The Austonian Blog - Downtown Luxury Condo in Austin, Texas

Downtown Austin Event: Armadillo Christmas Bazaar

Austin holiday tradition the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar opens at the Palmer Events Center this Wednesday. In its 36^th season, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar offers a unique opportunity to shop for the holidays while celebrating and fostering Austin’s distinctive cultural identity.

Over 160 local artists and artisans will exhibit original work from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily from December 14^th to Christmas Eve, offering over 40,000 shoppers unique gift ideas and the opportunity to support Austin’s local economy.

To accompany the shopping, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar creates a complete shopping experience with live music, a dance floor, and a full bar.

For a full list of participating musicians, artists and merchants, and for more information about the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, visit the event’s website. 

 

Holiday Events in Downtown Austin’s 2ND Street District

(St. Edwards University's Holiday Window Walk Design Competition in the 2ND Street District. Photo credit Jessica Pages via CultureMap)

Every Tuesday and Wednesday from December 6^th through 21^st, Downtown Austin’s 2^ND Street District hosts “Deck the District” with food, entertainment and fun for the entire family.

Each week’s events include caroling, dancing,  Elvis sightings and more. 2^ND Street boutiques and businesses will host in-store parties with elves passing out bites and beverages throughout the District.

Deck the District begins this evening, and businesses in the district will donate 10 percent of sales from 6 to 9 p.m. to their chosen charities.

For more information and for the full entertainment lineup, click here.

 

Downtown Austin Holiday Event: Zilker Tree Lighting on Sunday December 4th

This Sunday evening at 6p.m., join Austinites for the Zilker Tree Lighting Ceremony in Zilker Park near downtown Austin. The 155-foot tree created from lights attached to one of Austin’s historic Moonlight Towers will illuminate the park throughout the holiday season. Music from the Barton Hills Choir and the Austin Civic Wind Symphony will accompany the lighting ceremony.

All December, over 3,000 lights will brighten Zilker Park every evening from 6p.m. to midnight. Food and novelty vendors will be on site until Christmas to provide holiday cheer and entertainment for the family as well. Santa and his elves will make nightly appearances from December 5^th through the 11^th to hear children’s holiday wishes. And hang around on the 11^th for The Hillside Theatre Community Stage’s holiday event with candy, face painting, and community entertainment.

For more information about the festivities at Zilker Park this December, visit the Zilker Tree website. The site also includes information about the history of the Zilker Tree, details about its construction, and a list of other holiday events happening this month with Austin Parks and Recreation. 

(Photo credit: Austin Parks and Recreation)

 

Downtown Austin Event: Ballet Austin's 49th Annual Production of The Nutcracker

This year is Ballet Austin’s 49^th year to perform The Nutcracker, making it the longest running production of this holiday classic in Texas. Performances will be held weekends throughout December at The Long Center. See the Ballet Austin Nutcracker website for performance dates and times, and to purchase tickets.

While The Nutcracker has been around for hundreds of years and has been performed countless times all over the world, Ballet Austin has been able to maintain an element of Austin in its performance – with the character Mother Ginger. Every year, Ballet Austin’s Mother Ginger Contest “recognizes and celebrates an unsung hero of the community who is generous, respected, influential and adored in the community.” To see the list of nominees and to recognize your favorite, visit their website before the voting deadline, November 30^th. 

Photo by Tony Spielberg

Downtown Austin Event: Small Business Saturday and Holiday Window Walk

This Saturday is the second annual Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and local economies across the country. Small Business Saturday’s began in Austin as an Austin Independent Business Alliance event, but has since developed a nationwide audience. On November 26^th, people across the country are asked to shop local to help fuel the economy. According to the Downtown Austin Alliance, by shifting just $100 of your shopping to locally-owned stores, you can make a significant difference.

Instead of heading to WalMart or Best Buy this weekend, check out local downtown establishments like Hatbox or Dress Shop for holiday gift ideas. Enjoy a cup of coffee at Jo’s instead of Starbucks, and help make a difference in Austin’s local economy.

