NIOSA officials hang ‘Rain Rock’ to ward off stormy weather during Fiesta

SAN ANTONIO – As Fiesta 2023 is off to a chilly and wet start, NIOSA is continuing its tradition of hanging the “Rain Rock” to ward off further disruptions from bad weather.

The weather already caused the cancellation of Fiesta Fiesta on Thursday evening and other events over the weekend, putting a little damper on the 11-day party with a purpose.

But NIOSA officials say they will still continue the decades-long tradition, which happens on the Monday before NIOSA, to ward off undesirable weather.

“The NIOSA Rain Rock tradition dates back to the late 1970s when NIOSA volunteer Sue Armitage assured then NIOSA chairman Joanna Parrish, who was fretting about ominous clouds, with the Texas good luck tradition of hanging a rock with a hole in it on a fence to ward off bad weather. That year, Joanna took her advice, and NIOSA was blessed with beautiful weather,” a news release states.

NIOSA officials hanged the rock at 10 a.m. Monday outside NIOSA headquarters, near La Villita.

NIOSA runs from Tuesday to Friday at La Villita.

Read more:

• San Antonio’s 2023 Fiesta forecast ⛅🎉☔
• La Villita ‘ready’ for NIOSA despite construction but plan ahead for parking and road closures, chair says