By Tuesday, business owners at Market Square were back, hoping improved weather would help them recover during one of the most important weeks of the year.
SAN ANTONIO — A city-ordered cancellation of several Fiesta events Monday is leaving some vendors counting steep losses, with some estimating thousands of dollars in missed sales.
By Tuesday, business owners at Market Square were back, hoping improved weather would help them recover during one of the most important weeks of the year.
One vendor at Fiesta de los Reyes said off camera he lost between $3,000 and $5,000 Monday after events were called off due to severe weather.
Volunteer Frederick Flores with ACT The DSABC Foundation described the conditions as relentless.
“Nothing, no money made,” Flores said. “It just kept on pouring and pouring. Not only that, we were having trouble with water coming in.”
Flores shared photos showing water pooling inside vendor areas as crews worked to manage the flooding.
“We kept on bringing the water out and bringing it back in,” he said. “Basically we were just stuck and waited. But it started raining more, so they closed us down around 4 o’clock.”
Beyond lost sales, safety became a concern.
“We were more concerned about electricity, getting electrocuted,” Flores said.
Organizers of Fiesta de los Reyes said tickets are sold as “flex tickets,” allowing attendees to return any time during the 10-day festival, which runs April 17–26. The event operates rain or shine, and vendor contracts include clauses noting that inclement weather does not qualify for refunds.
Vendor fees vary by category — including exhibitors, food vendors and food trucks — starting at $4,000 for the full festival. Organizers also said vendors were given the option to close early Monday as flash flooding risks increased.
For many, Fiesta represents a major source of annual income.
“Fiesta is one of the times of the year that a lot of people rely on for a lot of their yearly income,” said artist Christopher Ochoa of Ochoatoons Jawbreaker Caricatures.
Despite the setbacks, vendors remain hopeful.
“This isn’t what we really expect Fiesta to look like. Normally it’s a lot of people dancing,” Ochoa said. “It was a rainy day, but we’re still trucking.”
With clearer skies expected, business owners say they are focused on making up for lost time and salvaging what remains of a crucial stretch of sales.
