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Zilker Botanical Garden: A Jewel In The Heart Of Austin

November 6, 2012 by

Austin, Texas, has a very different environment than much of the rest of the state—it’s moist and verdant, with heavy forests covering much of the city. For a wonderful immersion in the botanical glory of the area, head into the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Located in the center of Zilker Park, which was deeded to the city of Austin in 1917, the Botanical Garden is a spectacular collection of themed gardens. One of the most notable is the Hartman Prehistoric Garden—in 1992, a group of paleontologists discovered more than 100 dinosaur tracks in Zilker Park, and the area was then transformed into a garden populated with plants that would have grown there during the Cretaceous era. If you’re looking for some peace and serenity, head over to the Isamu Taniguchi Oriental Garden, a wonderful location to sit and commune with nature in front of a burbling koi pond. It’s a fantastic oasis in the middle of the city.

Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 477-8672

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Check Out Austin Fan Fest 2012!

October 26, 2012 by

Celebrating 2012's inaugural U.S. Grand Prix, Austin Fan Fest 2012 comes to downtown Austin from November 16-18th. If you haven't heard, the U.S. GP is a Formula 1 race taking place that weekend at Austin's newly constructed Circuit of the Americas race track, and Austin Fan Fest brings the city even more fun with an array of musical acts from all over the country, along with great local and regional bands.

Fan Fest's headline performers Aerosmith, Flo Rida, and Enrique Iglesias will play on main stages for the Fest's three night engagement, while smaller stages will showcase acts like Lupe Fiasco and The Wallflowers.

Around downtown Austin, attendees can also interact with F1 racing related installations, like racing simulators and Formula 1 cars. Arts exhibits, parties, and family friendly events all over downtown make the whole thing complete.

Want to know more? Click here to learn about Austin Fan Fest 2012.

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Support Local Farmers and Sustainable Foods at Austin Farmers’ Market

September 5, 2012 by

Support local farmers and small businesses while buying the freshest produce and gourmet foods at Austin Farmers’ Market. Opened in 2003, the Market has since become the place to go for sustainable food in Austin, with numerous vendors offering organic goods—many eagerly offering samples to try! Besides fresh foods, Austin Farmers Market holds a number of events and programs, from cooking classes by master chefs to seasonal festivals and celebrations. The markets also strive to environmentally conscious by placing compost bins for visitors to bring their trash from home, as well as water stations for filling up bottles with clean water for a few cents ($2 to start). Austin Farmers Maret is open year-round; for locations, days, and times, visit the Austin Farmers’ Market website at www.austinfarmersmarket.org.

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Austin Summer Fun: River Tubing on the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers

August 7, 2012 by

People don’t often connect rivers with Texas, but the central part of the state around Austin is remarkably lush and green, criss-crossed by a number of pleasant bodies of water. The most popular choice for innertubers is the San Marcos River; about a 40 minute drive from downtown Austin, it’s fed by underground springs, making it a pleasant 70 degrees during the floating season, which lasts from April through September. Starting below the Spring Lake dam, you’ll be on the river for between two and six hours. At certain points, you’ll cross over small dams with chutes to speed your ride up, which add a little bit of excitement. The Guadalupe River is another popular destination, with water that flows a little faster and colder but still very comfortable. There are a handful of companies that rent tubes and provide transportation to and from start and end points. Here are a few to check out:

Austin Float Trips
(512) 963-5628

Rockin "R" River RIdes
(830) 629-9999

Texas Tubes
(830) 626-9900

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Explore the Natural World at the Austin Nature & Science Center

July 31, 2012 by

Austin is widely regarded as the intellectual center of Texas, so it should come as no surprise that a world-class natural science museum rests inside its borders. The Austin Nature & Science Center was incorporated in 1960 to bring the natural world to Austin residents, and it has since become a very popular destination for families. One of the biggest attractions is the animal exhibits—it is stocked with over 90 native Texas animals that have either been recovered, injured, or abandoned, and can't be returned to the wild. Each animal has a story that goes along with it, some of which are quite heartbreaking. Other public exhibits include the Dino Dig area, which lets kids get into paleontology as they excavate for prehistoric fossils; and an outdoor raptor enclosure that lets visitors get amazingly close to some spectacular birds of prey. The best part about the Austin Nature & Science Center is that admission is completely free.

