Real Estate Photographer in San Antonio, TX

This weekend marks San Antonians' last chance to catch a diverse range of Asian cuisines, performances and entertainment — and it's coming to the Rolling Oaks Mall.

Otaku Food Festival is throwing its final Summer Matsuri of the year in the Alamo City, bringing a two-day, family-friendly food and anime festival to the Northeast Side. It runs from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, and from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 10. Organizer Vincent Tran told MySA in an email that entry and parking will both be free, and visitors can expect loads of things to do (and eat).

Food offerings include Filipino cuisine, Japanese street food, Thai street food, Taiwanese boba tea, noodles, bao buns, Latin food, Vietnamese grilled chicken, eggrolls and more. Tran said the festival only allows street food vendors in tents — no food trucks with trailers. When it comes to entertainment, there will be appearances from anime voice actors, a "stage with performances every hour and a cosplay contest that is free to enter. We will also have the Mighty Eagles Sumo team come to demonstrate every few hours each day."

According to Tran, Otaku Food Festival started five years ago in Houston, with events taking place across the state in cities like Denton, Waco, Port Arthur and none other than the 210. Throughout the year, they throw festivals of four different seasonal themes, including a Cherry Blossom Festival, Lunar New Year Festival and Winter Wonderland.

"Even though summer is the hottest season and has the lowest show of guests, we still anticipate over 10,000 guests to come over the weekend. When the weather is cooler - we get up [to] 20,000 guests," Tran said.

Tran gave some pointers you'll want to know before going. He recommends bringing cash, although all payment types are accepted. He also noted that the festival will take place in the back of the Rolling Oaks Mall parking lot (where the Texas DMV service center is). Guests are also encouraged to come early or stay late to avoid long food lines.

Find it: Rolling Oaks Mall, 6909 N. Loop 1604 E., San Antonio, TX 78247

A visit to one of the Hill Country's most popular downtowns now comes with a price. You may have to do a double take after putting your car in park, because as of July the City of New Braunfels’ new downtown paid parking system is officially in effect.

The move stirred plenty of conversation before it even launched. Under the plan, parking along Castell Avenue, Seguin Avenue, San Antonio Street, and Main Plaza costs $2 per hour after the first free hour, with a $10 daily maximum. The city told MySA the program was designed to ease congestion and improve parking accessibility.

Now that it’s been active for over a month, how’s it going?

According to city officials, the managed parking system saw about 90% voluntary compliance, collecting $30,012 in paid parking revenue through the end of July. Other Central Texas towns, like San Marcos, have rolled out similar enforcement strategies. There, the city introduced tighter parking rules near City Park, a popular tubing launch point.

In July alone, 1,490 parking citations were issued in downtown New Braunfels for nonregistration or overstaying a session, totaling $18,840 in citation fees. But not all tickets resulted in penalties as nearly 470 drivers resolved their citations by following instructions printed on the notice, which allow for registration and payment of the original session.

More than 500 free on-street parking spaces remain downtown, roughly two-thirds of all available parking. The remaining 240 spots are part of the paid system.

While some locals pushed back against the rollout, others welcomed it. Ashley Landerman, co-owner of downtown bakery 2Tarts, told MySA in June that repeat parking violators had become a problem before the new system. Now, a month after the launch, her co-owner April Ryan shared an update via email.

"We have not experienced any decrease in sales or customer traffic due to the changes," Ryan wrote. "We have had to do some education with our customers but for the most part people say it is convenient and easy to use."

On Thursday, August 7, a group of barbers at The Elite Barber Shop had much to say about the new plans. From hearing complaints from customers about mishaps with QR codes to the lack of proper education and presence of parking ambassadors, all four workers agreed that it has created an additional responsibility for them. Each time a guest comes, their immediate question is to ask, "where did they park?"

" We've had some of the older gentlemen that just have a flip phone, like 'I don't have the internet,' and they have to find another barber shop to go to. That hasn't happened a lot, but we have lost a few," barber Teresa Pilloff said. "It’s going take a while for everyone to get educated about it."

Fellow barber Sydney Segura noted that the congestion has eased, but notes that more education is needed.

"I think that's why they need to make sure they have people out here, not just giving tickets," Segura tells MySA.

On that same weekday, some visitors ignored the signs, others took the time to scan the QR code and register their vehicles, while a few dashed in and out of shops. But be warned, citations are actively being issued.

A popular German grocery store, known for its low prices, could soon be giving H-E-B a run for its money. Aldi is eyeing a new location in a growing Central Texas suburb as the company continues to invest in the Austin area.

A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing reveals Aldi is building a $1.75 million store in Cedar Park, a town about 20 miles north of Austin. Evidently Aldi is not avoiding competition as it will be right down the road from an H-E-B.

Construction on the Cedar Park Aldi is expected to begin September 22 and is slated to end in February 2026. This new 23,606-square-foot store would replace a former Big Lots, the Austin Business Journal reports.

The scope of work for the project includes replacing the sign and siding, adding/relocating openings and retrofitting Aldi's standard store components like a new freezer, cooler, HVAC and electricity package and more into the new space.

Its listed address on North Bell Boulevard is about half a mile away from an H-E-B and not too far away from a potential Trader Joe's, which is also owned by the makers of Aldi. Last year, the Cedar Park City Council approved plans for a planned 8-acre, mixed-use development located nearly two miles away from a possible Aldi.

Although Aldi has not yet confirmed its arrival to Cedar Park, this new store would be part of the company rapidly expanding footprint in the U.S. The New York Times recently reported Aldi plans to open 200 stores across the country this year, more than any other grocer, and expects to have around 2,600 locations by the end of 2025.

