Conservation Society Honors Founders at Muertos Fest 2023

2023 marked San Antonio’s 11th annual Muertos Fest, which celebrates the Day of the Dead on the last weekend of October in Hemisfair.   National Geographic named this event as one of the “7 best fall festivals in the United States.”

This year veteran altar-builders Fernando Villarreal and Linda Skop turned their talents to honoring the Conservation Society’s 13 founding women and 34 former presidents, now deceased.  Although we didn’t win an award, our altar in the grassy area across from the Yanaguana splash pads attracted lots of interested visitors.  Kids enjoyed spinning our “wheel of wins,” highlighting sites and traditions the Society helped save over the years. Many thanks to the volunteers who came out to help!

The majority of photos on the altar come from the our library’s collection.  Our thirteen founders are:  Fannie Applewhite, Jessie Branch, Esther Perez Carvajal, Ethel Drought, Emily Edwards, Anna Ellis, Floy Fontaine, Rena Maverick Green, Eleanor Onderdonk, Josephine Tobin Rote, Ida Schasse, Amanda Cartwright Taylor, and Lucretia Van Horn.

KSAT-12 aired a special broadcast covering the festivities, archived here. The slide show below features  some of our founders’ embellished portraits and more altar details.