Monday, 1 pm – 5 pm
Wednesday, 9 am – 12:30 pm
Experience the richness of Texas history on this memorable tour. You’ll see:

• The Alamo. Visit the most famous spot in Texas, which has come to symbolize courage and sacrifice for the cause of liberty. The defeat of the upstart “Texians” in 1836 by Santa Anna’s army inspired others to “Remember the Alamo” and win independence for Texas one month later.
• Historic King William District. Explore the only house in this neighborhood of Victorian-era mansions and perfectly kept gardens that is open to the public—the Steves Homestead, an elegant three-story mansion on the east bank of the San Antonio River.
• Museo Alameda. Discover San Antonio’s heritage through Latino arts and culture, at the official State Latino Museum. It’s the first formal affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution outside of Washington D.C., and the nation’s largest Latino museum.
• Market Square. Known as El Mercado by the locals, it captures San Antonio's heritages in shops filled with piñatas, pottery, colorful clothing, onyx carvings, metal work, woven baskets, blankets and more.

Tuesday, 9 am – 12:30 pm
Thursday, 9 am – 12:30 pm
Explore three 400-year-old missions in this national historic park, where you can retrace the footsteps of the mission Indians and friars and, possibly, meet descendants of those first inhabitants.

• Mission Concepciόn. The oldest unrestored Catholic church in America, Concepciόn was established in 1731. Its twin towers were originally covered with brilliant quatrefoils and squares of red, blue, orange and yellow. You’ll see rare original frescoes still in evidence on the interior walls.

• Mission San Juan. San Juan was a regional supplier of peaches, beans, corn, melons and more, with a trade network stretching from Louisiana to Coahuila, Mexico. This thriving economy helped the mission to survive epidemics and Indian attacks in its final years.
• Mission Espada. In the mid-1700s, this mission’s walls echoed the sounds of a dynamic community:  the blacksmith’s ringing anvil, bellowing livestock, pounding looms, the clatter of carpentry, and the scrape of the brick maker. Can you hear them now?

Tuesday, 1 pm  – 4:30 pm
Thursday, 1 pm – 4:30 pm
San Antonio is more than the Alamo; it is also home to some of the world’s finest art. On this tour you’ll see:

• The Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum. Housed in a 24-room Mediterranean-style mansion on 23 acres, the museum’s collection of 20,000 works include Medieval and Renaissance art and 19th- through 21st-century European and American paintings, sculptures and photographs.
• The San Antonio Museum of Art. This is the only major comprehensive art museum in South Texas. Housed in the historic, turn-of-the-century Lone Star Brewery, the museum is home to the region's finest collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Asian art, Latin American art, and American and European contemporary art.

Wednesday, 10 am – 3:30 pm
Surrounded by the natural beauty of the Texas Hill Country, and only minutes from San Antonio, this charming community was named in honor of a radical German idealist, Ludvig Börne. Shopping in Boerne takes you on a journey through quaint historic buildings filled with unique treasures and an eclectic collection of restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and bakeries. Lunch is on your own.

Wednesday, 1 pm – 3:30 pm
 
The San Antonio Botanical Center is sometimes subdued, sometimes exuberant, sometimes humorous, but always worth checking out. You’ll:

• Reacquaint yourself with flowers from your childhood in the Old Fashioned Garden.
• Savor sweet fragrances in the Rose Garden.
• Engage your senses in the Sensory Garden (Garden for the Blind).
• Experience the beauty of the Japanese Garden, Sacred Garden, Shade Garden, Gertie’s Garden and other displays.

• Walk the Native Texas Trail consisting of plant communities characteristic of the Hill Country, East Texas Piney Woods, and South Texas.

The $189 Guest Program registration fee includes

• Welcome reception: An Evening in Old San Antonio
• Exhibit Hall luncheon
• 2012 Illinois Reception
• Admission to all sessions
• Exhibit hall admission
• Choice of two tours*
• Transportation to all venues listed in the tours
• Closing event: Texas Dancehall Revue

*Additional tours may be purchased for a fee of $25 per tour for registered attendees.