King William Historic Area Community Walk and the Olympiad Opening Ceremony - Sunday, February 19, 2023

Today, we had our first event of the 18th Olympiad - a community walk in King William Historic District in San Antonio, Texas. A large group of attendees walked to King William Park from the downtown La Quinta Hotel. The park attendance swelled in size when approximately 300+ walkers arrived. We also had new walkers join us from San Antonio and they registered at the park. 

Bob and I were looking for places where we could help, but it looked like the volunteers who were already there had everything under control  However, Mike Schwencke, one of our local club presidents, came up to me and said, "Can you do an interview with Channel 4 News?" I told him "Sure." That was an experience. The reporter told me it wasn't live which meant they could edit it before they showed it. Whew! I was glad to hear that. I tried not to ramble too much. 

Volksmarchers walk at their own pace. Even though the park was crowded at the start, the throngs of people abated as the walkers headed out on the route.

King William Park is where we began our walk.

King William Park.

The 5 km walkers in King William 
Historic District.

Bob and I did the 5 km walk. It was cool when we started, but as we walked past our car during the walk, we shed our coats. It warmed up quickly as the morning progressed.

Walking on Pereida St. near the Blue Star 
Arts Complex.

A group of our walkers along the San 
Antonio River.

Rob McDaniel, AVA: America's Walking Club SE Regional
Director, with his wife Lyla, and their dog Moon Pie.

The history of the United States San Antonio Arsenal
which is across the river from this sign.

Yesterday, I completely forgot to give y'all the history of the flood control system in San Antonio. On your walks, you will see dams and intake and outlet structures of the flood control system.

From time to time, San Antonio and the Hill Country north of San Antonio (which feeds our aquifers and rivers) have flash floods. During the early years of San Antonio (before 1954), downtown used to flood frequently making it like a marsh or swamp. Businesses were ruined and lives were lost.

In 1954, following a series of devasting floods, the U.S. Congress authorized the San Antonio River Channel Improvements Project (SACIP) allowing Bexar (pronounced "bear") County and the River Authority to enter into a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve flood control along 31 miles of the San Antonio River and its tributaries. The work involved realignment and channelization of the river system to move flood waters quickly away from urbanized areas. Construction began on the SACIP in 1958.

By the 1990s, all the SACIP channelization work was completed, but there was still a need for further flood protection for downtown San Antonio. The downtown River Walk is part of the SACIP channelization. Work on the SACIP continued with construction of the San Pedro Creek Tunnel which was completed in 1991.

The San Antonio River Tunnel project, which was a larger and more complex project, began in 1993 and was completed in December 1997 at an estimated cost of $111 million. The River Authority administered both tunnel projects in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bexar County and the City of San Antonio were also partners in the project.

On October 17-18, 1998, south-central Texas experienced record-breaking rainfall and the San Pedro Creek Tunnel and San Antonio River Tunnel performed as designed, sparing downtown San Antonio from a devastating flood.

The tunnel intake shaft is located near Josephine Street north of downtown on the Museum Reach of the San Antonio River. The inlet structure directs water from the San Antonio River into the tunnel. (You will see this on your North walk on Monday.) It consists of a 120-foot-long intake which includes rotating racks to collect trash before it can enter the tunnel. The River Authority provided landscaping, an aerating water feature, disinfection, and recirculation pumps to recirculate water from the tunnel and into the river to supplement flow during dry periods. This helps keep the River Walk flowing for the enjoyment of visitors and locals.

On the South walk on Thursday, you will see the outlet structure located just north of Lone Star Boulevard on the west bank of the river along the Mission Reach San Antonio River Walk segment. The tunnel outlet structure directs discharge from the tunnel shaft into the San Antonio River. The outlet structure measures 240 feet across and water features are included to enhance its appearance.

Now you might wonder what is happening to all that water underground. The three-mile-long tunnel uses gravity to bypass the floodwaters under downtown San Antonio. (In fact, it flows almost directly under the Alamo...150 feet down.) The inlet structure is about 30 feet higher than the outlet structure, which allows gravity to push water through the tunnel and out of the outlet structure safely into the river channel of the Mission Reach segment. During flood events, the tunnel can move up to three million gallons of water per minute!

Following construction of the project, the River Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turned the tunnel over to the City of San Antonio. On your walks, keep an eye out for the tunnel inlet and outlet structures.

After the Community Walk, we had a Parade of Flags of the member countries of the IVV Olympiad. At King William Park, the flags were placed in alphabetical order by country and participants from each country lined up behind their flag. Because the United States is the host nation, our flag was last in the procession. With a police escort, everyone walked to the Arneson Theater at La Villita for the Opening Ceremony of the 18th Olympiad. It's the only time in the history of the IVV (Internationaler Volkssportverband) that the Olympiad has been held in the United States!

Parade of Flags entering La Villita.

Parade of Flags entering La Villita.

The United States contingent behind 
the American flag.

The rest of the photos show the Opening Ceremony: an opening blessing by a member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, presentation of the country flags, the entrance of the Olympiad flag, and welcome remarks from Dr. Guiseppe Colantonio (IVV President) and Nancy Wittenberg (AVA Board Chair). Entertainment followed.

Greeters in La Villita.

Riverboat tour on the San Antonio River.

Gale Waibel is scanning the crowd.

The Arneson Theater was standing-room only.

Miss Texas and our emcee.

The presentation of IVV nation flags.

The presentation of IVV nation flags.

The presentation of IVV nation flags.

Introduction of the IVV Presidium.

Mama duck and her ducklings made an appearance,

Opening blessing.

The Olympiad flag is brought in.

The Arneson Theater was packed with 
participants.

The IVV Presidium, the Olympiad flag, and
the flags of Olympiad nations.

Miss Texas presents the Olympiad torch.

Mariachi Estrellas de Oro Burbank High School.

Bob and I left before the entertainment ended because we needed to clear the route markings from our Community Walk.

We found a welcome message from a resident
in the King William Historic District.

Tricked-out cars in the King William 
neighborhood.

Tricked-out cars in the King William 
neighborhood.

James Butler Bonham Elementary School.

I forgot to mention that Bob got up early to walk with his running buddies. He said they WALKED with him this morning. They're a great group of people.

At the end of the day, Bob and I totaled up our miles walked. He walked 19.5 miles and I walked 12.7 miles. We were hot and exhausted! 

On Monday, the North walk is very nice. Enjoy your explorations.