Growing Up Weird

Superhero run, Wiggles world tour and other kid-cool activities for September

The passing of Labor Day can send families into a funk. Sunscreen and pools gives way to backpacks and homework. Parents and kids get back into the routine of school, work, after-school activity, repeat.

But just because summer has slipped away doesn’t mean activities and exploration have to end along with it. September in Austin features festivals, museums and, of course, the Wiggles. Keep the camera handy, folks. There's a lot of family fun happening this fall.

Saturday, September 7

Wildflower Planting/Kids Day of Service
Whole Foods Market

How do you raise a generous child? This isn’t a rhetorical question. I need answers. Our oldest is stubborn well beyond his years. It takes bits of encouragement and activity to encourage him to act selflessly.

Luckily, the Whole Foods Kids Foundation and the Trail Foundation are holding a great event that can help teach your kids the importance of community involvement.

Join other families by helping to plant wildflower seeds along Lady Bird Lake during Kid’s Day of Service. Come prepared to dig, get dirty and do your part to keep Austin green. Show your kids what helping means, and you’ll be helping yourself grow compassionate kids.

Sunday, September 15

The Wiggles Taking Off! World Tour
ACL Live at the Moody Theater

Remember how easy it used to be to see the bands we loved? Some hot band would roll into Stubb’s or Antone’s and we’d be in the front row —no questions asked.

Although we may have traded in our late-night partying for late-night feeding, family-friendly concerts can still be fun. Featuring their first-ever female member, the Wiggles Taking Off! World Tour rolls into ACL Live at the Moody Theater for a fun time fit for families. They may not be Radiohead, but the Wiggles are just about the hottest kids band on the planet, so your little ones will be stoked.

If you’re feeling nostalgic, just wear your Black Keys T-shirt. It will be just like the old days. Kinda.

Saturday, September 21

CASA Superhero Run
Mueller Lake Park & Hangar

Heroes are good role models. Show your kids that not all of them are in movies or on the pages of comic books. The annual CASA Superhero Run benefits abused or neglected children by empowering community volunteers to advocate for them in the court system. Don your finest cape, Spandex and sneakers and get ready to save the world, one child at a time.

In addition to a 5K for grownups and a more kid-friendly 1K, the CASA run also features a costume contest for both humans and our furry companions. So wrangle your little Supermen and Superwomen, put your pup in a cape and do your part to protect those in trouble. You don’t even need a flying iron suit.

Sunday, September 22

Free Austin Museum Day
Multiple locations

Though the Austin Children’s Museum it closed until November, luckily it’s not the only game in town. Museums are reaching out to provide family-friendly activities on a regular basis.

The annual Free Austin Museum Day opens up nearly every museum in town for exploration and discovery. Although your kids may not understand classical painting techniques used in the Blanton Museum's collection, they will certainly enjoy the museum's art scavenger hunt or a life drawing class.

Once you've hit up the art museums, head over to the Bullock Texas State History Museum, where your whole family will get a look at the Texas of long ago. At the Texas Natural Science Center, kids can get ready to dig for dinosaurs. So do your whole family a favor, take a look at the dozens of free museums and keep stretching those big imaginations.

September 28 and 29

Old Pecan Street Festival

Although Austinites certainly pride ourselves on eating locally and buying from independent businesses, as a parent, it's sometimes just easier to hit up a drive-thru or make a quick Target run.

Fairs and festivals are fun ways to break out of our consumerism funk while showing kids the treasure of handmade crafts. The Old Pecan Street Festival takes over 6th Street with local artisans, handmade crafts and jewelry, paintings, candles, puppets, clothing and more.

Food vendors sell their delicious delicacies, and petting zoos and pony rides are definitely more fun than rolling around in a shopping cart.

Kids dress as their favorite superheroes for the CASA Superhero Run.

Austin Photo_News_Superhero run_Sept 2012

Veronica Castelo

Kids dress as their favorite superheroes for the CASA Superhero Run.

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Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

Getty Images

Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

animals downtown civic issues

Growing Up Weird

Superhero run, Wiggles world tour and other kid-cool activities for September

Kids dress as their favorite superheroes for the CASA Superhero Run.

Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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