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Must-do holiday activities in and around Austin
'Tis the season to do every holiday activity around Austin.The big picture: From themed bars to markets, lights and more, we're rounding up some ideas to get you started.1. Walk the Trail of Lights Trail of Lights. Photo: Kimberly Brotherman / Contributor, Getty ImagesThe magical favorite returns to Zilker Park in its 57th year, Dec. 8–23.Details: Children 11 and under are free with a ticketed adult. Pets are not permitted.General admission prices vary. Purchase them online in advance.Consider purchasing the ZIP pass, which gets you in early and is a popular option for families with young kids.2. Enjoy a festive...
Austin's best free Christmas light displays
Pack into the station wagon, people, and don your nighttime sunglasses. It's time to catch some twinkles.Why it matters: On these long, cold nights when you have to figure out something to do with your visiting in-laws — or how to keep the kids entertained — Christmas lights make for cheap and jolly entertainment.The rub: Whether to head to gaudy displays — the bigger and more colorful, the merrier — or tasteful, more austere ones.Either way, we love driving and gawking at the wattage. Old West AustinLots of classy displays. If you're looking for light-bedecked live oak trees, this is...
Gift guide: Local items for everyone on your list
There's no shortage of Austin-area businesses offering the perfect gifts for your loved ones.Here's a sampling:🧀 For the entertainer: Cheese and charcuterie trays, plus classes and tastings at Antonelli's Cheese Shop.☕️ For the coffee fiend: A bag of a favorite blend or classes covering latte art, cupping and more at Greater Goods Coffee Co. or a gift card to Desnudo so they can sip on the famous ChocoCloud Latte. 🎵 For the music geek: A record from a local shop like End of an Ear, Antone's or Waterloo.🥃 For the whiskey drinker: A distillery tour and tasting at Still Austin...
Why UT football is likely to be shut out of the playoffs
The University of Texas football team is playing in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday, with a chance to go 12-1 overall this season.The No. 7 Longhorns are two-touchdown favorites against No. 18 Oklahoma State. Kickoff is at 11am at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The game will be broadcast on ABC.Yes, but: Even with a win, the Longhorns are far from a sure bet to make the four-team College Football Playoff.At least one team ranked ahead of Texas — Michigan or Florida State — will need to lose on Saturday for the Longhorns to have a chance to make it.Flashback:...
Why UT football is likely to be shut out of the playoffs
The University of Texas football team is playing in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday, with a chance to go 12-1 overall this season.The No. 7 Longhorns are two-touchdown favorites against No. 18 Oklahoma State. Kickoff is at 11am at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The game will be broadcast on ABC.Yes, but: Even with a win, the Longhorns are far from a sure bet to make the four-team College Football Playoff.At least one team ranked ahead of Texas — Michigan or Florida State — will need to lose on Saturday for the Longhorns to have a chance to make it.Flashback:...
Austin homeowners are selling homes at a loss
A growing share of Austin homeowners are selling their houses for less than they paid for them, per data Redfin shared with Axios' Brianna Crane.Why it matters: Some Austin area homeowners lost upwards of five figures on their sale this year amid higher interest rates.State of play: Nearly 5% of Austin metro homes sold at a loss from August to October — up from 0.75% a year ago.The median loss was around $35,000, per Redfin data.What's happening: Austin's housing market is still normalizing after 2020's hot housing market, when buyers snapped up homes within weeks — sometimes for hundreds of...
Austin's most streamed songs on Spotify in 2023
Austin music lovers listened to a lot of Taylor Swift and Drake on Spotify this year.What's happening: Spotify Wrapped dropped Wednesday, naming Taylor Swift as the most-streamed artist globally in 2023.Zoom in: The pop queen also topped the list in Austin this year, and Drake and Peso Pluma rounded out the top three.Here's Austin's most-played music of 2023:Top artists:Taylor SwiftDrakePeso PlumaBad BunnyThe WeekndTop songs:"Ella Baila Sola" by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma"un x100to" by Bad Bunny, Grupo Frontera"Kill Bill" by SZA"La Bebe - Remix" by Peso Pluma, Yng Lvcas"Last Night" by Morgan WallenGo deeper: Users of the streaming service can check out their own year-in-review stats on the app.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
Demolition of the University of Texas' Erwin Center begins
Bye-bye, Erwin Center.Driving the news: Crews on Tuesday began taking apart the Frank Erwin Center, long home to the University of Texas basketball teams and host to traveling music acts.By the numbers: The university board of regents has earmarked $25 million for the demolition.What's next: The University of Texas at Austin Medical Center, composed of a UT Austin hospital and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is expected to break ground on the site in 2026.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
Where to give in Austin this holiday season
There's no shortage of charities to support in Central Texas — from those providing music education to kids to organizations that aim to rescue wildlife.Driving the news: It's Giving Tuesday.Donations made through I Live Here I Give Here on Tuesday get amplified by sponsors.This holiday season, we're highlighting some organizations that are dedicated to helping the less fortunate among us.El Buen Samaritano: Ensuring access to health care and education, especially in the Latino community.Central Texas Food Bank: Providing meals to those in need.SAFE Alliance: Stopping domestic and child abuse.Assistance League of Austin: Supporting schools and students in need.Settlement Home: Providing residential services to promote healing for children and young adults who have experienced trauma.Project Transitions: Serving people with HIV by providing housing and comprehensive support services.Mobile Loaves and Fishes: Feeding people experiencing homelessness.Seedling: A lunchtime mentorship program that pairs adults with children who have at least one incarcerated parent.Casa Marianella: Providing shelter and support to immigrants.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
What Texas spends on busing migrants
Texas has spent $86.1 million and counting to bus migrants and asylum-seekers out of the state.Why it matters: What started as a Texas GOP effort before last year's gubernatorial election has led to leaders in multiple cities and states, including many Democrats, spending significant resources on long-term attempts to send migrants to other parts of the country amid record border migration levels.By the numbers: Texas has taken the most aggressive approach toward the border, sending state law enforcement to patrol and busing more than 66,200 migrants and asylum-seekers to other states since April 2022.The state has spent roughly $1,650 per...
