Ronnie Price
Assistant Executive Director; Sales and Marketing;
San Antonio CVB
What are three great ways for groups to incorporate the history of San Antonio into agendas?
- Cultural Institutions: Meeting or having an event in one of our many historic venues is a fantastic way to weave San Antonio’s story into your experience. One significant venue is the historical arts village of La Villita. Located across the street from the convention center, La Villita was originally a neighborhood established by Spanish soldiers stationed at the Alamo. It is a very San Antonio location that can host receptions for more than 2,500 in its old world plazas and buildings. Another popular option is the Southwest School of Art. Originally built in 1848 as a convent for French nuns, this art-filled venue along the River Walk is now a creative arts school that offers a Gothic chapel, historic dining hall and artistically landscaped gardens for up to 800 delegates.
- Tours: Tours of this 300-year-old metropolis are another way to get attendees into its heritage.Much of San Antonio’s meetings scene lies downtown near sites like The Alamo; San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest cathedral sanctuary in the U.S.; and the Spanish Governor’s Palace, which was the government seat during the Spanish Colonial era. Walking and bus tours are among the options. Even river cruisers along the River Walk offer narrated history tours as they shuttle delegates to and from the convention center, venues and hotels.
- Storytelling: Groups can invite a storyteller to their meeting or event for another creative way to bring San Antonio’s iconic past to life. Storytellers can emphasize leadership, courage and vision while theatrically sharing the stories of characters like Theodore Roosevelt, who recruited roughriders in San Antonio, or by telling tales of the heroic Alamo defenders. Storytellers are especially effective at historic sites like La Villita, and they inspire delegates with the ingenuity, strength and teamwork of people who built what is now the nation’s seventh-largest city.