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.

Fiesta® Commission President Evangelina Flores (in blue), family and guests wave from their float in the Texas Cavaliers River Parade.

The Fiesta® San Antonio Commission offers enthusiastic congratulations to the City of San Antonio-residents, visitors, city departments and employees, nonprofit organizations, corporate sponsors, and more than 75,000 volunteers-for another wonderful Fiesta® celebration.

For 11 days the Alamo City enjoyed its Party With a Purpose. Some three million men, women and children visited a host of events offering a full spectrum of entertainment and fun. Early reports from the nonprofit groups that produce Fiesta® events tell a happy story. The Fiesta® Oyster Bake had a record-breaking opening night April 20. The Battle of Flowers® and Fiesta Flambeau® parades both sold out of bleacher seats. Attendance was high all over the Fiesta® map. A post-festival survey in May will offer more detailed results. All proceeds from official events go back into the community for scholarships, education, the arts, healthcare, ministries and much more.

Fiesta® fans helped make their celebration cleaner by recycling cans, bottles and plastic cups. They put their trash into bins along the parade route, giving the city cleanup crews an easier job. Thanks for making Fiesta® Green!

Lots of events embraced the Fit Fiesta® goal of offering some healthier food. Even the Carnival had fruit cups for sale along with the funnel cakes. Many San Antonians participated in Fiesta’s athletic events-like the new Fiesta® Wildflower Bike Ride, sponsored by Morgan’s Wonderland.

“Fiesta® is the people’s party,” said Evangelina Flores, Fiesta® Commission president. “The Fiesta® Commission coordinates it, but it’s all those people, organizations and others who create the magic.

“We thank you all for helping us make Fiesta® 2012 the biggest, best Fiesta® ever!”

Plans for Fiesta 2013 are under way, Flores noted. Artists are hard at work turning their Fiesta visions into entries for the 2013 poster contest. Deadline for entries is June 29.

The weather for the beginning the week looks nearly perfect for the San Antonio area. While rain will not be an issue over the next 5 days the rising temperatures may be. A high pressure building to the east will lead to a wind shift across the area Tuesday afternoon/evening. This will lead to not only warmer temperatures but also windier conditions. From Wed-Fri temperatures will be begin to approach the lower 90s. This along with the rise in humidity across the area could lead to heat index values between 95-100. It is important to make sure that water is readily available to anyone that is working outside to avoid heat exhaustion.

If you’re planning to have a few beers, margaritas or other “adult beverages,” line up a P.A.S.S.–a person appointed to stay sober–before you get into your car.

If you think you’ve drunk a little too much, and you’re at one of the events on the list below, call Yellow Cabs (222-2222) or San Antonio Cabs (444-2222).

Drivers have vouchers good for up to $20 to get you home safely.

• Fiesta de los Reyes at Market Square, April 20-29.
• Tejano Explosion, April 19-29.
• NIOSA, April 24-27.
• Fiesta Cornyation, April 24-26.
• A Taste of the Northside, April 25.
• ●Fiesta San Fernando, April 25-28.
• Battle of Flowers Parade, April 27.
• King William Fair, April 28.
• Fiesta Flambeau Parade, April 28.

Fiesta safe–drive sober!

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!

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 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.