NEWS

SAN ANTONIO – There was a 1 Million Push-Up Challenge right in the heart of San Antonio!

As a part of Dreamweek MACFit hosted the 1 Million Push Up Challenge in Hemisphere Park.

The free workout is an effort to unite community through a single goal and inspire others to live a healthier lifestyle.

“One thing about the people that come out here is that they’re a lot of the youth. That’s really our focus out this year focus on the future. With that being said we’ve invited said we invited some of the marvel characters out here. And we’ve had a great turn out with the kid’s great involvement with the kids. Can’t be happier,” said co-owner of MACFit, Jeremy McDonald.

To learn more about Dreamweek, CLICK HERE.

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio community has always embraced diversity. Nothing shows that more than the annual DreamWeek summit from Jan. 13 -29. It’s the modern day expression of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream.

“It’s diverse,” said Frank Trejo DreamWeek’s digital strategist. “It’s San Antonio. We’re all one people.”

It’s a new year, but the same team preparing for the 11th Annual DreamWeek.

“We spent half the year trying to get as many dynamic speakers as possible,” Shokare Nakpodia, DreamWeek’s founder, said. “We got 24 this year.”

For the last decade, Frank Trejo has been part of coordinating the San Antonio event designed to create civil and civic engagement.

“I’m really deep into community coming together,” Trejo said. “Community helping each other.”

The 2023 theme is “Identity and Representation,” which Trejo understands better than most. He immigrated from Mexico City to San Antonio when he was 6 years old.

“Immigrants, everybody has something to contribute,” Trejo said. “Everybody should be able to come together and share their own unique gift.”

DreamWeek reinforces the Alamo City’s history of diversity and inclusion. Historians said, in 1960, San Antonio became the first southern city to peacefully integrate lunch counters.

San Antonio has hosted one of the largest Dr. Martin Luther King Day marches in the nation since the ’80s, which inspired Shokare Nakpodia to create DreamWeek.

“Something I hadn’t seen anywhere else, and I wondered how many people who actually couldn’t make the march would want to participate in some other fashion,” Nakpodia said.

DreamWeek has become a citywide exchange of ideas, with more than 200 events, 150 community partners participating and people in 45 countries streaming events online.

“Cultural dialogue, conversations with communities of all kinds to solve challenging issues of our society,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

As a Nigerian immigrant, Sho loves that DreamWeek gives a platform to diverse voices. It provides space for the community to embrace different cultures and for San Antonio to continue being a compassionate city.

“Maybe in our lifetime, DreamWeek is going to be one of the largest summits in the entire globe,” Nakpodia said.

You can head to dreamweek.org for the full list of events.

Wish: Water Lanterns in the Garden

Set luminarias afloat in the water and make a wish for the year to come during this event at the San Antonio Botanical Garden that is inspired by the Japanese tradition of floating and hung lanterns. Along with lanterns, the evening will include music. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Reserve tickets here. Friday, 6-8:30 p.m. 555 Funston Place

Wild West Wildlife Festival

Admission is free to this event at the Briscoe Western Art Museum. In conjunction with the Thomas D. Mangelsen: A Life in the Wild exhibit, families are invited to participate in a day of hands-on activities, crafts, animal interactions, story time and more. The Mangelsen wildlife photography exhibit, which is on view through Jan. 29, also will be open. Saturday, 10 a.m-3 p.m. 210 W. Market St.

Culinaria Restaurant Weeks

More than 100 area restaurants are participating in Winter Restaurant Weeks. Make reservations to enjoy three-course, prix fixe menus at eateries that specialize in everything from Tex-Mex to Italian fare. Find our top picks here. Daily through Jan. 28, various locations

Crystal City 1969

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is hosting this Cara Mia Theatre production that’s based on the Chicano student walkout of 1969. Several weekend shows have already sold out, but some tickets remain for Thursday’s event. Thursday, 10 a.m. 723 S. Brazos St.

Rent

This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical ended its Broadway run in 2008 but it continues to live on through reproductions like this one, planned for the Tobin Center’s Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater. Follow a year in the life of young artists living in New York during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Thursday-Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 & 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. 100 Auditorium Circle

Tai Chi Master Class

David Dorian Ross, a U.S. and world-record holding Tai Chi master, will teach the basics of Tai Chi and its impact on mental and physical health during this outdoor classbenefitting the preservation of the Japanese Tea Garden. All skill levels are welcome. Friday, 5-6:15 p.m. 3853 N. St. Mary’s St.

