Last weekend, the Texas Book Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary. This free event was started by Laura Bush back when George W was governor. She is still the honorary chair. Authors at this year’s festival included Margaret Atwood, John Sununu, and Lemony Snicket.
Local NPR music station KUTX sponsored a live concert at the start of the second weekend of the ACL Music Festival. Several hundred people gathered on the back lawn of the downtown Four Seasons to hear four acts that were also playing at the festival. Each group played 30-minute sets. Admission was $10, which included coffee and a breakfast taco.
ACL Fest 2015 Weekend 1 will long be remembered for perfect weather: no rain, highs only in the 80s, and even some occasional cloud cover. Hopefully, attendees at the upcoming Weekend 2 will have similar conditions. I thought Zilker Park seemed a little less crowded than usual, but perhaps that was my imagination. Bill and I rode the shuttle buses back and forth from Republic Square Park without problems (well, except for that brawl that closed Cesar Chavez on the first day, but that had nothing to do with the shuttle bus). We didn’t eat much at the festival this year, but instead slipped out for sit-down dinners at the restaurants on Barton Springs Road. Extremely thorough Security guys declared “CONTRABAND!!!” and confiscated my selfie stick and two granola bars, but that was my fault for not reading the fine print (or not hiding them well enough). All in all, it was an excellent ACL Fest.
Day 2 of ACL Fest 2015 was a very pleasant day. The Zilker Park festival grounds didn’t seem too crowded for a Saturday (maybe due to the college football games), and the temperatures stayed in the mid-80s. Bill and I felt that most of the earlier acts were OK, but not great. Our favorite festival artists were Alabama Shakes, TV on the Radio, and hometown boy, Shakey Graves. The highlight of our day was seeing The Decemberists at an “official” ACL after-show in the ACL/Moody Theater.
About a year ago, Bill and I had to decide which 2015 weekend to attend the Austin City Music Festival. We picked the first weekend in October, which has turned out to be a very lucky decision. The weather in Austin has been almost perfect: highs in the mid-80s with no rain.
Calendar-wise, the fall version of the Pecan Street Festival was held in the correct season. But, with last weekend’s temperatures in the 90’s, it still felt like summer as I wandered around the vendor booths on East Sixth (formerly Pecan) Street. In spite of the heat, I could tell by the items for sale that fall is just around the corner…well, in another month or two.
On Tuesday evening, Austin’s Mexican-American community celebrated Fiesta del Grito. This annual tradition commemorates the start of Mexico’s war of independence from Spain, which began in 1810 with a call to arms by a Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo. Mexican Independence Day is celebrated the next day, Diez y Seis de Septiembre (September 16).
The official title is the Austin Ice Cream Festival, but in our household, today is commonly known as “Ice Cream for Lunch Day.” This one-day event featured live music, contests, crafts, rides, and most importantly, 15 ice cream vendors. Three samples were included with the $10 admission (kids 8 and under were free). Bill and I decided to purchase some extra tickets…this was lunch, after all.
Everything was Awesome at last weekend’s Brick Fiesta! This convention was organized by the Texas LEGO Users Group (TexLUG). Bill and I did not attend the actual convention, but we did go over to the Hilton Doubletree Austin to tour the exhibit hall. A big turnout was expected, so we arrived shortly after the doors opened.
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.