Editor’s note: At the end of 2025, we’re looking back at the stories that shaped San Antonio this year. As always, locals were fascinated by celebrities, whether Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise or the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They were interested in experiences, too — from an epic Dungeons and Dragons attraction to a massive bounce house.
Here are CultureMap San Antonio’s top 10 arts and entertainment stories of 2025.
1. Texas rolls out U.S. debut of epic Dungeons & Dragons adventure. San Antonians don’t often like braving I-35, but they made an exception for Dungeons & Dragons: The Immersive Quest, a fantastic attraction that lets gamers be the hero of their own journey. The Plano experience will run through February 2026 for those who have yet to roll the dice.
2. World’s biggest bounce house to land at San Antonio soccer park. In February, droves of locals cavorted in a bouncy castle half the size of the White House. The boundless site featured 24,000 square feet of inflatable jumping space with slides, ball pits, towers, basketball hoops, and a ballroom manned by a DJ.
3. San Antonio unwraps 2025 dates for Holidays on Houston Street. This annual downtown holiday tradition, featuring dozens of vendors and seasonal treats, has already wrapped up its 2025 run. But the dazzling lights — over 393,000 of them — will still shine through the new year.
4. San Antonio film fest will roll out red carpet for Hollywood celebs. The weeklong indie showcase, held in late July, was a cinema buff’s dream with tons of screenings, panels, and special celebrity guests like Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it was missing one marquee name. Actor Matthew Modine pulled out at the last minute.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders high-kicked their way into San Antonio in May. Dallas Cowboys Facebook
5. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders high-kick into San Antonio on Texas tour. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders took their talents on a five-city tour of Texas in May, including a stop at the Majestic Theatre downtown. After the spirited performance, a few local hopefuls broke out their pom-poms for a live audition.
6. Former San Antonio Spurs dancer tumbles into Cirque du Soleil stardom. In September, we caught up with former Spurs dancer Salvador “Sal” Salangsang, a former Marshall High School student whose career is reaching new heights as a star of Cirque du Soleil’s dazzling new show, ‘Auana.
7. Tom Cruise to pop up at San Antonio ‘Mission Impossible’ screenings. The Hollywood Maverick caused a stir in May when he announced he would stop by San Antonio theaters to promote his latest blockbuster. It turned out he had time for one public appearance at downtown’s AMC Rivercenter.
8. Quirky Stonehenge replica survives devastating Hill Country storms. While mourning the lives lost during the devastating July 4 floods, readers were heartened to learn that Ingram’s almost-to-scale replica of Stonehenge was still standing after the storms.
9. Princess Diana photos will be shown in Texas exhibition for first time. The “people’s princess” was the subject of a January photo exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art. The hit show featured 140 super-sized photos taken by royal photographer Anwar Hussein and his sons, Samir and Zak.
10. San Antonio blogger’s riveting tell-all memoir heads to local shelves. San Antonio readers were engrossed in San Antonio entrepreneur Brenda Coffee’s May memoir. The page turner documented her turbulent marriage to famous businessman Philip Ray and her path to healing.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sanantonio.culturemap.com ’
