Weekend Roundup

What's the best way to commemorate 9/11 ten years later?

Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami
The Burleson County Kolache Festival
The 2011 PRIDE Parade Grand Marshalls
Photo by Veronica Castelo
A scene from Drafthouse Cinema's Four Lions

Well, it's ten years later.

The tragic events of 9/11/01 were a full decade ago as of Sunday, and now it's an anniversary of sorts, a national holiday even called Patriot Day. Ten years is a long time, especially in the the context of how quickly our lives move these days. It's a wonder we can even remember how we felt or where we were that day. But somehow, we still do.

So, in honor of the tenth anniversary of 9/11: How are we supposed to feel about it? What, if anything, should we be doing to commemorate? It seems wrong to do nothing, but it also seems morbid to spend a day doing more than remembering the lives that were lost and moving forward. It's also just one day. What about the rest of the weekend?

For some, this weekend will be harder than for others. For others, it's a time to rejoice and celebrate our progression forward into the future. And for these reasons, the upcoming weekend is a tricky mishmash of joyful and diverse events reflecting the backgrounds and attitudes that make Austin such a cleverly layered melting pot.

The Austin Interfaith Arts & Music Festival is a terrific way to appreciate all the delicious flavors of Austin's multicultural makeup. The stage at the St. Ignatious Family Center will feature members of our city's international communities sharing their faiths, traditions and nationalities through musical performances and a juried art show. Special guest Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami will perform on Saturday evening at the Central Presbyterian Church.

One group in particular will be celebrating their native food at the Burleson County Kolache Festival on Saturday. The Czechs of Burleson want everyone to know they're still around and making delicious flaky pastries filled with some of the best ingredients you can put inside. Besides the foods, you'll see traditional crafts, hear Czech music and even get to dance to traditional polka!

Saturday is also Austin's PRIDE celebration throughout the streets of downtown Austin. Rainbow flags and tiny tight tank tops will be flying at full mast all day long as our city's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer populations (and their allies!) enjoy the sun on their likely-exposed skin. The PRIDE Rainbow Run 5K kicks off at 8 a.m. by the Long Center, the downtown Parade starts at 10:30 a.m., and the vendor-heavy Festival and performances kick off at noon at Fiesta Gardens. The Parade is free, but the Festival will set you back more than you might imagine. But that's the price of fabulousness these days.

If staying indoors is more your speed, you can still get your rainbow connection at the 24th Annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, or aGLIFF. With over 40 films sprinkled throughout the week, you've got the chance to see some of the best work of indie directors and screenwriters that you won't get to see in the big theaters. There's even a big gay ("Majestic") dance party at the Paramount Theater after the headliner movie, Mangus, plays on Saturday night.

Of course, the Alamo's got you covered in the movie department as well. And following their credo of keeping it real, they've got some special events planned for 9/11. Get your tickets now for one (or both) of the two Quote-Alongs of Team America: World Police. If that's not scandalous enough for you, try the movie the Drafthouse made themselves when they realized no one else had the chutzpah to make it: Four Lions. This unrelenting, unapologetic satire is exactly the kind of chaotic event the Alamo offers to help us overcome, as they put it, "the deeply bracing absurdity and dumbness that creeps into our collective souls when we are faced with a darkness we can't fathom."

Too real? Let's mix it up with the strangest best-intentioned memorial event. On Sunday, The Texas Firewalkers are commemorating the lives of the 343 firemen who died saving lives in the 9/11 attacks with a 110-story Memorial Stair Climb. One participant will take a number, representing each of the firemen that risked their lives to save others. In teams of 4-6, participants will make it to the top of the 300 West 6th skyscraper, pausing only for moments of silence at the exact moments the planes hit each tower. Afterward, in a shockingly overt gesture, participants are then welcome to enjoy free chicken wings and fries at the Hooter's Restaurant on Riverside. God bless, America.

A bit more consistently wholesome, the City of Austin will be hosting The September Concert at Austin City Hall on Monday. (I know it's not the weekend, but it's thematically appropriate!) This international music event features music as a way of bringing people together and reminding them that peace is a universally held ideal throughout humanity. To help remind us about the future, the group U Better Sing and the Austin's Children's Choir will be singing for all those who attend.

Clearly, life goes on in Austin, New York and beyond. Perhaps the tenth anniversary doesn't need to hold tremendous precedence over, say, the ninth or the eighty-second anniversary. It'll always be a part of the American landscape, at least while those of us who were alive remember it.

Maybe we should instead take time this weekend to discuss it with those around us and be grateful that we are able to keep moving forward.

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

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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.

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