At the bottom of Alamo Heights Boulevard, a parking lot sits between the Heights Pool and the Little League fields. Part of it is now a pavilion, a play area and a row of public restrooms. That half-acre at 250 Viesca hosts two different events on consecutive Saturdays this November, and both are free.
On November 14, the City of Alamo Heights holds its first chili cook-off there. One week later, on November 21, the 48th Annual Alamo Heights Holiday Parade comes down the boulevard and ends at the same pool gate. The address has hosted the neighborhood's gatherings before.
The Block Party That Outgrew Viesca
Alamo Heights Night started in 1987 as a neighborhood block party near the Alamo Heights city pool. The Alamo Heights Rotary Club organized it, and it became an official Fiesta San Antonio event in 2014. Texas Public Radio reported that the party outgrew its first location as it gained popularity. In 2010 it moved to the University of the Incarnate Word campus to make room for bigger crowds.
It did not happen this year. TPR reported in March that the 2026 event was canceled after several years of falling attendance and revenue. Over its run, the Rotary Club's celebration raised more than $2.4 million for charities and community projects. The organizers' own site calls the event paused and lists no future dates. In September, MySA reported that it had asked the Rotary Club about a 2027 return and had not heard back.
With that party on hiatus, the pool where it began is where this November's events gather. The parade travels the length of Alamo Heights Boulevard and finishes here. The city's new cook-off adds a second Saturday on the same lot a week earlier, kept to the size of the park and the pool parking lot.
A Pool That Has Been Here Since 1947
The pool is older than almost everything around it. Here is the short version:
- 1947: the pool is built, according to 78209 Magazine.
- July 15, 1948: the original Opening Splash Day, per the San Antonio Report.
- 1977: the Alamo Heights Chamber of Commerce starts the holiday parade.
- 1987: Alamo Heights Night begins near the pool.
- 1990: the pool reopens after a yearlong break for repairs and infrastructure upgrades.
- 2010: Alamo Heights Night moves to UIW.
- 2024: the Midtown Business Association takes over coordinating the parade.
- 2026: Kellyanne Park opens in part of the pool's parking lot.
Today the Heights Pool is a membership club, not a public pool with a gate fee. Anyone can join and members can bring guests, but there are no day passes. Its site lists an Olympic-size pool, a diving well, a kiddie pool, pickleball and basketball courts, and a renovated POOLSIDE grill with a full bar. Since admission usually depends on membership, a free public event on its grounds is a different kind of afternoon.
A Park in the Parking Lot
Kellyanne Park makes that easier. The City of Alamo Heights calls it its pool pocket park, and its July 2 notice describes an almost half-acre space between the pool and the Little League fields with a pavilion, a play area and public restrooms. All of it sits outside the pool's own fenced area. The concessionaire at the Heights Pool Grille can serve walk-up customers through the park. Ford, Powell & Carson designed it with landscape architecture firm Coral Studios, and Malitz Construction built it.
The park is named for Kellyanne Lytal, a young Alamo Heights resident, and the city's dedication notice says it will serve "as both a place of joy and remembrance."
In practice, the park gives the city a public front yard at the pool, with shade, restrooms and food service, that doesn't require a membership. The cook-off is the first large event the city has scheduled to use it that way.
November 14: The City Cooks
The City of Alamo Heights announced the 1st Annual Alamo Heights Chili Cook Off on October 15. It says it wants "to start something new to bring the community together and have some fun," and it is running the event with the Heights Pool.
When: Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Where: Kellyanne Park and the Heights Pool parking lot, 250 Viesca Cost: no entry fee to compete or to attend
The city's listing includes:
- A chili competition with cash prizes, open to 22 cooks, competing for what the city calls "the bragging rights of having the best chili—at least on this side of the San Antonio River"
- Free chili samples from the contestants
- A cornhole tournament, also with cash prizes
- Bounce houses for children
- Texas Tide playing from noon to 4 p.m., then The Texases from 4 to 6 p.m.
- College football streamed in the park, including UT vs. LSU and A&M vs. Tennessee
- Food and drink service from the pool throughout the park and event area
Cooks sign up by emailing [email protected]. The 22 spots go to the first 22 people who sign up. The city has not posted a registration deadline, judging rules or prize amounts. With a fixed number of spots, sending that email sooner rather than later is the only safe plan for anyone hoping to compete.
November 21: The Parade Rolls Downhill to the Pool
A week later, the Alamo Heights Holiday Parade returns for its 48th year. Its organizers call it the oldest holiday parade in San Antonio. The Chamber of Commerce hosted it from 1977 until 2024, when the Midtown Business Association took over. H-E-B is the 2026 presenting sponsor.
Saturday, November 21
- 5:30 p.m.: the road-mile race starts
- 5:45 p.m.: the parade starts
- Start: Alamo Heights High School, 6900 Broadway
- Finish: Alamo Heights Pool, 250 Viesca
78209 Magazine reports that the parade starts on Broadway at the high school and runs along Alamo Heights Boulevard toward the pool. The lineup includes floats, community dance groups and local nonprofits, and Santa closes the evening. Attendance is free. Spectators are asked to bring new toys for the H-E-B carts along the route, which go to the Elf Louise Christmas Project for families across Bexar County.
Before the floats, there's a race. The Midtown Mile, which IRUN Texas times, follows the parade route from the high school to the pool. Because the boulevard drops toward Viesca, the organizers describe it as a net downhill course. Runners sign up through the race's registration page, which says parking is available at the high school and by the pool.
The parade ends at an after-party at the pool, with local businesses providing food, drinks, games, children's activities and entertainment. Edgar Gonzalez, president of the Midtown Business Association, told 78209 Magazine that "the Holiday Parade brings families and neighbors together, and that's what the holidays are all about."
There is no published street-closure schedule or turn-by-turn map yet. Holidayparade.org is the place to check in the days before. The magazine advises arriving early with blankets and chairs.
The Sunday in Between
The weekend between the two events offers a quieter stop. The Alamo Heights Farmers Market runs Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Alamo Quarry Market, 255 E. Basse Road. Its listing notes closures on Thanksgiving and Christmas weekends. November 15 falls neatly between the cook-off and the parade.
For a meal on Broadway on either Saturday, our summer guide to what's new along Broadway covers the corridor's recent openings. Our look at the Witte Museum's centennial covers the other end of Broadway.
Here is how the two Saturdays compare. The cook-off is a daytime event from 11 to 6 that's built around the park, with a band schedule and football on the screens. The parade is an evening event that comes to the same lot from the top of the boulevard. Anyone who goes to both will spend two November Saturdays at 250 Viesca, near where Alamo Heights Night began in 1987.
If the parade passes your front porch and you've wondered what your home would bring today, Cory Bakke brings five generations of San Antonio roots and decades of valuation experience to that question. Request a private home valuation, and we'll talk it over before the floats line up on Broadway.
