SAN ANTONIO — As a native San Antonian, Michelle Moses-Marquez has been to King William Fair as a visitor, joining thousands of others in watching the street parade, sampling chicken-on-a-stick and avoiding springtime Texas heat under the shade of the historic Southtown district's trees.
But in preparing for her first King William Fair as a vendor this year, Moses-Marquez recalls a key piece of advice: Whatever amount of inventory she's considering bringing, triple it.
"I am expecting it to be probably the biggest event that I've participated in," the owner of Wila + Co. told KENS 5 amid final preparations to bring hundreds of her all-natural candle and essential oils products to the fair. "I'm hoping to sell out."
Some business owners, like Moses-Marquez, will be participating in their first King William Fair as a vendor. Others have been doing it for years.
No matter the amount of experience, all the participating businesses KENS 5 spoke to ahead of Saturday's fan-favorite Fiesta event agreed that in-person markets like this one are a huge boon. Couple that with the fact that an estimated 35,000 people will attend, and King William Fair becomes one of the biggest days of the year for their small businesses.
“There are certain events where you do really well in terms of sales, but you kind of drag your feet through it a little bit," said Corin Wilke, owner of Kindheart Designs. "But the environment of King William is amazing. I get to have so much fun and I get to share my art with people.”
While the word "Fiesta" may first conjure up images of delicious eating, drinking and sweet treat-munching, King William Fair has been carving out a different reputation as an annual haven for artisans, from painters and potters to jewelry and photography.
And that reputation is bigger than ever: 350 businesses applied to bring their products to the fair this year, amounting to the most ever, according to King William Association Events Director Jen Huss.
A committee ultimately selected 212—and that doesn't include the 70-plus food and drink vendors that will pepper the King William neighborhood from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
"It screams that this is an event that people are really excited to be a part of," Huss said, adding that 15% of net proceeds go back to the community through grants.
'We do not mess around'
It isn't a popular Fiesta event without huge crowds packed tight like medals on a heavy sash, yet every popular Fiesta event has to start somewhere.
For anyone who has ever attended the King William Fair, it might be hard to believe that it was once a one-block party featuring a handful of artists. Now, nearly six decades after it joined the Fiesta slate, it's grown to an extravaganza 20 square blocks in size and requiring the efforts of more than 400 volunteers.
The small businesses that will be on hand Saturday have been busy at work, too; some of them have been preparing for more than a month.
"When it comes to Fiesta, we do not mess around," said Katherine Ozuna of Sweet Cravings by Katherine, which will be selling its popular mini-pancakes and chicken-and-waffles. "We absolutely block out all of April to specifically be ready for all of the Fiesta events."
Jesse Mendoza of Elotes Locos says participation in the fair is a family affair. His father was a roasted corn-selling regular at King William Fair and Oyster Bake; Mendoza recalls joining in from as young as 9 years old.
Today he still uses the same corn machines his father built by hand.
"At age 27 I am continuing the legacy while creating one of my own alongside my wife," Mendoza said. "Selling at Fiesta has taught me that preparation, consistency and quality are key."
Some vendors remember well what it was like to peruse the King William Fair as a visitor. Then there are businesses owners like Wilke, an Alamo City native who moved to Dallas in 2020 and has been selling her art at pop-ups for three years.
2024 marks Wilke's second time as a vendor at the fair. Participating for the first time last year was a full-circle moment.
"Getting to come back and be part of it with this other thing that I created, it was very cool," Wilke said. "All of Fiesta is special and fun, but King William, from an artist's perspective, is a really special event."
Stepping stones
While many of the artisans that can be found Saturday hold regular pop-up events, not all have their own storefronts or brick-and-mortar spaces. For them, events as big as King William Fair present another valuable opportunity: exposure.
"I create those very direct relationships with customers," Wilke says. "That's something that's really special versus exclusively selling online or through a retailer."
“I cannot overstate how important in-person events like this are to my business," added Sarah Moore, who has been selling original paintings of nature and landscapes for six years. "Artwork is most powerful when seen in person, and the people that I meet at art fairs and markets go on to be some of my best customers."
This will mark Moore's first pop-up event in San Antonio since moving here in 2022. Saying that meeting new customers is vital to her business in the long term, she's making sure to have options at her booth on Saturday—from $3 postcards to $500 framed paintings.
Success at events like King William and other major annual markets also provide a stepping stone for primarily online businesses to potentially open their own walk-in stores too, according to Ana Bradshaw, San Antonio's assistant director for economic development. She calls it a "critical piece of the process."
Sonya Marin, of Sonya Marina Designs, concurs. She said pop-ups account for a whopping 90% of her business.
“Large events like this have the potential to bring in 10 times what maybe a weekend pop-up market can bring in," she said. "If I could do in one day what 10 markets can provide, I could spend those other nine weekend days with my family."
Moses-Marquez and Ruby Hernandez, owner of La Casa Frida, take things a step further by bringing new versions or a niche line of their products to offer King William Fair shoppers something unique.
"Having participated in various Fiesta events, we understand the importance of offering colorful and lively products that align with the festive spirit," said Hernandez, who specializes in selling Mexican products like jewelry and bags.
Moses-Marquez, meanwhile, is enticing some of her first-ever King William Fair customers with Fiesta-themed candles. Having prepared for a month and a half for what might very well be the most people her business has come across in a single day, no one can fault her for having the goal of packing as few products as possible by the end of the day.
But she also understands that events like King William Fair are as lucrative for San Antonio's sense of community as for her own bottom line.
"I would love to have people stop by and check out the new scents that I have, and come out to see all the other vendors," she says. "All my vendor peers are working just as hard to prepare for this.”
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