Kristy’s Top 10: August 2016
August’s to-do list from 365 Things To Do In Austin, Texas.
1. Quesoff VI
Aug. 20, 2 to 5 p.m.
The Mohawk, 912 Red River St.
facebook.com/events/264268963951695
Calling all cheese connoisseurs: You won’t want to miss the sixth annual Quesoff event at The Mohawk. Here, melted cheese and healthy competition reign supreme. While well-seasoned pros bring their own bags of chips, amateurs can snag a bag onsite for $5. Come hungry and sample the cheesiest offerings from more than 30 queso vendors. Restaurants and top chefs, as well as home cooks round out the evening in a queso-off competition and go head to head in four categories: meaty, spicy, veggie and wild card. Only one question remains: Whose cheesy concoction will be awarded Best in Show?
Admission is free with a donation of two canned goods per person to benefit the Central Texas Food Bank.
2. Pay It Forward
Aug. 11, 7 to 10 p.m.
AT&T Executive Education Conference Center, 1900 University Ave.
payitforwardwithdaniel.org
Indulge in some of Austin’s renowned cuisine from more than a dozen of the city’s most esteemed chefs during an open-to-the-public dinner benefiting the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation. Sip on specialty cocktails from Patrón Spirits Company, Treaty Oak Distillery and The Tipsy Texan as you rock out to a stellar performance from the Austin-rooted, woman-only band The Mrs. This night is all about celebrating good causes and supporting the foundation’s efforts to help community members in need of medical assistance.
Tickets start at $75.
3. Olympics Watch Party
Aug. 5 through 21, starting at 11 a.m.
Third Base Round Rock, 3107 S. IH-35
do512.com/events/2016/8/5/2016-olympic-games-watch-party
Just because economy in Rio de Janeiro is in a downward spiral doesn’t mean your wallet should take a hit when watching this year’s Summer Olympics. Gather your game-watching girlfriends, dress up in your patriotic best and head to Third Base in Round Rock (or to one of the bar’s two other locations) for thirst-quenching beers and Brazilian caipirinhas. Whatever you do, don’t forget to take a celebratory picture in the Olympic-themed photo booth. We can’t all win gold medals, but patrons who tag their photos with their respective Third Base location score free chips and salsa. That’s a win in our book.
Admission is free.
4. Austin Ice Cream Festival
Aug. 13, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St.
icecreamfestival.org
Beat the heat in the sweetest way we know how: with a sugar rush and a brain freeze. Now in its 10th year, the Austin Ice Cream Festival offers kids and kids at heart the opportunity to sample unique ice-cream flavors from Texas-based and national vendors. If the outdoor heat index isn’t enough to make you sweat, maybe a little competition will. Sign up to participate in a homemade-ice-cream-making contest, the Popsicle-stick-sculpture contest or, the most popular of them all, the ice-cream-eating contest, during which participants race to see who can eat a gallon of the sweet stuff the fastest.
Tickets are $15. Kids 8 and younger get in free.
5. Grape Stomp
Aug. 6 and 7 and 13 and 14
Dry Comal Creek Vineyards, 1741 Herbelin Road, New Braunfels, Texas
drycomalcreek.com/grape-stomp
Pay attention, newlyweds, lovebirds and girl squads. If weekend itineraries without wine have you in a state of heart-pattering panic and duress, take a deep breath. The Dry Comal Creek Vineyards Grape Stomp, now in its 14th year, wants you (and your fellow wine-loving fiends) to put your best foot forward. Team up with your significant other or gal pal of choice and take your wine-tasting experience to the next level to see who can collect the most juice by stomping on fresh grapes. Those who crush the most grapes will get their names engraved on a permanent plaque displayed proudly in the winery’s tasting room. Be sure to stick around post-stomp for a hearty taco lunch and a glass (or two) of wine.
Tickets start at $145 per couple.
6. Bat Fest
Aug. 20, 4 p.m. to midnight
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
roadwayevents.com/event/bat-fest
If you’ve lived in Austin for more than 24 hours, chances are you’ve heard of the colony of Mexican free-tailed bats that call the undercarriage of the Congress Avenue Bridge home. Each night, flocks of tourists and locals congregate—some from the sidewalks above, others from kayaks below—to watch the world’s largest urban bat colony (more than 1.5 million bats live under the bridge) take off on their flight for food. The evening spectacle, made even more impressive when cast against the backdrop of the setting sun, is so tied to Austin’s identity that it’s worthy of an annual celebration. Now in its 12th year, Bat Fest will sport three stages for live music, more than 75 arts-and-crafts, lots of food vendors, a bat costume contest and more.
Admission is $25. Children age 8 and younger get in free.
7. The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
Aug. 21, 11 to 5 p.m.
Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St.
austinchronicle.com/hot-sauce
Turn up the heat and test out your taste buds’ burn tolerance at the 26th annual {Austin Chronicle} Hot Sauce Festival. The largest hot-sauce festival in the world, the annual event serves up more than 350 varietals of the spicy stuff and has three levels of competition: individuals (homemade), restaurants and commercial bottlers. Ramble the grounds listening to live music from Dale Watson and Sweet Spirit, catch a live cooking demonstration and smooch samples off hot-sauce vendors, who’ll be dishing up their specialty sauces.
Admission is free with a donation of three healthy, nonperishable food items for the Central Texas Food Bank or a $5 cash fee.
8. White Linen Night
Aug. 6, 6 to 9 p.m.
Second Street District, downtown Austin
2ndstreetdistrict.com
Experience the epitome of a downtown Austin block party by strolling the sidewalks of Second Street, Austin’s trendy shopping and dining district. White Linen Night rolls out the red (or should we say, white) carpet for its fourth anniversary, featuring a steady stream of bites and libations from some of the city’s hottest downtown restaurants. In addition to live-music accompaniments, there will be free in-store events at some of the more than 50 specialty shops that line the block. Snag a VIP ticket to continue mingling with other community members post-party at The Bonneville. Proceeds from this year’s White Linen Night benefit the Sustainable Food Center.
Tickets are $35 for general admission, and $50 for VIP.
9. Drive-in Movie Night
Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-in, 1901 E. 51st St.
bluestarlitedrivein.com
People love to romanticize the past, a hobby that rings especially true when talking about old cars and films. Cure your craving for a dose of the days of lore with a night out at the drive-in. Cozy up on the hood or tailgate of your car, grab a bag of popcorn and an ice-cold Coca-Cola from the concessions stand and let the old-fashioned ambience of projectors, drive-in screens and star-studded night skies take you back in time. This month, be sure to catch screenings of The Goonies and Grease.
Car-slot reservations are $15 and admission is $5 per person.
10. Austin Pride Fashion Show, Festival and Parade
Aug. 20 through 27
Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St.
austinpride.org
Austin Pride week continues to get bigger and better every year. The festival kicks off Aug. 20 at ACL Live at Moody Theater with the Werk Fashion Show, featuring a lineup of famous starlet designers from the TV show Project Runway, in addition to a smattering of local designers. Support the LGBTQ community and join in a week of events and festivities, all of which cap off with an evening parade Aug. 27, starting at the Capitol, traveling down Congress Avenue and ending at Republic Square Park.
Tickets for the fashion show start at $30. General-admission tickets to the festival start at $17. The parade is free to view.
Photo coutresy of Austin Pride.
Kristy’s Top 10: January 2016
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