This week the Austin Aces will finish up their second season in the World Team Tennis league. Only active pros can play in the WTT, so the season is very short—the Aces have just seven home matches during the month of July. Games are played on a colorful indoor court at UT’s Gregory Gym (also home to the UT women’s volleyball team). This year’s Aces team is Teymuraz Gabashvili, Nicole Gibbs Jarmere Jenkins, Alla Kudryavtseva, and “marquee player” Andy Roddick.
Although my last Construction Update was less than three months ago, there’s plenty of news to report about the various projects around downtown Austin.
Bill and I celebrated this July 4th with a stay-cation: visiting with friends, listening to the Austin Symphony, and watching the fireworks over Lady Bird Lake.
Downtown Austin is getting ready for tonight’s Austin Symphony concert and fireworks over Lady Bird Lake. Tens of thousands are expected to attend. Over the past two days, the stage in front of the Long Center was assembled, fences were erected, and porta potties were delivered. We spotted the first spectator blanket at noon today (red arrow above). These hardy folks have positioned themselves so that they can watch the concert and then turn around to view the fireworks. It’s an excellent location.
Even by Austin standards, this has been an impressive week for free downtown entertainment. I realized today that there were no-cost concerts or movies for the past five evenings. This doesn’t even count Blues on the Green (coming up next Wednesday), Unplugged at the Grove (Thursdays), and Music under the Star (next Friday). Here’s what I mean…
After the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on same-sex marriage, over 300 gay and straight couples obtained marriage licenses at the Travis Country Courthouse on Friday. Several churches offered their services for wedding ceremonies. Fourth Street was closed on Friday evening for a rally and celebration. And rainbow flags were prominently displayed all around downtown…
Last week Tropical Storm Bill formed in the Gulf of Mexico and slowly made its way through our state. The center of the storm went east of Austin, so we were grateful to be spared the worst of the wind and rain. Since our ground was still soaked from last month’s Memorial Day flood, some low-lying areas experienced flooding again. Local lake levels rose significantly, and our landscape became a healthy green again.
I recently visited the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center on the University of Texas campus. As home to several major Alice collections, the Ransom Center mounted this exhibit to mark the 150th anniversary of the book’s publishing in 1865.
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. – Dolly Parton
The Republic of Texas Biker Rally has roared into Central Texas this weekend. With an estimated 200,000 participants, there are noticeably more motorcycles on the local streets and highways. The official ROT activities take place east of downtown at the Travis County Expo Center. Bands including Lynryd Skynyrd and Los Lonely Boys are scheduled to perform there.