What Texas spends on busing migrants
Texas has spent $86.1 million and counting to bus migrants and asylum-seekers out of the state.Why it matters: What started as a Texas GOP effort before last year's gubernatorial election has led to leaders in multiple cities and states, including many Democrats, spending significant resources on long-term attempts to send migrants to other parts of the country amid record border migration levels.By the numbers: Texas has taken the most aggressive approach toward the border, sending state law enforcement to patrol and busing more than 66,200 migrants and asylum-seekers to other states since April 2022.The state has spent roughly $1,650 per...
Brian Gaar continues to do stand-up in Austin
We all have a funny co-worker, but very few of them get a comedy special on Amazon Prime.What's happening: Brian Gaar performs at 7pm Monday at the Far Out Lounge.Gaar, who got his undergrad degree from UT and has lived in town since 2006, also recently launched the podcast "Having Fun Online," which is about the weird stuff you find surfing the internet.Flashback: "Jokes I Wrote at Work," Gaar's hourlong standup special produced in 2015, is currently available on Amazon Prime. For a glorious, weird moment seven or eight years ago, he wrote and hosted the nightly comedy show "ATX...
How Austin prepared for JFK visit the day he was assassinated
As humdrum as the marquee outside Austin's old Municipal Auditorium — since repurposed into the Long Center for the Performing Arts — appears in the photo above, it's a poignant reminder of how the city welcomed President Kennedy for a leg of his Texas trip.The date: Nov. 22, 1963.Why it matters: The president never made it here.Driving the news: Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the president's assassination, a devastating tragedy that forever marked Dallas and the nation.Between the lines: Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy, accompanied by Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, were scheduled to...
How an Austin pediatric clinic cares for uninsured kids
The nonprofit Lirios Pediatrics is closing in on a year of operations. We met up with executive director Monica Simmons, and staff pediatrician and board president Claire Hebner to discuss the clinic.Driving the news: Lirios, which offers free care to uninsured kids, has booked more than 1,400 visits and administered more than 2,500 vaccine shots.The clinic, located by South Congress and Ben White Boulevard, is supported by cash and in-kind donations and estimates that there are more than 22,000 uninsured kids in Travis County.Of note: Lirios, Spanish for lilies, is named for the late Lily Sood, an Austin pediatrician who...
Why Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could be a vice presidential candidate
With the 2024 presidential election less than a year out, Gov. Greg Abbott is shaping up to be a potential vice presidential candidate, per politics experts interviewed by Axios.Why it matters: Border security is likely to be a major issue in next year's general election, and a conservative border governor like Abbott could amplify the GOP nominee's message.Driving the news: Abbott endorsed Donald Trump on Sunday in an appearance with the former president in the border city of Edinburg."We need a president who's going to secure the border," Abbott said. "We need a president who's going to restore law and...
How much it costs to live in Austin
Data: The Council for Community and Economic Research; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosGoods and services tend to cost less in Austin than in other U.S. cities — but housing costs more, per a new analysisDriving the news: Each quarter, the Council for Community and Economic Research assembles a cost-of-living index designed to measure "regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services."The group's proverbial bucket includes housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services, and is based on spending by "professional and managerial households in the top income quintile."The result: A snapshot in time useful for comparing relative...
Things to do in Austin this week: "Die Hard," ugly sweater mixer
Here's what we're eyeing for some fun this week.🎺 Clap your hands to the Austin Brass Band, performing their holiday concert at the Austin Central Library, 6:30pm Monday. Free.🍿 Catch "The Exiles," a 1961 film about Native American 2o-somethings living in Los Angeles, at 7:30pm Tuesday at the AFS Cinema. $13.50.🦌 Mingle at the Ugly Sweater Mixer, hosted by the Queer Black Women Alliance, starting at 6:30pm Wednesday at the Kung Fu Saloon. Free.📖 Listen to 2024 Texas Poet Laureate Amanda Johnston read from her work, 7:30pm Thursday at BookWoman. Free. Open mic follows.🎅 Join the Holiday Extravaganza at Hotel Vegas on Thursday starting at 5pm, with music from the Texas String Assembly, a Santa photo booth, and ATX Thrift vendors. Free.🎬 Watch the greatest Christmas movie of all time — "Die Hard" — at the Paramount at 7:30pm Thursday, $11.At 6:30pm, University of Texas professor Karen Maness will give a pre-film presentation based on her book "The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop."Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
Desert Island Dish with Kerbey Lane's Mason and Christina Ayer
We recently caught up with husband-and-wife duo Mason and Christina Ayer, the CEO and CFO of Kerbey Lane Cafe, for the latest installment of our Desert Island Dish Series.The backstory: Mason Ayer was born just months after his parents, David Ayer and Patricia Atkinson, opened the first Kerbey Lane location in 1980 at 3704 Kerbey Lane, and spent his childhood scraping gum off the tables.Christina Ayer grew up working in local establishments like Kerbey Lane and Whole Foods.Between the lines: The restaurant has become a local staple and has 10 locations, including one in San Marcos and one in San...
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