Editor's note: The top Austin news of the week includes the final performance for a downtown theater favorite and big funding for arts and culture projects. Plus, we introduce you the Bar of the Year nominees in the 2026 Tastemaker Awards. Catch up on our most popular stories below, then visit this guide for more weekend fun.

1. Longtime improv theater closes curtain on downtown Austin location. After 26 years, Austin's longest-running improv theater has taken its final curtain call downtown. The Hideout Theatre at 617 Congress Ave. went dark over the weekend of March 20. The folks who kept the theater going hope the story will continue in a new location.

2. Austin's top 10 bars of 2026 shake up an already diverse scene. Austinites love bars of all kinds, and the Bar of the Year nominees in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are proof of the city’s range, whether it’s on the menu or in the atmosphere.

The Dead Rabbit is one of the liveliest pubs in the city. Photo by Levi Travieso

3. Austin game store raises funds for employee injured in bus attack. An Austin game store employee is recovering after stepping in to stop a violent attack on a CapMetro bus, an act of courage his coworkers say reflects who he is.

4. Austin chefs face off in live farmers market cooking competition. Local chefs from L'Oca d'Oro and Lenoir will compete in the third annual Texas Farmers’ Market (TFM) Chef Throwdown in the Mueller neighborhood on April 19.

5. City of Austin awards $24 million in arts and culture grants. The City of Austin's Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment office (ACME) is pouring $24 million into local arts and culture projects — 731 recipients in total. This is the "first full funding cycle shaped by the ACME’s Creative Reset initiative," the city says.