The 29th annual AIDS Walk Austin wound through our downtown streets on Sunday afternoon. For the past few years, the event was held in Republic Square Park. Currently that park is being renovated, so this year’s walk started and ended at Palm Park near the I-35 service road. This fundraiser benefited AIDS Services of Austin and other local AIDS service organizations.

Long-time AIDS Walk Austin supporter, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, and other local officials greeted the walkers. The honorary chairman and post-walk headliner was Nakia, a local singer-songwriter who competed on The Voice in 2011.

We walked west along Sixth Street and then north on Congress Avenue. As typically happens with these walks, our group was spread out by the half-way point as we circled the Texas State Capitol Grounds. Our police escorts held up the walk leaders on the south lawn until everyone else caught up. The afternoon was unseasonably hot and sunny, so I didn’t mind spending ten minutes in the shade.

With everyone re-gathered, we headed back down Congress and then turned east on Fifth Street towards Palm Park. A large crowd turned out for this year’s walk, and I’m happy to see that the fundraising goal of $240,000 is almost accomplished.

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