.

The home of Miss Margaret Gething will be open for limited tours during Fiesta 2012.

You may have heard that Miss Margaret’s house, 409 E. Guenther St., suffered a fire during Fiesta last year. Tours of the home have been a longstanding official Fiesta event since the 1940s.

The fire was started by a light bulb in a closet and spread rapidly. Fortunately, the blaze was limited to three rooms. But the whole house suffered extensive smoke damage. The San Antonio Fire Department’s quick, professional response saved the antique collection, but several pieces need repair.

We’re most grateful that the house was spared. We express our sincere appreciation to the SAPD, all the wonderful people in the King William District, and the many previous visitors who expressed interest and concern.

Unfortunately, the restoration will not be completed when Fiesta 2012 begins. However, in keeping with the tradition of opening the house for tours, we’re planning a limited tour of a few rooms that weren’t damaged. Tours will take place April 21 through 26 from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be no charge.

We expect the Margaret Gething home to be completely restored for Fiesta 2013, with all the charm and elegance of this truly unique Victorian home.

This event has been a San Antonio Fiesta® favorite for several years. This year’s performance of Fiesta® in Blue features a musical kaleidoscope sure to entertain the whole family. Air Force versatility will be showcased as audiences are treated to a variety of musical numbers performed by members of Gateway Brass, Southwest Winds, Dimensions in Blue jazz ensemble, Concert Band and Top Flight. And of course, no Air Force band concert would be complete without a musical tribute to America’s veterans.

Fiesta® in Blue performances are free, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available on line at www.bandofthewest.eventbrite.com. Tickets are also available for pickup at the Fiesta® San Antonio Commission, 2611 Broadway.

For more information on how to obtain tickets, please visit the USAF Band of the West’s website at www.bandofthewest.af.mil. Seats not claimed 15 minutes before the performance will be open to non-ticket holders.

The Band of the West would like to thank its community partners, Accu-Print and the Fiesta® San Antonio Commission. For more information about Fiesta® in Blue or other USAF Band of the West performances, visit www.bandofthewest.af.mil, “Like” the band on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bandofthewest, or follow it on Twitter  at AFBandoftheWest.

Battle of Flowers® ladies encourage spectators to recycle at the 2011 parade.

Once again the Battle of Flowers^® Parade will “go green” as a part of the Fiesta^® Verde initiatives, a Fiesta^®-wide effort to help make Fiesta^® a more environmentally friendly and sustainable festival.

The parade has again received a Verde certification (the highest level) from the City of San Antonio based on efforts to reduce waste, increase recycling and save energy.

Last year the Battle of Flowers^® Association and Fiesta^® Verde volunteers distributed yellow mesh bags made of recycled plastic for spectators to collect recyclable beverage containers. The recycled containers were then collected and taken to the Greenstar facility for recycling, helping divert almost three tons of waste from landfills.

The parade organization also accepted applications on flash drives, eliminating the need for printed applications. Couple that with offering VIA Park and Ride to the parade to help save energy and reduce auto emissions, and the parade was awarded Verde certification by the City.

For Fiesta^® 2012, the parade will expand its efforts with more volunteers to collect recycled waste, doubling the goal to more than eight tons collected by the end of the event. Thanks to the help of volunteers like the Hyatt Hotels Green Team and more than 250 other volunteers, coordinated by Keep San Antonio Beautiful, the Battle of Flowers^® Parade hopes to lessen the impact to our city’s landfills and become a more sustainable parade.

This year all communications for the parade are online, eliminating the need for any printed materials leading up to the march. The association will also conduct a special trial of compost recycling. Volunteers are to collect compostable materials on either side of the route at 10th and Broadway (near Maverick Park). Green compostable bins will be located on the side streets, and volunteers will monitor the waste collected. With this effort, the Battle of Flowers^® Parade may be the largest parade in the nation to collect compostable waste.

Parade spectators are encouraged to save their recyclable beverage containers (bottles and cans), and deposit them in either the yellow mesh bags or in blue recycling containers that will be located along side streets throughout the entire parade route. Spectators are also encouraged to follow a practice commonly seen in parks across the country by packing out what they pack in. That is, if you bring your own refreshments, carry the trash back to your car.

The Battle of Flowers Parade is scheduled for April 27.  For details go to battleofflowers.org.