Last weekend was mostly fine weather for the 33rd Annual Pecan Street Fall Arts Festival. Cloud cover, a few sprinkles of rain, and the UT-Kansas State football game meant fewer crowds when I visited on Saturday afternoon. Many of the same vendors are always on Sixth (Pecan) Street in the same locations. This time a few unusual “Just What I Always Needed” items caught my eye…
Fiesta! was the theme of the 2014 Capital of Texas QuiltFest. This show was sponsored by The Austin Area Quilt Guild and held last weekend at the Palmer Events Center. These first two quilts were on display at the entrance to the hall: the spectacular Raffle Quilt above (no, I did not win) and the Best of Show below.
If you didn’t get to this weekend’s Classic Game Fest at the Palmer Events Center…well, you just missed Austin’s biggest retro gaming event of the year. This was the opportunity to relive that huge portion of your childhood (and beyond) devoted to video games. Fest attendees of all ages tackled arcade, console, and computer versions of classics such as Super Mario, Tetris, PacMan, Ms. PacMan, and Mario Kart.
The Austin Ice Cream Festival definitely wins my vote for “Most Appropriate Festival for the Month of August.” This was a perfect outdoor activity for a 100-degree day in Austin. For a $10 admission, Bill and I each received three tickets for ice cream samples plus some other sweet treats. Since children under 8 were admitted free, this event was popular with families.
An estimated 200,000 bikers converged on Austin for last week’s Republic of Texas Biker Rally. This annual event is based east of downtown at the Travis County Exposition Center, although there are motorcycles everywhere during ROT. If you aren’t a biker, it’s a good weekend to avoid driving on the area’s roads…or to leave town.
For two weekends each year, the Pecan Street Festival takes over East Sixth Street (formerly called Pecan Street). Both weekends seem to mark the change in seasons here in central Texas: late September, as the hot summer days are ending, and early May, as spring comes to a close. Many of the same vendors return each time, but I still enjoy browsing their latest wares. At last weekend’s festival I noticed some new vendors, including Wild Bill’s Olde Fashioned Soda Pop Company. Unlimited soda refills for the price of a silver mug was a popular concept for a hot, sunny weekend.
“The Biggest Open House in Texas” that has always seemed like an accurate description of Explore UT to me. Perhaps because it was a perfect spring day, Saturday’s event seemed even bigger and more crowded than usual. Kids were everywhere. I was one of the few adults walking around campus without a gaggle of children lined up behind me.
The Cowboy Breakfast is one of my favorite Austin events. This annual gathering is held just south of downtown to publicize Rodeo Austin (which starts tomorrow at the Travis County Expo Center). Most people show up at the Cowboy Breakfast for the free food, but not me. This is such an excellent opportunity for us city folk to learn about the ways of the cowboys. Here is what I learned at this year’s breakfast:
Last weekend I accompanied Bill and a car-savvy friend to Austin AutoRama over at the Palmer Events Center. The event was comfortably crowded, and it was nice to see so many father-son attendees. I enjoyed walking around the displays and learning which vehicles were rare, how they all got into the building (most were pushed, not driven), and that the shiny olive finish that I admired was, indeed, unusual.
City of Austin officials held a little news conference in front of City Hall to publicize Austin’s New Year, a free celebration planned for New Year’s Eve.