6 Best Performing Arts Venues in San Antonio, Texas

The city's biggest annual party launches 10 days of city-wide celebrations. Parades and performances are part of approximately 100 events that honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto.

Colorfully festooned floats create a Mardi Gras spectacle each winter, turning the River Walk into a 2½-mile party. Arneson River Theatre comes alive with music and entertainment. 

Parts of the river are drained to clear the bottom of debris, and locals revel in the subsequent parties, parades, and the crowning of a Mud King and Queen.

The annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo draws about 1.5 million visitors to the AT&T Center and Freeman Coliseum for 2½ weeks of dozens of events and attractions. Over more than 70 years, this event has grown to be one of the largest and most popular in the city—featuring top names in entertainment, plus a ranch rodeo, youth rodeo, livestock show, horse show, and carnival. 

The San Antonio River is dyed green as the River Walk celebrates St. Patrick's Day with 14 decorated floats featuring Irish entertainment, including bagpipes. This event started in 1968 and has since been organized by the San Antonio River Walk Association and the Harp & Shamrock Society of Texas to honor St. Patty and the city's Irish culture with musicians, artisans, and dancers.

The annual commemoration of Texas independence takes place every March in Alamo Plaza, marking the Texas Declaration of Independence that proclaimed freedom from Mexican rule on March 2, 1836. You'll find musical performances and day-long living-history exhibits.