When it comes to meals, Austinites don’t mess around. We love local and organic food, and we tend to avoid chain restaurants like the plague. It’s our culture. Quick, healthy, and made-from-scratch could be the official catchphrase of Austin cuisine. But this triple threat is hard to pull off daily, since most of us are busy working and playing. Enter meal delivery.
[Read more…]Our Treasure: Austinites Tell Their Stories About the Healing Power of Austin Music
“She wanted to know if she had to be present to win our raffle,” James Whelan of SIMS Foundation told me. “She hadn’t been out since the death of her husband, and she wasn’t sure how long she would be able to stay.” He went on to share that later that night, he saw her lost in the music, dancing. To him, that moment showed just how important live music is to the people of Austin.
[Read more…]Please Touch the Art During Touch Tours at Umlauf Sculpture Garden
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum is a place most Austinites have been at least once. This beloved art venue offers vibrant programming, which includes summer camps, family days, and yoga. The peaceful space is also a popular event venue.
But as I walked in to do research for this story, I realized I’d never taken a proper tour. That’s how I missed a key fact regarding touching the statues. I had to confirm: is it really okay to touch the art? “Yes,” Program Director Sarah Athans replied as she smiled, “at least the bronze ones.”
This fact, along with a longtime relationship with Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, set the perfect conditions for Touch Tours to become a part of the garden’s offerings.
[Read more…]Navigate Austin Restaurant Weeks Like a Pro and Support the Food Bank
Growing up, service above self was emphasized in my household. One of the many ways my parents would give back was through blood donations. On days when she donated, my mother would come home and jokingly declare she could not possibly hold a cooking utensil with her sore arm. On those days, we would eat out to celebrate this good deed, and thus service and eating out were forever linked in my mind.
[Read more…]10 Best of Texas Wine Country: Where to Go Now and Why
The first time I went to Texas Hill Country as a wine destination was about 15 years ago. It was akin to visiting a small farm, and I left without bothering to dream of what it could become.
If this story were made into a romantic comedy, a montage would now begin of Texas wine makers learning the Texas grapes, testing and finding the grape varietals that were going to work best in Texas, and building beautiful tasting rooms and properties. People from all over the world would hear of the Texas Wine Country region, as the number of wineries grew to more than 260. I would return a decade later, and fall in love.
[Read more…]Popular Stage Play Vecinos Now in Film Production
Several cult favorite movies, “Dazed and Confused,” “Office Space,” and “Boyhood,” share something in common: Austin. As Austinites, we not only enjoy these movies for themselves, but get to see our city on the big screen.
Currently, a movie is in production that not only has Austin as a backdrop, but also prides itself on having deep Austin roots. The “Vecinos” script was written by a local playwright; it had two separate runs as a play; and the film uses local talent, and crew.
“Vecinos” tells a story many will appreciate, about family, love, and the complexity of finding the people and places that make a home.
[Read more…]Bike, Paddle, Float Your Way to Adventure With Austin’s Frontera Tours
Going hand in hand with our love of all things active, Austin is a city that loves adventure. Austinites can be found enjoying activities ranging from water obstacle courses to ziplining.
So when it’s time to introduce people to our city or take a break ourselves, what better way to do it than via some of our favorite things: biking, paddling, and floating? Thankfully, we have a great guided option for all these activities in Austin tour company, Frontera Tours.
[Read more…]Austin’s Go-to Screen Printing Shop Marks 8 Years in Business
As a blog that loves all-things local, one of our greatest joys is seeing our favorite local businesses grow. Kong Screen Printing is dear to our hearts, so when I realized it would soon be celebrating eight years, I jumped at the excuse to see what the team has been up to.
[Read more…]Were You at the Exclusive Pique-Nique en Blanc This Year?
The mystique of Pique-Nique en Blanc Austin started in early March 2019. An announcement was made in the form of an online post. This year, it simply stated the date, “4.28.19,” followed by the words, “invitation to follow.”
The post was on an all-black background, with the type in white.
Read moreWhat’s the Story Behind Those Radiant Commercials?
As we enter our hottest season, the words “plumber” or “air conditioning problems” may induce a mild panic. But here in Austin, the panic may turn to a chuckle as we remember the ever-constant Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning commercials featuring the company’s owners, Brad and Sarah Casebier.
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