SAN ANTONIO – Revelers hit the dance floor Saturday afternoon at Sunken Garden Theater, as the music got turned up during the Taste of New Orleans.

There were gray skies and cool winds, but the Taste was still serving up Fiesta fun.

The Zulu Association said the group kept a close eye on the weather, and despite the temperature being a lot cooler than usual, the food selection could help keep things in balance.

“We know it is chillier, but that just means you eat more spicy food,” said Tremell Brown, the association’s marketing chairman.

Cajun food vendors from San Antonio and beyond were in attendance, including first-time vendor Yardbird Wings from the Rio Grande Valley.

Yardbird owner Andrae Baker said he knew he had to showcase at the event, so he partnered up with Mark’s Outing, which has booths set up at the Sunken Gardens.

“The taste, as far as I know, it’s really a place where everybody gets together to kind of show off the different talents in their foods that they present to the people,” Baker said. “So, we wanted to be a part of that.”

Long-time attendee Vallerie Hartfield said the San Antonio Zulu Association knows how to throw a party that people want to attend.

“I do make a point to come,” Hartfield said. “It’s a very wonderful time. And you hear our Louisiana music, which I am a Louisiana person. So I love it out here.”

Hartfield said the music and the food were her favorite parts of the event.

The association joined the Fiesta Commission as a participating member organization in the 1980’s, according to its website, and hosted its Fiesta West event shortly after joining.

That event soon became what we now know as The Taste of New Orleans.

Brown said the group pulls out all the stops every Fiesta to show San Antonio gratitude for making it one of the season’s prime events and helping fund scholarships for deserving recipients.

“We’re blessed to have a community like San Antonio. That’s 40 years of them supporting what we believe in,” Brown said. “We’re not out here by ourselves, so we’re always glad to see the community show up and give back in a very special way with us, and we feel fortunate.”

The association crowned and introduced a Zulu King, Danny Peters, for the first time to celebrate the milestone anniversary.

Brown said, after 40 years, naming a Zulu King further demonstrates the association’s commitment to the public and community.

“Every time they see our Zulu King, they’ll understand that we’ve been here for a long time and we’re looking for another 40 more years,” Brown said.

Brown said the Taste of New Orleans provides between 20-30 different scholarships each year.

Recipients are young men and women who Brown said show themselves as emerging leaders and desire to be stewards of vocational-skilled professions.

The recipients are recognized every May during the association’s scholarship luncheon.

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