Thousands of women will be in Austin on Thursday, Oct. 15, for the 2015 Texas Conference for Women. For more than 16 years, this one-day gathering has provided a platform for women from all walks of life to network, find inspiration and hone professional skills.

Hundreds of speakers are scheduled, including nationally-known figures such as actress Patricia Arquette, television anchor Robin Roberts, community advocate Connie Chang and businessman Bert Jacobs. There’s an incredible array of local talent (see the list at the end of this article). The day is full of roundtable discussions, breakout sessions, book signings, exhibitions and even musical performances.

With so much going on, the day might seem overwhelming. The most challenging aspect may be deciding where to spend your time. Here’s just one of the successful local women lending her voice and experience to creating a memorable day at the 2015 Texas Conference for Women. [Read more…]

Guest article by Ben Snyder

Austin has long been known for its live music and indie film scene, and the Austin Music Video Festival succeeds in combining the two to present an impressive collection of music video screenings over four days. The inaugural Austin Music Video Festival will run September 16-­19, 2015 in various venues across downtown Austin. [Read more…]

Giving feels good. It’s a universal awesome, especially when you expect nothing in return. But finding a worthy cause can be difficult. Enter I Live Here, I Give Here, Austin’s premier resource for finding and funding local non-profits. And with their yearly extravaganza, The Big Give, right around the corner, there’s never been a better time to find a charity in Austin to love. [Read more…]

Guest article by Dana Sayre

More than 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats live under the Anne W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, making ours the largest urban bat colony in North America. The bats migrate to Austin from Mexico each spring, and tourists and Austinites alike flock to the bridge at dusk to view their nightly flights into the sky above Lady Bird Lake.

Over a decade ago, Bat Fest creator French Smith noted how big a part of Austin’s identity the bats had become, and saw the opportunity to create a festival which would celebrate their importance to the city. Smith’s idea became Bat Fest, drawing an average of 15,000 attendees annually and celebrating its 11th year in Austin. [Read more…]