Basil Fest!

On Saturday morning I headed out to Basil Fest at the Pearl Farmer's Market.  While the Farmer's Market is open every Saturday, Basil Fest is an annual event held in May.  This year the beneficiary of funds raised by Basil Fest was the Healing and Therapy Gardens of The Warrior and Family Support Center where I volunteer each week.

Basil Fest is one of two events sponsored each year by the San Antonio Herb Market Association.  Their other event is the Herb Market held in mid-October.  First stop was the Nature's Herb Farm plant sale and this year I picked up a very nice ruffled purple basil.  Nature's Herb Farm, with their huge operation located in San Antonio, supplies herbs for most of the state of Texas.

Nature's Herb Farm also grows succulents.  These wood succulent boxes were planted up and ready to go.  You might recognize the rusty tanks planted with prickly pear from my previous post on this plaza at the Pearl.

Expert talks on growing and cooking with basil were just one of activities available.  It was also fun for me to see this park full of activity on a Saturday since I'm mostly here on slower weekdays.  When I posted on this space last fall it was nearly empty and the contrast is quite striking.



During breaks I took a walk around the Pearl Farmer's Market held each Saturday morning.  With live music almost every week and streets closed off, it has turned into a huge event.

Chalking up the street is fun!

So are balloons!

Never tried goat milk soap.



I took a few minutes to drop into Melissa Guerra, one of my favorite shops in San Antonio.

Primarily a cookware shop, Melissa includes all kinds of fun and colorful items in her shop.

Now that's a sun hat!

Milagros in all sizes

Down the way, Adelante Boutique displays a "Y'all" pillow in the window.

An exquisitely handmade gown from Fiesta court is on display in another window.  Fiesta is our annual city-wide party held each April since 1891.  Over the years it has grown from a one-day celebration at the Alamo to events across the city for most of the month of April.  You can see more of these elaborate gowns on Pinterest here and look at the second row on this link to see the gown worn in the pageant.

Entirely hand beaded with crystal flowers and covered in sequins these dresses take a year to make.  Reflections make it tough to capture the incredible details.  Quite obviously the gowns are heavy to wear so they are mainly worn standing on floats in Fiesta parades where special platforms hold the train.  Scroll down to the second photo in this link to see.

Back at Basil Fest "voters" are lining up to sample basil dishes and vote with donations for their favorite .  Despite intermittent rain, we had a great turnout.

And the winner is Chef Tony from Fratello's Market and Deli!  Fratello's served a delicious basil filled cream puff and a sweet roll with pesto topping which were both excellent.  Their tough competition included cranberry bread with goat cheese/pesto spread from Chef Jenny Mattingsley of Oblate Theological Center and (my favorite) guacamole with basil and bacon from Chef Jacky of Broadway Daily Bread.

Basil Fest raised just over $750 for the Healing and Therapy Gardens.  That's Wendy Martinson, Executive Director of Returning Heroes Home, presenting the award to Tony.

Thanks so much to The San Antonio Herb Market Association for a great event and making my favorite gardens the beneficiary of your fundraising this year.

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Pam Penick is set to speak at Festival of Flowers on Saturday, May 28th at 10:30 am.  She'll present "Hold the Hose", a presentation on saving water in our gardens.  After the talk Pam will have her latest book  The Water-Saving Garden and her first book Lawn Gone! available for purchase and signing.  Look for me attending Pam's talk, volunteering at the SAWS butterfly garden display, shopping for plants on the vendor floor, and/or taking part in the City-Wide Plant Swap!

Keeping "Pace" with The Pearl

Our beautiful city just keeps getting better.  New urban re-use projects are creating great outdoor spaces beyond the famous downtown River Walk.   In my last post I brought you a tour of the intriguing new Hotel Emma.  Now I'll take you back a few weeks when we toured the newly opened plaza on the east side of the hotel.

The Pearl is named for the former Pearl Brewery which operated for over 100 years until it closed in 2001.  The site was purchased by Christopher Goldsbury and his Silver Ventures investment firm.  Mr. Goldsbury--one of six billionaires who call San Antonio home--made his money from Pace Foods, the company which helped make salsa America's number one condiment.  Now that The Pearl is coming together, I am amazed by his vision and community investment which has created a wonderful urban destination for locals and tourists.

Let's get walking around the new plaza.  The Second Empire style former brewhouse built in 1894 is now a guest room tower at Hotel Emma.  Photos of guest rooms show those awesome curved windows from the inside and the cupola is now a two-story guest suite.

Supper for Lunch at Hotel Emma

In San Antonio where the tourist industry is our top private employer, the opening of a new hotel rarely creates more than passing interest.  Hotel Emma, newly opened at The Pearl, is a notable exception since it has garnered more interest in the national press than usual and this excitement also extends to locals.  The Pearl is a destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment on the site of the old Pearl Brewery along the north end of our famous River Walk.  Named for Emma Koehler who ran the brewery in the early 20th century, Hotel Emma promises to be the anchoring jewel in a rapidly growing area of the city popular with tourists and residents alike.

Walking the Walk: The Pearl and River of Lights

I love holiday lights, the more the merrier and San Antonio has a lot of lights like these at The Pearl just north of downtown.

The Pearl Brewery buildings have been an iconic presence along the San Antonio river for more than a century.  Now known simply as "The Pearl" the brewery closed in 2001 and the buildings have been redeveloped into spaces for restaurants, shops, and special events.  It's one of my favorite places in town because it also provides easy  access the north end of the River Walk.  Last night we went down to take a look at The Pearl and the nearby "River of Lights" display.

The former brewing building is outlined in lights.  The smokestack is one of several in town which have been preserved.