By Edmond Ortiz
Fiesta San Antonio 2027 will take place without one of its most popular multiday events.
What you should know
The Conservation Society of San Antonio announced Sept. 16 that it is suspending A Night In Old San Antonio, one month after the nonprofit pledged to revamp the event and lay off some staff due mainly to mounting financial obstacles.
Having originated in 1936 as a two-day harvest festival held at Mission San Jose, NIOSA has evolved into a four-day celebration of the numerous cultures that have contributed to San Antonio’s heritage and growth over three centuries.
The conservation society initially scheduled the 2027 edition of NIOSA for April 20-23 at La Villita, the longtime venue for the festival, which includes different culturally themed areas with food and live music acts. Event proceeds typically benefit the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures citywide.
But earlier this summer, conservation society officials acknowledged a proposal by city staff toward the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget prompted a series of sobering discussions among CSSA members about the future of NIOSA.
The proposal, if permitted into the final FY 2027 budget, would require the organizers of Fiesta’s largest festivities, such as NIOSA, Battle of Flowers Parade, and Taste of New Orleans to begin covering half of the costs of having city police security and support services. City officials said the proposal, if approved, could save the city $710,800 annually over two years.
But conservation society officials said Sept. 16 that they had to render a definitive decision regarding NIOSA, which has endured declining attendance and revenues, and structural constraints at La Villita over the last few years.
“To maintain the society’s primary mission of funding community preservation programs and grants that protect the city’s built environment and cultural heritage, the conservation society executive committee brought forward a motion to the (CSSA) board of directors to end the financial losses associated with NIOSA by suspending the event,” the organization announced.
When first promoting the notion of reconfiguring NIOSA in order to accommodate expected new expenses and ongoing negative trends, conservation society officials had spent the past month online inviting members of the public to provide ideas on how to help to drive up event attendance, and make NIOSA a more cost-efficient happening.
But on Sept. 16, CSSA officials said holding NIOSA in 2027 runs “counter to the fiduciary responsibilities we have to this organization, further diminishes the ability of the society to carry out its approved charitable purposes, and jeopardizes our non-profit status.”
According to data available at ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer platform, the conservation society overall reported $2.79 million in expenses and $2.71 million in revenues in 2025.
As for “structural constraints at La Villita,” the conservation society and community stakeholders have previously cited concern about losing programming space at the iconic arts-driven village through various past, present and future projects.
One of those current initiatives involves the conversion of the circular La Villita Assembly Hall into a food hall, which is set to open in 2027. Ongoing construction means the closure of the assembly hall to events. German food stands and musical acts that have been operated inside the assembly hall in past NIOSAs were forced into a much smaller, outdoor corner of La Villita in this year’s event.
“The society certainly understands how fortunate we have been due to the dedication of our members and volunteers,” the society’s announcement stated. “We have all held NIOSA dear to our hearts and built a legacy of which we can be proud. But, we have come to understand why NIOSA at La Villita is not feasible going forward. Therefore, we are pausing the event to continue to explore our options.”
Fiesta expense proposal part of a larger budget battle
City Council is due to meet Sept. 17 to adopt a budget. As of publication of this article, city leaders have yet to reach a consensus on how to address a projected $158 million budget shortfall, a range of proposed spending cuts and a possible property tax hike, all of which have proven unpopular with various community stakeholders.
Efforts to achieve a consensus on the new budget have been exacerbated by recent comments from Councilmembers Sukh Kaur and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez about a toxic work environment at City Hall, a perceived disagreement over public priorities, and reports of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones accumulating high travel and security expenses for herself and her staff.
