Annual Events Return

Celebrate these annual Austin events & anniversaries this weekend

This weekend marks the return of a few of our favorite annual events — as well as some anniversaries worth highlighting. These events not only give us a chance to celebrate great local organizations, from the quirky to the noteworthy.

Austin Facial Hair Club Presents: Come and Shave It #8
This Saturday at the Mohawk, there will be an all-out war to determine who has the most majestic face warmers in Austin, a city that doesn’t take moustaches and beards very lightly. Fans can either attend as spectators or sign up if they think they have the goods in various categories of a competition covering many facial hair styles — except peach fuzz.

Austin Jugglefest XXI
A three-day festival that showcases workshops and spectacular shows of classic circus acts, the Austin Jugglefest is celebrating 21 years this weekend, meaning it can now legally drink. Just don’t expect to find Jugglefest hopping bars on Dirty Sixth, because it's actually celebrating with families and spectators at the Texas School for the Deaf. If you don’t feel like taking the time to learn some tricks, spend some time watching pros toss all manner of objects in the air.

The New Movement Theater’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration
The improv comedy theater may not seem that old, but it’s left quite an impression in the five years since its founders, Chris Trew and Tami Nelson, opened up the Austin location as a sibling to the New Orleans original. The New Movement has trained aspiring comics from all walks of life in Austin. Join TNM for a weekend of shows featuring teachers and old students having fun on stage, then stay for the birthday and mix and mingle with some talented and funny people who call Austin home.

First Annual Austin Bacon and Beer Festival
Instead of just celebrating the return of a beloved event, we're taking the time to celebrate the birth of a new one. A collaboration between Eat Boston and Edible Austin, the Bacon and Beer Festival is exactly what it sounds like: a new food festival that combines America’s favorite breakfast meat and adult beverage for a satisfying celebration. It’s amazing what can happen when two cities that rhyme with each other work together.

Austin Pets Alive! Presents: Austin’s No-Kill Anniversary Party
Finally, let’s take a few moments to remember an important milestone in Austin. It was only three years ago that Austin became a no-kill city, rescuing animals at a rate of more than 90 percent. According to the City of Austin, we’re still on track, but help is needed to keep this journey going. Join Austin Pets Alive! for a cocktail party, light appetizers and live music, while also raising money so that APA! can continue to the good fight for local pets.

Making its debut on Saturday, here's hoping that the Bacon and Beer Festival will return for many years to come.

poster for the first annual Austin Bacon and Beer Festival

Photo courtesy of Austin Bacon and Beer Festival

Making its debut on Saturday, here's hoping that the Bacon and Beer Festival will return for many years to come.

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Shelter to Service

Dripping Springs nonprofit trains service dogs rescued from shelters

Photo courtesy of KVUE

The group estimates that it's gotten more than 1,000 dogs out of the shelter system.

For the past 35 years, a service dog training nonprofit in Dripping Springs has transformed unwanted dogs into essential partners for Texans living with significant challenges.

Sheri Soltes, founder and CEO of Service Dogs, Inc., says the dogs they train help serve people with hearing or mobility disabilities. The canines also comfort those enduring traumatic events.

In a time where most animal shelters in Central Texas are over capacity, Service Dogs, Inc. is handing out second chances to pups with potential to make a difference in people’s lives.

“They're sort of like the cousins to guide dogs,” Soltes said. “Except we're unique because we get our dogs from animal shelters instead of having a breeding program. So we help the dog and we help the person.”

She says the nonprofit can’t adopt every dog because the pups must meet specific qualifications, narrowing down from their age to their temperament.

Soltes says dogs must be at least a year and a half old in order to be X-rayed to assess their health, must be extremely people-oriented and should be comfortable being in public settings.

She says Service Dogs, Inc. may bring back one out of 500 dogs in a shelter.

“We've probably trained well over a 1,000, probably closer to 1,200 dogs by this time over 36 years. Any dog that we adopt from a shelter, if it doesn't complete the training, we don't take it back to the shelter, will find it a good pet home. So, they're going to win either way with us,” Soltes said.

Depending on the pooches’ temperament and personality, they’ll be trained in any and all of four programs available.

Soltes says the nonprofit trains the canines to be hearing dogs that can alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing. They could be trained for people with mobility disabilities, learning to open and close doors or steady someone’s balance.

She says they also train dogs to work in areas devastated by catastrophic storms, in courthouses in the victim's assistance departments or with first responders struggling with their mental health.

“They're not always the right tool for every kind of job, but they're very, very helpful,” she said.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

animals pets disability shelter