Luminaria - Illuminated Wonderland

     Luminaria is not your typical “art festival” meandering through art on canvas, or folk art tables and acoustic music. It is innovative, contemporary, multi-media, “light inspired art meets music.” Being outdoors, it takes advantage of the ambience of the night’s darkness, light and shadows. This is the fourth year for Luminaria and it has always been the first weekend of spring break in March, taking advantage of the spectacular weather at this time of year. The "footprint" has changed each year out of necessity.

     This is my fourth year working as a volunteer behind the scenes. I think this year was a huge improvement over last year, but the 1st year was my favorite, not necessarily, because the art was better, but because like the magic of a first love, the first year was an all-new experience. While well attended, it was not crowded, because few knew about it, so, there was a more intimate feel of a smaller arts festival.

     This year, the art was just as spectacular. I read in a review of this year’s event, that it was “King William on steroids,” but to me, it was more like the 1st year of Luminaria on steroids. Many new surprises, engaged visitors, like the 3D video, musical projection on the side of Magik Theatre and the glowing lantern lift off finale. It fulfilled the artistic vision of “a child of Hemisfair ‘68, a glimpse of light, as it intersects and interacts with art in San Antonio.” For some it brought back that moment in time, by “reimagining HemisFair as a canvas for enlightened, innovative, and interactive contemporary artwork from all artistic disciplines.”luminariasa.org/artistic_vision

     The food was awesome, (the 1st year, did not have any food). Two of our Fund Board members, Paul Greer and Kathy Swanson, went out and recruited some of the new Mobile food vendors from the mobile vending park: “The Boardwalk on Bulverde”, along with a few upscale restauranteers, a few specialty shops, and a few caterers, for a unique eclectic blend of food for a festival in San Antonio.

Kathy LeMaster
thefund.office@sbcglobal.net

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     As a Fund Volunteer, I got to hemisphere park around one o’clock in the afternoon to help setup for the night, while the heat tired me out that afternoon, the night surely made up for it especially with the help from some strawberry gelato from Blue Star Brewery a Food4Luminaria vendor. Can you say uuhh—maayy—zziinng!?
     My experience at Luminaria this year was very fulfilling. I really enjoyed seeing the faces of many different types of people coming together to celebrate the arts. I even saw one couple who just got married and were walking through Luminaria together straight out of the chapel. The dancers were beautiful, the music was great, the art was captivating, and the people were unforgettable. It was a great night.
-Viviana



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     As soon as I walked in I knew I was going to have fun. The Hemisfair Park sign all lit up with those fantastic ornaments hanging down was quite the spectacle. It was a blast just to walk around amongst the other art lovers in this illuminated wonderland. Everywhere you looked, there was an illuminated piece of artwork. I’ve been to plenty of art festivals before and never have I been so enthralled by the atmosphere of an event like I was at Luminaria.

     The only time the atmosphere of Luminaria took the backseat of my attention was when I would walk by a stage with performance art. These artists should all be held in great regard for their skillful productions. The performers won first place in my heart, this year. If anyone saw Ballet SA’s performance at the Valero Stage, I am sure you would agree.

     Did I mention the food?!? Granted, I have been looking at the vendors’ menus for the past month in theFund office, salivating over the things I would taste and my delectable dreams became reality. I consider food to be an art form, so was very happy to see Food4Luminaria’s first year to be such a success.

     I had the pleasure of experiencing Luminaria this year in two different ways. I was the normal art lover attendee for the first few hours, and then for the latter half, a volunteer. I can honestly say that I had an equal amount of fun in both roles. This being my first Luminaria, it was a fulfilling feeling getting to enjoy the whole experience. I had a greater sense of appreciation for the work I was doing, because I knew there were thousands of people enjoying what I had a few hours before, partly because of the work I and the other volunteers were contributing.
-Allison Kantner

I was hanging out with some friends Friday night at a place on St. Mary’s. We were all sitting on the patio talking about interesting ways to save some cash when suddenly above the bushes we see three huge Luminaria balloons making their way down the street. I thought to myself “those balloons look like they could carry someone away”, they were beautiful and lit up from the inside so that everyone could notice.

I was able to hear the commotion from the people sitting next to us about how they were all going to Luminaria and they were so excited to see how it is going to look this year, then we starting having a conversation with them on how we would be there as well. It is such an amazing thing to witness the coming together of all different kinds of people to celebrate the arts. While our economy still may not be in the best condition it is great to see that people have the passion to enjoy the things in life that truly count. While we all may not have the cash to afford all the fancy things in life, we remain rich with the natural things that surround us and define our culture. Hope to see you guys out at Luminaria on Saturday!

ps. Check our calendar for events occuring all through the week of spring break!

www.thefundsa.org

Luminaria Lantern Making Workshops and Lantern Parade

Luminaria will be hosting several Lantern Making workshops prior to the night of the event on March 12th. Those who participate in any one of the workshops are invited to participate in the Illuminated Lantern Processional during Luminaria.

Here is a list of the days and times that the workshops will take place:

Master Lantern Making Workshop

two day workshop open to ages 16 and up.

March 10th and 11th: 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Southwest School of Art (Russell Hill Rogers Lecture Hall)

Family Lantern Workshops

family workshop available for ages 10 and up

March 9th: 4 p.m.- 6 p.m. at Hemisphere Park

March 12th: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center

For more inormation and to register for any one of the workshops please call 210-224-1848, extension 455.

Now that this weather has lightened up and flowers are beginning to bloom again it’s time for us to get out and enjoy the arts that surround us. You can begin your spring fun with theFund’s online Scavenger Hunt which is beginning today March 1st. By taking this survey you have some great opportunities to win some free prizes including free family passes, a bottle of wine, and t-shirts. These are just a few of the amazing prizes that were donated by the affiliate companies of theFund. Not only will you learn more about some of the arts organizations that reside in the city of San Antonio but you will also be able to familiarize yourself with upcoming events that you may be interested in as well.

Be sure that you click to take the survey anonymously to be eligible for prizes!