Monster Jam

Monster Jam is back in town for another action-packed weekend full of intense motorsport competitions between 12 of the best monster truck drivers in the world. Ticket upgrades are available that will allow you to see the trucks up close, meet the drivers and more. Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. 100 Montana St

DreamWeek Essence Gala

Celebrate DreamWeek San Antonio, which aims to bring together people and ideas from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, during its annual black tie gala. The evening is recognizing the importance of education in the city’s future and proceeds benefit Essence Preparatory Public Schools. Saturday, 7-10 p.m. Red Berry Estate, 856 Gembler Road

African Market Festival

The Òlàjú Art Group’s African Market Festival at the Brick at Blue Star aims to celebrate African culture, small businesses and artists. Meet local vendors, enjoy food and drinks and listen to music. Saturday, 5-10 p.m. 108 Blue Star

We Will Not Be Silenced: Our Words Our Stories

Join San Antonio Public Library and the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio in honoring Holocaust Remembrance Day with this virtual event. Reyna Stovall will discuss wartime correspondence sent from individuals living in Nazi-occupied areas of Europe, much of which was censored by the Nazi regime before being delivered. A Q&A follows the presentation. Registration is required. Sunday 1-2 p.m. Virtual

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Zoo is offering $8 admission for Bexar County Residents Thursday.

Bexar County residents will be able to enjoy the zoo on January 19th for just $8 a person. The zoo shares that this will allow more people to learn how the zoo combines conservation, animal care, and education to secure a future for wildlife.

The tickets can be purchased online with proof of Bexar County residency.

The San Antonio Zoo is also celebrating San Antonio’s diverse cultural identities through community performances, resources, education, unique animal encounters, and more. Dreamweek activations can be seen at the Hippo Viewing, Zootenial Plaza, Africa Live, and the Great Lawn from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The UTSA Music Department will be providing musical performances as well. For more information click HERE!

The San Antonio, MLK March is known to be one of the largest marches in the nation. Thousands of people descended upon MLK Junior Academy and marched ending at Pittman-Sullivan park Monday.

The Purpose of the Martin Luther King Jr. March

On August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million people rallied in Washington, D.C. to demand an end to segregation, fair wages and economic justice, voting rights, education, and long overdue civil rights protections.

The march was successful in pressuring the administration of John F. Kennedy to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress. During this event, Martin Luther King delivered his memorable “I Have a Dream” speech. The 1963 March on Washington had several precedents.

Our San Antonio community is known to me show up, and, at great numbers. The theme ‘Together We Can Be The Dream’ was our first ‘in-person’ march in three years.

Who is the Man Behind the March in San Antonio?

The Man Behind The March, a book written by Rev. Dr. Raymond Aaron Callies son, Arlington Callies, details, the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. R. A. Callies who began San Antonio’s MLK March in 1968.

Arlington Callies states on his website – www.themanbehindthemarch.com:

“Rev. Dr. R. A. Callies SR., began what is today, the largest Martin Luther King Jr. march in the nation. His greatest accomplishments was the organization of the MLK Plaza, where he and his organization raised money to have a life-size statue of Dr. King, and the monument of brotherhood erected on the plaza site.”

Arlington Callies’ participation in the communities MLK celebrations continues today. His community involvement never ends as he volunteers his time working with the San Antonio MLK commission, while also serving his church, Covenant Community Church.

You may visit www.themanbehindthemarch.com to purchase your copy and attend any upcoming book signings at The Twig Book Shop located at The Pearl.

JANUARY 29, 2023|1:00 PM–4:00 PM

Description

SAN ANTONIO – The handwritten documents, many dating back to the 1800′s, before and after the Civil War, are emotionally hard to read.

Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark memorized one of the first documents she saw in a bill of sale, “Negro woman, healthy in body, ready to be delivered.”

“That was very emotional,” she said. “I felt it in my soul and my heart.”

Yet, it’s for that reason, Adame-Clark said that people should see the words for themselves.

“The public needs to see this. The public needs to see the truth,” she said.

Some of the documents are on display at the Bexar County Courthouse,

The exhibit, “Slavery and Emancipation in Bexar County,” will be on display throughout Dreamweek until Jan. 29.

Adame-Clark said her office has volumes of historical documents detailing the sales of enslaved men, women and children, probate documents declaring slave owners as guardians to get around emancipation, and legal filings regarding two enslaved men who had escaped twice to Mexico, where slavery was outlawed and were later recaptured.

“There’s so much history of the enslavement in our records,” Adame-Clark said.

Among them, what’s believed to be the last sale of an enslaved man in Bexar County.

“Two months after the end of the Civil War, but five days before Juneteeth,” said Bexar County Archivist David Carlson, Ph.D.

Adame-Clarke said many of the records have been digitized or they can be viewed at the Bexar County Clerk’s Office.

Dreamweek is in full swing in Alamo City. Dreamweek is a 16-day event that started in 2013 as a way to bring people together to celebrate creative and diverse voices. It also serves as a time when the community can reflect on the past year and discuss the issues that still affect society.

What events should we look forward to this year? What are the highlighted events this year?

Guest: Shokare Nakpodia, founder and CEO of DreamVoice

“The Source” is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or tweet@TPRSource.

*This interview was recorded on Tuesday, January 17.