Cow Parade Auction

Jay Leno corrals the CowParade herd, comes to Austin for Superhero Kids auction

Milton Verret (l) and Jay Leno (r).
Philanthropist Milton Verret announces the addition of Jay Leno to the CowParadeauction.
Photo by Kevin Benz
CowParade sponsors next to the Texas Moosician Cow at the W Hotel with artistMitch Brookman.
Photo by Kevin Benz

The CowParade Austin herd is moo-ving on up, and they'll have a pretty hefty guest star helping them. NBC Tonight Show host Jay Leno is coming to Austin's CowParade auction to lend some star power to the event. The auction benefits the Dell Children's Medical Center Superhero Kids.

Those cool fiberglass art cows (78 in all) you see all over town were decorated by Central Texas artists and will be sold to the highest bidder on November 13^th at the ACL Live Moody Theater inside the W Hotel.

CowParade began in Switzerland in 1998 and has visited over 70 cities around the world covering every continent. Europe has hosted over 30 parades in total. The cows in many cases have become major works of art and sought out by collectors. Even Oprah bought a couple in Chicago.

Big fiberglass artwork is not new to Austin. In 2006 the Austin Guitartown Project brought in $589,000 for charity. Philanthropist Milton Verret (the guy who also bought the famous Michael Jackson jacket) spent $100,000 alone on fiberglass guitars. He, along with the company he founded, U.S. Money Reserve, is the main sponsor of CowParade and the guy who talked Jay Leno into helping.

"It is exciting news for the Austin community," explained Verret, "but most of importantly, for the young patients of Dell Children's Hospital. Everyone has enjoyed the cows, now it is time to come to the auction and be part of our fundraising efforts to help the kids."

It will take a $25 donation in order to be invited to the CowParade auction. A $500 donation will result in VIP access. While organizers believe the cows will generally be sold for between $500 and $10,000, cows around the world have gone for as much as $75,000. That said, there is no minimum, so if your dream house involves a life-sized art cow in the front yard, or perhaps in front of your business, now is the time to live the dream and make a significant contribution to the quality of life of some Superhero Kids.

Check out the CowParade promotional video:

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To make a donation and get more information on the auction, you can call 512-225-5299 or watch for updates on the CowParade website.

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Sonic Boost

Musical gala spotlights 20 Austin acts including Nemegata, Quentin Arispe

Photo courtesy of Spaceflight Records

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On January 18, charitable organization Sonic Guild will award $150,000 in grants to 20 deserving local bands and solo artists at the Sonic Guild Ball. For the first time ever, tickets are available to the public for this ceremony and show.

This is the 11th year this organization has supported the Austin music scene, though readers might know the organization by its previous name, Black Fret. This public charity is headquartered here in Austin and is on a mission to support artists here (as well as in Seattle and parts of Colorado, now) with a publicly available annual membership.

In return for annual dues, members get to see a bunch of shows and attend private events; and their memberships support local music with grants. Over these years, the group has awarded grants and payments to local musicians, venues, and music businesses totaling over $6 million.

This year's grant recipients are:

Rob Baird
West 22nd
Cactus Lee
The Point
DAIISTAR
Parker Woodland
Nemegata
Deer Fellow
Elijah Delgado
Grocery Bag
Quentin Arispe
Shelley King
Geto Gala
Next of Kin
promqueen
Lew Apollo
S. L. Houser
Harvest Thieves
TV's Daniel
Stella and the Very Messed

These artists were selected through a year-long process where Sonic Guild members, advisors, and prior grant recipients nominated, lobbied for, and finally voted on their favorite artists.

These 20 winners will receive not only grants at the upcoming Sonic Guild Ball, but also mentoring, and will be paid for any performance they do for Sonic Guild audiences in the future. In fact, half of the awarded bands will be performing at the ball itself.

In between performances there will be videos and live testimonials telling the stories of how past grant winners have used their funds to boost their music careers with album recordings, tours, instruments, and more.

“Naming these 20 2024 Sonic Guild Artists puts us at over 200 individual acts we have recognized with a Sonic Guild grant,” said co-founder and Executive Director of Sonic Guild Austin Matt Ott in a press release. “Every member that joins Sonic Guild sends a powerful message to our city’s musicians that their contributions to our culture matters. We must support our music scene as our great city grows to make sure it thrives for generations to come.”

The 2024 Sonic Guild Ball will be held at the Long Center for the first time ever. Individual public tickets are available online and range between $24 and $130 depending on the seat.

Austinites can also become members of Sonic Guild and have access to more than 30 live shows this next season, and will get to vote for the lucky artists that will be awarded with grants at next year's Sonic Guild Ball.

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