A Long Time Coming

Austin's Long Center hosts 3rd free Community Day with music, workouts

Visitors are welcomed to the Long Center this September for a free day of arts appreciation.

Long Center Facebook

The Long Center, one of Austin's most central venues for the arts, is reprising its Teresa Lozano Long Community Day for the third year on Saturday, September 6, from 11 am to 4 pm. The day of festivities will include performances by local arts groups, activities, partner showcases, and a members-only jazz brunch.

The first Community Day was held at the Long Center in 2023, coinciding with the organization's 15-year anniversary and honoring its founder, Teresa Lozano Long. It takes the form of an open house, allowing the public to explore the space — including backstage tours — and discover various offerings throughout.

Performances throughout the day will feature:

Austin Jazz Society presents Ephraim Owens & Friends
Austin Opera’s Resident Stars
Ballet Austin’s Rhythm on Stage: Musical Theater Dance with Kerin Martinez
Ballet Folklórico de Austin
Haydn Vitera of Mariachi Rock Revolution
Musicians of the Austin Symphony Orchestra
Oita ATX Summer Japan Festival: Sun Dragon Seido Karate and Self Defense, NFP
Tapestry Dance Company

In addition to performances, activities will provide plenty of hands-on entertainment. The list includes kids experiences like "BubblePalooza" presented by H-E-B and featuring DJ Cassandra, and a game zone by Creative Action; yoga and workouts with ATX Yoga Girl, Los Papis Zumba, and Relay Fitness; a "rodeo" teaching bike skills with Ghisallo Cycling Initiative; and a football watch party. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase.

Finally, community partners will present their work to get to know the public. They include:

Bike Story Night
Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC)
KMFA
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Natural Sciences Council
The Parents’ Climate Community
Recovery Outside
Texas Book Festival
Texas Robotics
UT Computer Science Roadshow

Part of the mission of Community Day is to honor the founder's vision of making the arts accessible to all. Attendees can expect ticket deals for Long Center Presents shows, and those who want to get more involved can become members for a reduced price of $95 "for a limited time," according to a press release. New members will get access to the Community Day Member Jazz Brunch, which takes place in the morning before the public festivities with mimosas, breakfast tacos, a tour, and a performance by the Huston-Tillotson Jazz Collective.

Attendees can RSVP in advance at thelongcenter.org. The event is free to attend, but the RSVP form allows the user to make an optional donation at their preferred amount.

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To the Pyramids and Back Again

Acclaimed VR experience brings the Great Pyramid of Giza to Austin

Horizon of Khufu preview graphic

Participants will take a trip on the Nile with a cat guide.

An acclaimed virtual reality (VR) "journey" is bringing ancient Egypt to Austin. Horizon of Khufu will make its Austin debut at VieVR (11000 Middle Fiskville Rd., Ste. A1) on December 5.

Austinites could be excused for shrugging off VR experiences as something to seek out and pay for, but Horizon of Khufu is quite the production, reviewers say. It's a long one, clocking in at 45 minutes, and it counteracts the lonely, body-less experience of VR by giving each participant a glowing figure to represent them to others in the virtual world.

A party can actually be together in the virtual world.Horizon of Khufu preview graphic

"Not all VR experiences are worth the money, but Excurio has elevated it to an art form by evoking myriad emotions, the most genuine path to fostering empathy and amplifying the shared human experience," wrote Forbes contributor Natasha Gural.

The Paris-based team at Excurio says it's worked with more than 90 artists and experts developing its five "expeditions" so far. The team for this one included Harvard Egyptology professor Peter Der Manuelian and his team at the Giza Project, a digital archive that allows researchers to recreate the pyramids in 3D.

Horizon of Khufu is named for the Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest pyramid in the world at 479 feet high — the equivalent of nearly 45 stories. It's also known as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Guests will "fly" over the Plateau of Giza, look off the top of the pyramid in every direction, explore the corridors and burial chambers as an embalming ceremony happens, check out the Queen's chamber, and travel on the Nile River to attend the funeral of Khufu, Egypt's king in the 25th century BCE.

The experience doesn't just happen in the pyramid.Horizon of Khufu preview graphic

A press release says it is important to Excurio that the experience is as accurate as possible as a reconstruction. And as important as the educational angle is, it doesn't hurt that the graphic design is beautiful, with moody sunsets, wide-open panoramas, and a friendly cat for a guide.

Horizon of Khufu will be hosted next to Zoocade, a holographic zoo that sidesteps some of the ethical implications of keeping live animals and shows off some prehistoric species, too.

The experience contains lots of cinematic shots.Horizon of Khufu preview graphic

Tickets for Horizon of Kufu ($36 for adults, $32 for children) are available via Fever. People with limited balance may not be able to participate, as walkers and canes are not allowed, per the developer's website. However, the ticket website for the Austin experience says all attractions are wheelchair-friendly.

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