While shopping in downtown Austin this Saturday, be sure to check out the 2^nd Street District’s inaugural Holiday Window Walk. From November 25^th to January 2^nd, the windows of various 2^nd Street District establishments will feature holiday displays designed and executed by students of the St. Edward’s University Theatrical Design Department. The window displays will feature holiday scenes as well as iconic Austin musicians. Second Street District visitors may vote on their favorite window display; the finalists will be judged to win one of three scholarships provided by Silicon Laboratories.

 

Statue of Willie Nelson statue to be erected 2nd Street (a.k.a. Willie Nelson Boulevard) in downtown Austin

Next year, Capital Area Statues Inc (CAST) will publicly unveil its newest public art piece in downtown Austin—an eight-foot bronze likeness of Austin music icon Willie Nelson. CAST commissioned artist Clete Shields to create the piece, which will be located along Willie’s (and The Austonian’s) very own street, Willie Nelson Boulevard, at ACL Live, which hosts the Austin City Limits music show that Willie helped make famous.

CAST is an Austin-based non-profit whose mission is to celebrate the culture and history of our city through the display of public sculpture. They believe that public monuments can help draw people together “in a shared understanding of our city’s past and the promise of its future.”

The Willie Nelson sculpture is CAST’s third public monument in central Austin. Previous donations include the Philosopher’s Rock sculpture at the entrance of Barton Springs, and the statue of Angelina Eberly firing a cannon on Congress Avenue.

More information about CAST, artist Clete Shields, and the Willie Nelson sculpture is available in a recent CultureMap article. 

(Photo credit: CultureMap)

Downtown Austin Event: Gypsy Picnic at Auditorium Shores Saturday, Oct. 22nd

Austin’s 2^nd annual trailer food festival, Gypsy Picnic, will be held this Saturday, October 22, at Auditorium Shores. The festival is free to all and will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

This year’s festival will feature eats from over 40 local food trailers including Torchy’s Tacos, Kebabalicious and Hey Cupcake!, among others. The festival will also include a cookoff between participating food trailers and live music throughout the entire day. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the website.

(Photo Credit: Gypsy Picnic)

Green City Festival in Downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District

Austin’s Green City Festival will take place on October 23 from noon to 5 p.m.

The Green City Festival aims to preserve and protect Austin’s environment. This year’s event will feature a guided bike tour, an ACL studio tour, live music by Warren Hood and The Goods and multiple presentations regarding topics such as composting and “trashion.” Festival goers can expect interactive displays, hand-on activities for adults and kids and access to do-it-yourself talks.

For more information about the event, visit the Green City Austin informational website here.

(Photo Credit: City of Austin)

 

Downtown Austin Event: 79th Annual St. Elias Mediterranean Festival

The St. Elias Mediterranean Festival, named one of Central Texas’s top 10 food festivals by the Austin Chronicle, is taking place October 7-8, 2011 from 6 p.m. to midnight each day. The event will feature homemade food, wine and cocktails, as well as dancing and live music by Stavros and Maria.

Festival goers will also have the opportunity to shop in the Festival Marketplace and take their children to play at the Kids’ Oasis.

This family-friendly festival will be held at the St. Elias church grounds, located at 408 E. 11^th St.

(Photo credit: www.mediterraneanfestival.com)

Austin City Limits Intro Video: Bird’s Eye View from The Austonian

Austin City Limits opener / ACL Intro Sequence from Jonathan Jackson on Vimeo.

The new season of Austin City Limits performances and television show tapings began on Saturday, October 1^st with artists Mumford & Sons and Flogging Molly. The 37^th season of Austin City Limits which takes place at the Moody Theatre in downtown Austin’s W Hotel and Residences, features a new introductory video sequence.

Austin photographer Jonathon Jackson shot the entire introductory sequence, which includes footage shot from the 55^th floor Observation Deck at The Austonian. 

Jonathan has taken professional photos of The Austonian interiors and The Austonian collection of local and regional art. 

For more information about Austin City Limits, the longest running music show on television, visit the website. 

(Video by Jonathan Jackson and music by Explosions in the Sky)