This would make it the third-largest supermarket chain by number of stores, with Kroger having 2,700 stores and Walmart boasting 5,206 locations. H-E-B operates over 440 stores in Texas and Mexico, with more than 50 in the Austin area.

The Times says Aldi wants to have more than 3,200 stores in the U.S. by the end of 2028. Once open, Cedar Park would be Aldi's sixth Central Texas location since the grocer has others in Pflugerville, Georgetown, Temple and two in Killeen. Aldi also has 128 stores across Texas, mainly in small suburbs outside big metros.

MySA reached out to Aldi for comment.

Find it: 850 N. Bell Blvd., Suite 104, Cedar Park, TX 78613

In less than 24 hours, folks in San Antonio have an extremely rare chance to spot what NASA scientists call the "best meteor shower of the year." The Perseid shower marks the historic moment Earth passes through the dustiest debris trail of a decades-old comet, illuminating the dark skies overhead with bright, colorful streaks. Whether you're a lifelong stargazer or you simply have the fear of missing out, it makes for a perfect weekday activity with families and friends.

Scientists consider the Perseid shower one of the better experiences to watch because it produces a high rate of fireballs and occurs during the late summer season, when moderate temperatures are in place. Although it has been active since mis-July the meteor shower will be its most active this week, offering residents its most spectacular show yet on Tuesday, August 12, into Wednesday, August 13, according to a report by NASA.

On these days, observers in areas with low light pollution could see more than 30 meteors per hour in the night sky. Sightings may be hampered by an 84%-full Moon on the peak night (August 12), so the best opportunity for seeing bright streaks is likely during the pre-dawn hours, NASA says.

The meteors you will see originate from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which boasts a nucleus of 16 miles across and takes 133 years to orbit the sun once, according to NASA. Fun fact: this event is the only meteor shower in history to have delayed a space shuttle launch. About 30 years ago, NASA's deployment of its "STS-51" satellite was delayed because the Perseid meteor shower was forecast to so active that scientists worried it could lead the spacecraft to be damaged by a piece of debris.

"People in the U.S. can reasonably expect to see around 40 Perseids in the hour just before dawn on the peak nights. That’s about one every couple of minutes, which is not bad,” Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a report. “However, we are assuming you are out in the country, well away from cities and suburbs.”

In general, when comets pass the sun, they emit dust particles that spread into a "dusty trail" around their orbits. A meteor shower happens when the Earth passes through that dusty trail, causing the debris to enter the atmosphere. This creates the fiery streaks you see in the night sky, NASA says.

Where does the Perseid meteor shower get its name from

The meteor shower is named after the constellation Perseus. It is the Perseid's radiant, which NASA describes as the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to enter the atmosphere.

Where to watch the Perseid meteor shower 2025

A number of Texas State Parks are holding watch parties to celebrate the annual spectacular in the sky, including the Fort Leaton State Historic Site, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, and Choke Canyon State Park.

There are also a number of Texas State Parks that are less than 100 miles away from San Antonio that are open overnight and perfect to do some stargazing, including Bastrop State Park, Blanco State Park, Buescher State Park, Choke Canyon State Park, Enchanted Rock State Nature Area, Garner State Park, Goliad State Park, Government Canyon State Nature Area, Guadalupe River State Park, Hill Country State Nature Area, Inks Lake State Park, Lockhart State Park, Lost Maples State Nature Area, McKinney Falls State Park, Palmetto State Park, and Pedernales Falls State Park.

To check out if the Perseid meteor shower will be visible in your neck of the woods, the website Time and Date has an interactive map where you can plug in your city and see if visibility will be poor or good.

The San Antonio Missions, the San Diego Padres’ Double-A affiliate, are hosting a Fundraising Game for Hill Country Flood Victims on Saturday.

As part of the fundraising efforts, the Missions are wearing the baseball jerseys of four schools affected by the flooding: Center Point High School, Comfort High School, Ingram Tom Moore High School and Kerrville Tivy High School. The game-worn jerseys will be autographed after the final out and auctioned off, according to the Missions’ website.

The Padres and Red Sox also wore the schools’ jerseys during batting practice ahead of their Saturday game at Petco Park in San Diego. Those will also be auctioned off.

Bigger than baseball ?? Today, the @RedSox joined the @Padres in donning replica jerseys of 4 high schools impacted by recent flooding in Texas for batting practiceThey will be auctioned at a later date to support flood relief efforts ???? pic.twitter.com/jfzUWBlauR

— NESN (@NESN) August 9, 2025

Auction proceeds are going to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund and a new partnership with Rangers Triple-A affiliate Round Rock Express, Nolan Ryan Foundation and RS3 Turf to help rebuild Ingram Little League’s flood-damaged fields.

The event also brought a familiar face to Nelson Wolff Stadium in San Antonio as Missions co-owner and San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili threw out the first pitch wearing an Ingram Tom Moore High School jersey.

Spurs Legend and Missions co-owner Manu Ginobili fires a strike to Pace Davis from Center Point High School before tonight’s game.The Missions players are wearing jerseys from Kerrville Tivy, Center Point, Comfort and Ingram Tom Moore High Schools. pic.twitter.com/8ZkIrX90B8

— Zack Hedrick (@zhedrickTV) August 10, 2025

Bidding can be done by texting 210-554-1500 with your bid & desired jersey. Click here to keep up with the auction, including current prices and which jerseys have already sold. Bidding ends at the top of the ninth inning of the Missions-Cardinals game.