Update: I first wrote about Fiesta on Main, now called Alamo Fiesta, in June 2010 when it was still located on Ashby, near SAC (below). It has been the second most popular blog post of all time with more than 6,500 views. A friend from New Orleans was in town recently, and Alamo Fiesta was one of the places I took her after we visited the San Antonio missions. She found some Talavera pottery to bring home with her along with some bobble heads for her nephews.
When the grandmother of my childhood friend, Tami, would bemoan an unsuccessful shopping trip, she’d sniff, “I didn’t even open my purse.”
This will not be your problem at Fiesta on Main (formerly called Alamo Fiesta), a store whose motto “Where Mexico is closer than you think and Fiesta never ends!” is an understatement.
Open Mondays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Fiesta on Main is located at 2025 N. Main Ave. at Ashby, an easy bus ride (#90 north) from downtown. (See On Broadway! post for VIA Metropolitan Transit information.) The owner, Griselda, is one of the most pleasant people on the planet. Her staff is also very zen and willing to help you locate your heart’s desire.
Fiesta on Main specializes in folk art, talavera pottery, Fiesta decorations, piñatas, paper flowers, flower garland crowns, papel picado (paper and plastic), confetti eggs (cascarones), furniture, wedding decorations, Day of the Dead items, Christmas decorations, clothing and more.
“And more” does not begin to address their inventory. Fiesta on Main is not for minimalists. Every square inch of space is crammed with something wonderful that you will want to bring home with you or give to a friend. My maternal grandmother’s maxim comes to mind: “Don’t buy anything you need, darlin’. Just buy something you want.” You’ll find plenty you want at Fiesta on Main, and for out-of- town guests, one-stop souvenir shopping has never been easier.
For fans of Our Lady of Guadalupe–and who isn’t?–you’ll find plenty of beautiful items to select, from ceramics to sequins.
And where else will you be able to find your own life-sized mariachi band to liven up your back yard?
Or how about hand-painted tin Christmas ornaments that sell for $1.95 each or the bargain-basement $1 each when you buy 12 or more?
For those of you who collect crucifixes, you’ll never find a better selection than the one at Fiesta on Main. An entire large wall is devoted to Christianity’s enduring symbol.
Fiesta on Main also houses an entire room of beautifully painted talavera pottery. Plus, they have more on display outside in their courtyard area. Granted, talavera isn’t the most indestructible (or lightest) souvenir to pack up and take with you, but I have a friend from California who managed to get hers home in one piece…so it can be done.
Alebrijes, fanciful hand-carved and -painted wooden animals from artisans in Oaxaca, Mexico, are also for sale at Fiesta on Main. The tiny ones near the check out stand (roosters, elephants, pigs, frogs, owls, cats, deer and horses) cost only $9.99 each and make the perfect pocket pet.
Several years ago at Fiesta on Main, I made one of my all-time favorite purchases. I collect miniature nacimientos, and I found a diorama-like nativity whose display case was half of a walnut shell that had been glassed in. Every Christmas I look forward to taking it out and marveling at the artist’s depiction of Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph surrounded by tiny stars in an indigo-blue sky.
That’s the great thing about Fiesta on Main. You never know what you’re going to find. Happy treasure hunting!
Alamo Fiesta is located at 102 W. Rector, across from North Star Mall. They are open Mondays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 3 p.m.
Denise Barkis Richter, Ph.D., has been blogging about San Antonio since June of 2010. Follow her at facebook.com/SanAntonioTourist so that you’ll never miss a post. Her love affair with the Alamo City began at Hemisfair in 1968. She moved to San Antonio in 1979 as an 18-year-old college student, and San Antonio has been home ever since. For even more ideas of fun things to do and see in San Antonio, visit Barnes & Noble, The Twig or Whole Earth Provision Co. to purchase Denise’s book, “100 Things To Do in San Antonio Before You Die” . Denise completed certification to become a professional tour guide in 2019. Please contact her at sanantoniotourist at gmail dot com if you’d like for her to design/lead a fabulous San Antonio experience for you!