Results tagged “holidays”

Monster-themed dance parties, a boat party, and, of course, zombies: Halloween in Austin offers something for just about everyone. Check out our roundup below, and shoot us an email if there's something we've missed.

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, but at the Parish Room’s Winter Wonderland of Noise, we get to be the chestnuts, on a fire made out of sound. Avant-garde noise artists Leila Bela and Douglas Ferguson will break open the boundaries of frequency and reveal that the holiday spirit can be haunting, terrifying, and cheerful by turns. Turkish Delights, served at the show alongside Christmas candy, assure a multisensory experience that promises to expand what your eardrums can take.

In addition to the art on display, stick around for sets by Crash Gallery, Magnet School, Taunto and Built by Snow, or pick up a brush and get to work: they're going to paint a mural during the show, and all guests are welcome to participate. A $5 suggested donation includes complimentary Tito's and Sweet Leaf Tea (trust us, it's a good combination), with some Austin's Pizza to boot.

The annual Trail of Lights at Zilker Park kicks off this Sunday night with a festive grand opening celebration featuring cameos by Santa, local dignitaries, and a fancy parade.

Are you a hipster? Or do you at least strive to be? Do you like the holidays? What about art? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you might want to check out the Hipster Holiday Snow-Ball Party and Fundraiser at Co-Lab in East Austin.

If you still haven't found that perfect gift for the art collector in your life, consider checking out the In-House Gallery's Holiday Art Show tonight. This show, in its ninth year, is hosted by Ethan Azarian; the former front man of the Orange Mothers is now focusing his creative energy on his painting career. The In-House Gallery is very literally in Azarian's house, where he lives, paints, works, and exhibits his art. The Holiday Art show will feature an assortment of Azarian's latest pieces at a variety of prices to fit anyone's budget. Azarian's paintings are very vivid and often playful, freqently depicting villages, farm animals, and whimsical household items. Many of the pieces for sale in the current show were created while Azarian was visiting Mexico and Vermont and the results reflect the unique culture of those two corners of the world. In addition to his paintings, Azarian will be showing a series of painted woodblocks.

Barton Springs hosts many time-honored traditions. While most Austinites take advantage of the summer days and nights, a handful of brave souls venture to the springs on the days when the air temperature drops below the water temperature. Most people are familiar with the Austin Polar Bear Club, which meets the morning of January 1st and performs a ritualistic dip to rejuvenate oneself at the onset of the new year. Their younger counterparts at the University of Texas Polar Bear Club have turned the ritual into a weekly meeting, commencing once the first cold front of the year sweeps through the capital city.

To those who shun holiday traditions and know no other form of dancing than grinding on your friends at Creekside Lounge, we invite you to consider an intriguingly classy alternative. You may not realize it, but Austin has a hard-working, ambitious and innovative ballet company in its midst, and they have bestowed upon us one of the greatest gifts of all—a fresh, energetic rendering of a classic Christmas show.

Sugar Mama's, our favorite little cup-o-cake purveyor on South 1st is offering a free baked good today to anyone who drops by the shop between noon and 8pm with two (or more!) non-perishable food items in tow. All of the donations collected will go straight to the Capital Area Food Bank, which is continually working to end hunger in Central Texas.

Tonight's snowy conditions won't last long, but the cold front is expected to stick around at least through Thursday. Jim Spencer at KXAN reports that today saw record daytime highs of over 80 degrees, which contrasts nicely with tonight's near-freezing lows. Enjoy the flurries while they're around, and share your flickr photos with us by tagging them 'austinist'.

Ah, the holidays. Sick of ‘em already? The Santaland Diaries invites you to commiserate, with the dry, biting wit of David Sedaris, and shining performances by Meredith McCall and Espie Randolph, while Jason Connor accompanies on piano. The first act presents spicy, spirited carols that you’ve probably never heard before—but it’s safe to say that by the time intermission hits, you’ll be want to add “Let’s Be Naughty” and “Making Love Alone” to the Christmas music rotation.

Head down to the Capitol steps on Saturday, December 6 to be one of thousands celebrating the season with KUT's Eklektikos host, John Aielli. Aielli will be leading carolers through a songbook full of popular favorites between 6-7 pm, with the tree lighting to follow. This year's tree is a 40 ft. tall Juniper, which will be augmented by new Congress Ave. Holiday lights.

No matter how you celebrate the Winter season, artistic inspiration helps enliven the holiday spirit. If last month’s East Austin Studio Tour stirred your hunger for local art, Gallery Lombardi’s Xmas Expo will make your palette sing. Not only will the show feature over 50 local artists, including EAST visionaries Annie Simpson and Morgan Sorne, but live music will accompany your visuals, promising a full multisensory experience.