Austin Nature & Science Center
301 Nature Center Dr.
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 974-3888

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Experience the Best of Music With the Austin Symphony

July 24, 2012 by

With sweet-sounding music filling the air, family-friendly concerts, and school and public programs, the Austin Symphony has something for everyone. As Austin’s most seasoned performing arts group, the Symphony has provided countless seasons of brilliant music from talented musicians—it was founded way back in 1911! Symphony performances take place at The Long Center for Performing Arts, and include the Sarah & Ernest Butler Pops Series, an array of special family and children’s concerts, as well as a season of eight classical concerts from the Symphony. There are also a number of free concerts put on for the community, as well as seasonal performances like the Halloween Children’s Concert and the July 4th Concert and Fireworks.

Not a seasoned symphony go-er? Make sure to check out the Symphony website's special section on Tips for Beginners—find out what to wear, what to expect, and anything else you may need to know. You can also purchase tickets and see what concerts are coming up, here.

The Austin Symphony
1101 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 476-6064

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Pinballz Arcade: Full Tilt

July 3, 2012 by

Everything may be bigger in Texas, so imagine the size of the venue that avows to have the biggest stock of Pinball machines in the entire state! That’s the claim made by Pinballz Arcade of its 13,000 square-foot pinball and video game arcade and its 150-large stock of plugged-in pinball machines that span from a 1972 Lost World machine to a machine released in just 2011 for the TRON remake. And while pinball machines may be the eponymous hallmark of Pinballz Arcade, the place is replete with traditional and contemporary arcade games, like Mortal Kombat 3, Tekken 5, and Dance Dance Revolution. Pinballz Arcade is an obvious choice for birthday parties and it offers packages geared towards the young group looking to get lost in a cyclone of lights and sounds.

Pinballz Arcade
8940 Research Boulevard
Suite 100
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 420-8548
 

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Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata: Helping Keep Austin Weird

June 5, 2012 by

Austinians fighting to “Keep Austin Weird” have legions of outposts throughout the city. The Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata is one of the quirkiest! Located in the house occupied by a husband-wife team, the Museum of Ephemerata is dedicated to the oddness of the human desire to collect things, as demonstrated in their “impermanent collection.” The collection has five categories: urban phantasmagoria, the celebrity collection, the snowglobe collection, and what the owners have dubbed “an entire wig collection dedicated to sleep.” The museum also hosts events. But in the spirit of the venue, they’re quite atypical: less along the lines of barbecues and blues bands than of seances, komboucha workshops, and special exhibits of narwhal teeth. All planned events are posted onto the museum’s website, so check there to see what's happening.

Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata
1808 Singleton Avenue
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 320-0566
 

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Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum: Serene Space

May 2, 2012 by

There’s nothing exciting that goes on at Austin's Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum. But that’s precisely the point! Fifty sculptures created by 20th Century sculptor Charles Umlauf pepper the serene outdoor grove, giving visitors the opportunity to pause and appreciate them. Allow the sculptures to provide ambiance while you sit on a bench and read a book and let the kids roam around. Think of Umlauf as an artistically curated park, situated in the hustle of Austin but somehow shielded from it in a calm oasis. Umlauf offers summer camps for children and offers yoga sessions (the sessions are called “The Body as Sculpture”) throughout the season. And, okay, there’s one exciting happening: the yearly Garden Party, which was listed by the Austin Chronicle in its 2005 “Best of Austin” issue as, well, one of the best things to do in Austin.

Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
605 Robert E. Lee Road
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 445-5582

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Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-in: Cinema Time Machine

April 24, 2012 by

Drive-ins aren’t dead! It wasn’t more than a year ago that a guy named Josh saw an empty lot on Austin's Cesar Chaved Boulevard and thought the vacant space would be better utilized as a cinema time machine. Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In has since taken on three additional employees, added capacity for 20 cars, and now sports a full 22’ x 10’ widescreen. Blue Starlite typically shows movies that are appropriate for a public throwback venue from another decade. For example, Star Wars, Back to the Future, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Pedestrians get in for $5, and cars are $25. Feel free to pile in as many people as you want to listen in to the FM radio speaker. Just know that the price does not include that drive-in friendly ‘61 Cadillac!

Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-in
2326 E. Cesar Chavez Boulevard
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 522-1278

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