Weekend Roundup
Pre-turkey jitters: Ease into the Season with plenty of gluttony and glory thisweekend
As of this week, I think it's safe to say the Holiday Season has beset us. Whether that phrase fills you with childish glee or haunts you with impending unseen stresses, it's best to take it in slowly and ease into the Season. While H-E-B and Starbucks would like you to bypass Thanksgiving and slide right into Christmas, let's instead fight for our right to gorge ourselves on that special Thursday.
To help you transition slowly into that blessed day, there's plenty to keep you busy this weekend, to either entertain your hyper Holiday-granted frivolity or to distract you from the specter of the Season.
It's the second weekend of the East Austin Studio Tour, and the artists want to share their beauty with you. The trails have been set and the artists are excited to fill your eyes and hearts with their work. Grab a program at any Austin Area Library and plan out your day of beauty. Trust us, there's plenty to go around at this buffet.
If laughter is the best medicine, The Hideout Theatre has the perfect cure for your Holiday Season Fever. The 10th Annual WaffleFest plays out Thursday through Saturday, with all-you-can-take improv comedy and all-you-can-eat waffles. Yep, homemade waffles and all the toppings you can handle at each of the shows. Besides showcasing the best improv in town, it's great practice for the 2012 Thanksgiving feast.
All day Saturday, Home Slice Pizza invites you to celebrate their 10th birthday with them at their annual Carnival-O-Pizza. Come enter the pizza eating contest or see if you can keep your hand on the eggplant parmesan sandwich to win Home Slice Pizza for a year. Live music, feats of strength and skill, kids' games and more. All of the amazing raffle prizes have been donated by local businesses, and proceeds from the raffle tickets go to this year's charity organization, The Austin Bat Cave. You might even see a CultureMap editor there hosting in approximately one thousand sequins...
Black Widow Burlesque knows how to make your Turkey Day a lot more tantalizing and fun with their Annual naughty dancing festival, Spanksgiving. Featuring over 30 acts from Austin and beyond, this all-night feast of flesh will feature the talents of Black Widow, the Jigglewatts, the Bat City Bombshells, Head Over Heels and more. Also featuring comedy, raffle prizes and a photo booth, Spanksgiving is a seriously fun way to stuff your Holiday with joy.
Over at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Jenny Larson and Hannah Kenah round out their incredibly popular run of Guest by Courtesy. The modern day manners play has received an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences and critics alike, thanks to the talents and humor of the stellar cast. Including "high physicality, archetypal characters and sheer vulgarity," Guest by Courtesy kind of sounds like Holidays at my home, anyway.
Charitably, the 15th Annual Austin Empty Bowl Project happens Sunday at Marchesa Hall. Thousands of ceramic bowls have been made by area youth and contributing artists, to be filled with soups made by area chefs. All bowls are on sale for $20/bowl, along with bowls signed by celebrities who have visited Austin recently. All of the proceeds go to the Capital Area Food Bank, to help those kids who may not get to enjoy Thanksgiving otherwise.
If you're already ready for Christmas, the Junior League of Austin will set up shop at the Palmer Events Center with their annual sales event, A Christmas Affair. This year, the theme is "The Magic of Christmas," and over 200 merchants from across the country will be present to sell their holiday wares. Gingerbread houses, stockings and decorative housewares will help you to ring in the Holidays in the most beautiful ways. But only if you're ready for it...
This can be a tough time of year for some, but also one of the most joyous. Let's focus on the good times and take it one day at a time. You deserve it.