There's been a lot of activity around here recently, with Fiesta less than five weeks away!

Volunteers are rushing to sort and tag all kinds of merchandise in The Fiesta Store, 2611 Broadway. Business has been brisk in the store, too. Lots of people are taking advantage of the 15 percent discount coupons in the March issue of San Antonio Magazine and a coupon distributed in the March ValPak. The coupons expire March 25.

Other volunteers are taking merchandise to local businesses for corporate sales. Check the news story on the 2010 poster artist's schedule to find a sale near you.

Earlier this week the Texas Cavaliers had a news conference announcing that one of San Antonio's favorite folks, David Robinson, would be the grand marshal in the April 19 River Parade. A week earlier, the Fiesta Flambeau Parade Association had announced singer Vikki Carr as its grand marshal, with Southside native Sunny Ozuna, "Mr. Little Brown Eyed Soul," as the honorary grand marshal.

Next Wednesday, March 17, the Fiesta San Antonio Commission has a news conference scheduled. The commission will thank its five major corporate partners, among other things.

Also on the schedule are a reception for the eight Queen of Soul candidates, a fundraising fashion show for the Miss Fiesta San Antonio Scholarship Pageant, the start of Fiesta ticket sales March 26 at The Fiesta Store and the Queen of Soul Pageant March 27 at the Carver Community Cultural Center. And that just takes care of the next two weeks!

Keep an eye on the Fiesta Facebook page and the news section of our website for the most up-to-date info on Fiesta happenings.

The Fiesta Commission accidentally left one very exciting event off of the 2010 schedule brochure. We want to make sure everyone knows what's coming.

It's "The Art of Dance," sponsored by the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet, one of the 100 local nonprofit members of the commission. The ballet normally produces Dance Kaleidoscope during the 11 days of Fiesta. This year, the ballet is hosting the festival April 8-10 at Municipal Auditorium. Details are available on the Schedule and Event Description pages.

About 600 dancers from four states will converge on the Alamo City to perform and take special classes. They'll also audition for scholarships.

The Metropolitan Ballet conducts classes throughout the year. It also has public performances of ballets like The Nutcracker and Cinderella.

If you love ballet--or if you're looking to expand your artistic horizons--we encourage you to take in this very special Fiesta event.

The weather today still feels like winter. Fiesta staff and volunteers watched snow gently falling at lunchtime!

But regardless of the temperature, the Fiesta season has arrived. With only 51 days until the start of America's top festival (named so by the American Bus Association), everyone's getting into the mood.

The Fiesta Store opened last week. People are calling in to get Fiesta schedule brochures and contact names for street chairs along the parade route. Miss Fiesta San Antonio and her court are beginning appearances.

Check our news section for releases from our nonprofit member organizations. They're not only planning Fiesta 2010. Many have other events, too.

Our Facebook page will soon surpass 10,000 fans. We have more than 1,000 followers on Twitter. And more Fiesta organizations are also turning to the new social media. The most recent is the Fiesta Flambeau Parade Association. Its brand-new Facebook page had just four fans a couple of hours ago. It's already up to 49--and we're sure that's just the beginning.

The next big things on the Fiesta Commission's calendar are a dinner for our former presidents in early March and a news conference and media day, both scheduled for March 17. The news conference highlights Fiesta corporate partners. The media day is our nonprofit member organizations' chance to "show and tell" about their events to up to 100 local reporters, editors and photographers.

Visit us on the Fiesta Facebook page to tell us what you're planning for Fiesta 2010. Which events will you be hitting for the first time? Which are your favorites? Let us know!

We revealed the Fiesta 2010 poster last night at the St. Anthony Hotel in front of about 500 of Fiesta's close friends.

Capital One Bank, the official bank of Fiesta, underwrote the party attended by Fiesta Commission individual and business members, corporate partners, representatives from Fiesta nonprofit member organizations and local military officials. As part of its presentation, Mark Koshnick, president of Capital One Bank for San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley, showed a short and very amusing video about the very odd shoes he was wearing. The point of the video was to introduce the bank's "Show Me Your Shoes" drive. Bank employees want to collect 5,000 pairs of new shoes for the needy. If you'd like to participate, contact your local Capital One Bank branch.

The highlight of the evening, of course, was the 2010 poster, "Stars Over Fiesta," and the introduction of its creator, artist Shelley Fluke. Here's a photo by Jon Alonzo of the revelation, with the help of two "Blues Brothers" stand-ins (the evening had a 1980s theme).

Also on the schedule was Selina Affram, the 2007 Queen of Soul, who sang two '80s songs, and brief remarks by Tony Przybyslawski of the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base. He represented the Fiesta Military Coordinator.

After the unveiling, guests bid for items in a silent auction, enjoyed the hotel's food and shopped in the Fiesta mini store in the lobby.

Fourteen accomplished young women visited the Fiesta Commission office last night to begin the final phase of their quest to win the crown of Miss Fiesta San Antonio for 2010.

Pageant judges interviewed each finalist for about 15 minutes, asking questions on a variety of topics. The interview scores will count for 40 percent of the girls' final grades. Each girl probably felt as though it took hours for her turn to come. The interview most likely flashed by in what felt like a few seconds. Afterwords, the contestants surely imagined other answers to every question--answers that would have "nailed it."

Today the finalists visited the San Antonio Veterans Hospital. It's a welcome respite between last night's tension and tomorrow's excitement.

Because tomorrow's the pageant! The girls will arrive in the morning at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre with their costumes, gowns, props, makeup, hair tools and taut nerves. They'll run through the opening number on the stage for the first time. It makes quite a difference doing the dance in that space. They've been rehearsing in the multipurpose room at the commission office, which is a much smaller area.

Then come the skit rehearsals. Each contestant has researched and written a two-minute skit about an American woman and collected appropriate costume, props and sound effects. Their effort and performance count for 30 percent of the judges' score.

As soon as each skit ends, the young woman rushes backstage to change into her gown. With the help of makeup and hair experts, she'll make final touches to her appearance. Then she gets her chance to walk the stage as someone reads the bio material she's prepared. During the pageant the judges will be assessing each girl's poise and demeanor. Those grades will make up the final 30 percent of the total scores.

Then the finalists can relax (ha!) for a while. They'll grab something to eat and drink. They'll talk to one another--by now they've become great friends.

Before they know it, the theatre will start filling up. VIPs and judges arrive. It's time to get into costume for the opening number. At 7 p.m. the lights go up, the music swells, the curtain parts, and the pageant is under way for real.

Less than three hours later, one of those 14 college students will wear the Miss Fiesta crown, and two others will be named princesses for a year. Every contestant will go home with a scholarship. They'll remember this night forever.