It's hard to tell from today's perfect autumn weather, but forecasters are predicting that another cold front is headed our way this week. Weather.com and News 8 Austin both show temperatures in the high 30s tonight and dipping below freezing point tomorrow evening. News 8 Austin also hints that "some" computer models are calling for possible snow next week, but we're unconvinced. [Weather.com for 78704] [News 8 Austin]

In response to economic downturns and the need for local hoodrats to save money all over the music district, Graham Williams (Free Week's founder) has announced an expansion of the annual event. Between January 2nd through the 10th, free week will also be taking place at Mohawk, Club de Ville, Red 7, Beauty Bar and others in addition to the traditional Emo's.

The carnival on HWY-71/290 between South Congress Ave and I-35 opened for business over the holiday weekend. It'll remain in operation for the next three weeks, Monday through Sunday, with admission more or less between 4 p.m. and "when they shut down for the night," which can be as late as midnight if there's an audience. "Unlimited Ride" wristbands cost $20, or you can opt to purchase tokens for the various concessions, rides, and games. Be prepared to shell out plenty of cash if you decide to go — nostalgia and funnel cake don't come cheap here.

We're still feeling inspired by everything we saw at last weekend's East Austin Studio Tour. We tried to capture the diversity of the event and visited painters, metalsmiths, woodworkers, printers, ceramicists, mixed media artists, and many others. As always, Blue Genie Art Industries, BigMedium, and Pump Project made our jaws drop. We can't wait to see what's in the works for next year's tour! Photos taken by Andrew Stalick, Callie Richmond, and Kristin B.

At this year's chilly Trail of Lights 5K race, don't be surprised if you happen upon a pack of sexy sprinters sporting little more than red swim briefs.

Whole Foods Downtown will open "Skating on the Plaza," its annual rooftop ice-skating rink, this Friday. The outdoor rink will operate between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. most days, with eleven daily 50-minute skating sessions starting on the hour. Tickets, which are $10 for all ages and includes skate rental, can be purchased from the Guest Services desk up to an hour before each session. The rink will be open through January 11, and closed on Christmas Day. More information is available via their hotline at (512) 542-2260.

The weather turns a little more chilly, which gets me frisky. My friskiness leads me to think that my liver’s not perpetually on crutches and that it’s totally acceptable for me to go lounge at any ol’ bar somewhere on a random Wednesday and get absolutely whiskey soaked by warm candle light. Then go eat something large, fatty, and fried. Like a whole pig, wrapped in mesh-weave of crispy bacon. After all the poison and that cornucopia of death, I usually stagger back out into the cold night air, lost and confused, with all my booze-soaked blood rushing to my stomach to get that mess processed and OUT. Then I walk home. Sometimes for miles. Sometimes it takes hours.

The eighth annual Blue Genie Art Bazaar is accepting vendor applications through September 22nd. The yearly holiday sale, featuring art and gifts from regional artisans, opens on December 3rd and will run through Christmas eve at the Monarch Events Center. With free admission, late night hours, and a full bar, the Art Bazaar always manages to be one of the season's most enjoyable shopping experiences. Interested vendors can fill out an application online and those accepted will be notified by October 3rd. [Blue Genie Website]

Tonight's your perfect chance to help out one of our own: local uninsured musician Chris Neale faces staggering medical bills after undergoing an emergency operation to remove a ten-pound tumor from his stomach back in October. To help offset some of this financial burden, friend of Austinist Marisa Wall has organized a stellar fundraiser taking place at Moxie and the Compound this evening, with support from a bevy of local businesses.

Woman who had worked as pharmacist for the CVS on Riverside had fake documents. 60 soldiers who had been serving in Iraq for over a year return home to Ft. Hood for the holidays. Look what our city might be gifted: a 60-foot saxophone sculpture!

With the promise of receiving many gifts in return, this headlong rush into the temples of consumer culture hardly looks like the selfless goodwill to all mankind, but a few bookstores around Austin are offering the opportunity to participate in the truly noble exercise of helping the needy and downtrodden this season.

I bet you DO. So it’s the holidays, and people are cheering with cheer and whatnot. Lots of eggnog getting sloshed on your under-aged cousin’s workboots and such. Your aunt booted her meds and has already stripped down and dry-humped your artificial tree. Twice. Dad was putting lights on the house and somehow managed to take out your Mom’s azaleas and his left knee. So you painted his cast to look like the trampled azaleas and that caused your Mom to rage like a stuck bull and she drop-kicked a honey-roasted ham through the back door window. Your sister got caught masturbating with two of your younger out-of-town cousins, and she had white-boarded diagrams and a Powerpoint presentation on technique like it was a well-practiced roadshow routine in a Santa hat.

Between now and January, New Release Tuesday will focus on 2007 reflections and music news related to both this year's releases, the holidays and 2008's potential. The standard NRT posts will resume in 2008. It will also feature the opinions of the author, who does not represent the Ist network as a whole. What a damn shame. The holiday season is tough for music lovers shopping for other music lovers. This is mostly because...

Photos from this weekend's inaugural Santa Speedo Run, which took place during the Trail of Lights 5K. Check out triman's blog recap for more about this festive fundraiser for Out Youth.