The 26th annual Feast of Sharing was held on Tuesday evening at the Palmer Events Center. Organized by Texas grocer H-E-B, free Thanksgiving dinners were served to an estimated 14,000 Central Texans. Over 1000 volunteers—including many H-E-B employees—helped with various tasks such as food prep, serving, drink distribution, and children’s activities.
Over 200 merchants filled the Palmer Events Center for last weekend’s A Christmas Affair. This annual Christmas market was sponsored by the Junior League of Austin. This year’s theme was ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas in Texas—Y’All (pronounced with a Texas twang). Proceeds from this popular event benefited 32 local non-profits.
So many artists, so little time. I headed back out on the East Austin Studio Tour during their second weekend. On Saturday afternoon, I focused on smaller exhibit spaces around East 5th and 6th Streets.
The annual East Austin Studio Tour runs for two weekends in mid-November. This year’s EAST featured 287 artist studios and 152 exhibitions, all located east of I-35. Tour maps were available online and in the local newspapers and libraries. Most events were free.
Taking advantage of the mild-for-November weather, Bill and I decided to visit the Creek Show, an outdoor art exhibit sponsored by the Waller Creek Conservancy. Waller Creek is a 1.5 mile stream running north-to-south from the UT campus to Lady Bird Lake. Five light installations are set up along the banks between Fifth and Ninth Streets.
I’ve noticed quite a few changes on my walks around downtown Austin, which means it’s time for another construction update. It’s interesting to compare this entry with my last update in July. With one exception, the in-flight projects are moving right along. Several new projects have been started, and we even have a new bridge.
Each year the City of Austin sponsors an exhibition called The People’s Gallery inside our City Hall building. The exhibition also includes a contest where visitors can vote for their three favorite pieces. The top vote-getter will be announced early next year and purchased by the city for their permanent collection. The contest ended in October, but the exhibition continues until January 7, 2016.
Located in a three-story building on the corner of Congress Avenue and Fourth Street, the Mexic-Arte Museum is the official Mexican art museum of the state of Texas. Throughout the year, the museum stages various exhibitions of Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art in their two exhibit spaces. A gift store is located inside the main entrance.
Austin’s Mexic-Arte Museum held their 32nd annual Viva la Vida festival on Saturday. This downtown event celebrated the Mexican holiday, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) which ends on November 2.
I hadn’t really planned to attend this month’s City-Wide Garage Sale. After my visit last year, I remember thinking, “Been there, done that.” But since I was already at the Palmer Events Center last weekend for the Gem Capers Show, I decided to pay the $6 admission and look around.