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Mission Concepción Vying For $236,000 Grant To be Awarded By Popular Vote

The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is in the running for a grant from Partners in Preservation. The contest has a gift of $2 million in grants that could be split among any number of 20 other parks. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says the parks that win are up to the voting public."Our park here, if we get it, we get $236,000 to restore a portion of the Concepción Mission, so you can vote once a day if you want to," Wolff says.If Mission Concepcion collects the most votes and receives the grant, the money will go to preserve fragile frescoes painted on walls in the area, and several architectural features. Voters must create an account at VoteYourPark.org. Voting takes place now through June 5th.

The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is the U.S.'s newest World Heritage site. It's rich in Spanish colonial history. Mission Concepción contains the largest concentration of Spanish colonial frescoes in the U.S.

“We are very proud to have made the first cut for this national contest, and now we need our supporters and the general public to help us win our grant,” said Los Compadres Chairman Steve Souter. “With the support from our friends group, Los Compadres, we submitted a solid proposal for a much-needed preservation project at Mission Concepción and were able to get into the final running for the grant dollars.”

An open house and family-friendly event will be held at Mission Concepción on June 18. It will include special tours, kids activities, a lecture on the Mission project, food trucks and music.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules