Marilyn Eldridge will serve as Fiesta® Commission president for 2013.

The new president is Marilyn Eldridge. She has served as president elect for the past year. Eldridge, an attorney, is president of Nova Healthy Systems Inc. She served as president of the Battle of Flowers Association in 2007 and 2008. Other officers are:

Jack Hebdon, president elect. Hebdon is chief financial officer at Housing 1 Source. He served as vice president for Fiesta^® 2012.

Fernando Reyes, senior vice president. Reyes is owner of several local companies including Reyes Industries.

Vonzetta Hickman, vice president. Hickman is a past president of the Queen of Soul Inc. She was the Fiesta^® Commission treasurer for 2012.

Marcie Ince, vice president. She is a former president of the San Antonio Conservation Society, which produces A Night in Old San Antonio. Ince served as Fiesta^® Commission secretary for the past year.

Bill Mitchell, secretary. He is president of G.W. Mitchell Construction. Mitchell reigned as King Antonio LXXXIX in 2011.

Erwin De Luna, treasurer. De Luna is president of United San Antonio Pow Wow.

The membership chose 10 people to serve three-year terms as elected commissioners. These commissioners serve on Fiesta committees throughout the year. The new commissioners are Randy Bear, Mae Escobar, James Fenimore, Debbie Gonzaba, Penny McCutchen Gardner, Norma Reyes, Stuart Seal, Marvinette Smith, Virginia Van Cleave and Pete Van de Putte.

Some 100 nonprofit organizations belong to the Fiesta^® Commission and produce more than 100 events during Fiesta^® San Antonio each April.

The band is holding a contest for artwork to grace the cover of its Holiday In Blue concerts in December.

Deadline for entries is July 1. The band is asking artists to send JPEG images of their creations to band...@us.af.mil. The winner will be recognized at the holiday concerts.

More information is available in the contest flier.

The nonprofit organization produces the Mr. Teen San Antonio Scholarship and Mentoring Awards Banquet in April, an official Fiesta event. The group’s namesake, Cherice Cochrane, died in 2001 from meningococal disease when she was a freshman at Rice University in Houston.

To explain the importance of the vaccination, the foundation is offering a free film screening May 19 at 11:30 a.m. at Roosevelt High School’s Molly Pruitt Library, 5110 Walzem Rd.

The National Meningitis Association and the library are co-sponsoring the screening.

For details contact Claudette Lewis at lady...@yahoo.com.

Stop by The Fiesta® Store, 2611 Broadway, from 5 to 7 p.m. April 30 for the 2nd annual Pounds of Pins Weigh-In.

Fiesta® San Antonio Commission staff will weigh 2012 Fiesta pins and medals between 5 and 7 p.m. All items must be off their sashes or other material.In case of a tie, a coin flip will determine the winner. Full contest rules give details.

Here’s the updated prize list:

• 1st prize: $250 Macy’s gift card; Medal case courtesy of FiestaMedals.com. The winner can also designate a Fiesta nonprofit member organization to receive a $250 donation from the Fiesta^® San Antonio Commission.
• 2nd prize: A Jambox courtesy of AT&T.
• 3rd prize: a 2013 Fiesta Premier membership (includes Premier medal available after Jan. 1).

For more information on Fiesta’s Pounds of Pins Weigh-In, contact Linda Skop at 227-5191 or lin...@fiesta-sa.org.

Details are at the Wade Shows Facebook page.

The Rick Cavender Band is to perform at Fiesta Fiesta April 19.

It’s Fiesta® time!

Join 20,000 other Fiesta® fans April 19 at Alamo Plaza to kick off San Antonio’s biggest, best festival. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. with the popular Pin Pandemonium and music by the Court Jesters in the Gazebo.

The free event will be filled with great music and Fiesta® fun. Collect your favorite pins and medals. Greet Fiesta® kings and queens. Browse for dinner offered by local food trucks. Check out vendor booths for souvenirs.

Here’s the evening’s schedule:

• 5:30 p.m. Pin Pandemonium, sponsored by FiestaMedals.com, begins. Fiesta® nonprofit organizations will sell their official pins and medals. Royalty stop by to offer their own medals. Judging takes place for the best professionally produced medal.
• 5:45 p.m. See who gets the top prize for a homemade medal in the San Antonio Express-News‘ contest, and who wins the FiestaMedals.com’s award for best professionally produced medal.
• 6 p.m. Michael Quintanilla will present the fanciest shoes in the Alamo City in the new Viva Zapatos contest, sponsored by the Express-News. Quintanilla, the paper’s fashion editor, and a panel of celebrity judges will choose the winner and present awards.
• 6:30 p.m. Top Flight, the USAF Band of the West’s rock combo, gets the joint jumping.
• 7:25 p.m. Ceremonial tie cutting and breaking of the first cascarón, featuring King Antonio XC, el Rey Feo LXIV, and representatives from the Greater San Antonio and Hispanic chambers of commerce..
• 7:30 p.m. The Fit Fiesta® parade begins. See Fiesta® royalty, bicycling police and representatives from all the nonprofit organizations that create the more than 100 official Fiesta® events.
• 7:45 p.m. The official opening ceremony begins. Mayor Julian Castro and Evangelina Flores, president of the Fiesta® San Antonio Commission, will be joined by Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., the Fiesta® military coordinator and commander of Air Education and Training Command, and Bob Turner from Union Pacific, the Fiesta Fiesta® underwriter. Be on the watch for cascarones and confetti!
• 8:30 p.m. The Rick Cavender Band will perform.
• 9:30 p.m. Fireworks end the evening with a bang!

The Fiesta^® San Antonio Commission is opening a Fiesta^® Store April 13 in the Sheraton Gunter Hotel at 205 East Houston St. (at St. Mary’s Street).

The Gunter, the Fiesta^® headquarters hotel, generously provided the space.

The store will offer Fiesta^® poster t-shirts, hats, accessories, souvenirs and the very popular pins and medals created by many of the nonprofits that produce official Fiesta^® events.

Tickets to many Fiesta^® events will also be on sale. NOTE: Parade tickets will not be sold at the Gunter Fiesta^® Store.

The store will operate seven days a week from April 13 through 30. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Mayor Julian Castro and Fiesta Commission President Evangelina Flores agree that Fiesta is the Best of San Antonio!

Check out this great video about Fiesta San Antonio–be sure to “like” it–then tell your friends about it.

Fiesta is competing with other local businesses and organizations to get the most viewers for our video.

Whichever piece gets the most views over a 30-day period starting April 3 wins a commercial package declaring it The BEST of SAN ANTONIO!

And we all know that Fiesta is the best!

So watch the video, then share it with everyone you know!

Viva Fiesta San Antonio!

The Park & Ride schedule was inadvertently left out of the 2012 Fiesta Schedule, but the buses will be running for these events:

• Fiesta Oyster Bake, April 20 & 21.
• Texas Cavaliers River Parade, April 23.
• A Night in Old San Antonio, April 24-27.
• Battle of Flowers^® Parade, April 27.
• King William Fair, April 28.
• Fiesta Flambeau^® Parade, April 28.

For full information on VIA routes and services, go to its website.

Taking the bus can save Fiesta® fans gas, downtown traffic hassles and parking fees. It’s also part of the Fiesta® Verde program to turn Fiesta® Green.

The Fiesta^® San Antonio Commission regrets its error in omitting this important information from the schedule.

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.