Weekend Roundup

Horrors, homos and hullabaloo: A Fantastic weekend full of PRIDE for Texas' manyfestivals

Austin PRIDE invites you to express yourself in whatever way makes the mostsense. Plus: the parade's at night this year!
Photo by Michael Graupmann
Karaoke is a huge component of the Fantastic Fest after-parties. Costumes andalcohol make the experience more memorable, of course.
Julian Castro will be one of many keynote speakers at this year's Texas TribuneFestival.
Courtesy photo

The temperature is dipping down, heralding the arrival of Austin's beloved Festival Season: that time of year where portions of our city get infiltrated by enchanted out-of-towners from far and distant lands.

Get ready for it, Austin, because this will be your reality for the next six months. You will be loved, whether you like it or not.

This weekend, the festivals are relatively contained to very specific subsets of our population. There are maybe only a few of us that fit the demographics of each of these goings-on; and it's a real bitch for us that they all fall on the same weekend...

First up, we've got strange visitors from all over the world communing at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse for seven straight days, drawn by the siren song of fantasy, horror and sci-fi cinema. It's finally time for Fantastic Fest 2012, the largest genre film festival anywhere in the world, and maybe the most epic event that the Alamo puts on every year.

With over 100 movies screening throughout the week and amazing premieres with celebrity special guests in attendance, plus the all-night parties at The Highball, you cannot imagine all the fun you'll be missing if you didn't get a badge immediately. Please don't say that dorks don't know how to party, because they will be schooling all of you this weekend, Tolkein-style.

Giving them a run for their party money will be Central Texas' colorful queer population, who will be celebrating Austin PRIDE this weekend at various locales throughout the city. Now that PRIDE is in September instead of the former first weekend in June, the weather is cooler and more welcoming to join in all of the official (and unofficial) events.

In the early morning, PRIDE will kick off with the Rainbow Run 5k outside the Long Center. Participants will get blasted with rainbow dust and glitter as they pass certain checkpoints, and end up looking as fabulous on the outside as they do on the inside. Then it's over to Fiesta Gardens for the PRIDE Festival, with performances by Peaches and the queens from Rupaul's Drag Race. Finally, at 8 p.m., the PRIDE Parade sashays down Congress Avenue and all over creation, letting the world know just how gay of a city we really are. Hooray!

And while The Texas Tribune Festival may not have as many drag queens or head explosions at its events, we can guarantee it will still get your blood pumping and your mind racing during the three days of lectures and panel discussions regarding public policy, law and human rights in Texas and beyond.

Rep. candidate Ted Cruz, San Antonio Mayor Julian Cruz and Gov. Rick Perry will all be present on the University of Texas campus as keynote speakers, and you'll have a chance to ask them the tough questions and learn of new opportunities to get involved with politics in your community.

And just because these major festivals are happening throughout the weekend, it doesn't mean we can forget a few other major fundraiser events taking place this weekend as well.

Friday, Ballet Austin invites you to the Driskill to dance the night away at the fabulous annual Fete & fete*ish fundraiser. This two-in-one gala event is THE black tie affair that kicks off the whole gala season in Austin, and features fine dining, dancing, entertainment and a preview of the upcoming Ballet Austin season. Afterward, it's the throwdown party of the gala set, with former Salt N' Pepa DJ, Spinderella, providing the DJ dance set for the night.

Finally, I Live Here I Give Here hosts The BIG Give on Sunday night, again at the Driskill Hotel. This annual event assembles the many nonprofits that fall under ILHIGH's umbrella into one exciting party atmosphere, to have fun and meet potential donors. Everyone is in a fantastic mood, enhanced by great food and drinks and the huge prizes made available by Whole Foods Market and Mercedes-Benz.

The question we have for you, Austin, is: Are you ready for some festivals? Because, like or it not, they're headed in your direction in a major way.

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Study This

Austin is the No. 7 most educated city in the country, says Forbes

Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash

UT Austin gets a lot of praise, but this study includes degrees from everywhere — as long as the recipient lives in Texas.

Austin and San Antonio don't get all the same opportunities as the even larger cities in Texas, but in a recent study they prove they're prepared. Both made the top 10 in Forbes Advisor's "Most Educated Cities In The U.S." list: San Antonio was No. 4, and Austin was No. 7.

Other Texas cities made the list of 100, but some fell surprisingly far behind. Dallas made No. 20, followed by Houston at No. 79 and Fort Worth at No. 93. In some even more surprising twists, the smaller city of Garland was the fourth in Texas at No. 26, and El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Laredo all beat Houston.

This study compared the 100 largest cities in the country as of the 2021 census, using metrics like high school dropout rate, percentage of adults age 25 and older with some college, but no degree, undergraduate college completion rate, and percentage of adults age 25 and older with an advanced degree. There were also some lower-weighted metrics about equity, studying racial and gender college completion gaps.

Although many education studies fall into praising the University of Texas, this one considers education as a whole — while still mentioning the university once.

In San Antonio, the bachelor’s completion rate for people 25 and up was 67.30 percent, and 29.56 percent of people in that age group have advanced degrees. The study doesn't have much to say about educational opportunities in the city, focusing instead of its tourist potential. But it did note that the city had one of the smallest racial gaps for higher ed, which was only -5.49 percent. Its gender gap was 0.97 percent, and its high school dropout rate was 4.53 percent.

San Antonio's Trinity University did great in a Niche study that came out in early September. It was the No. 18 best small college in America, and topped the list entirely in Texas. Among bigger fish, it was also the No. 20 best liberal arts college in the country (and again the best in Texas), and made No. 4 in general for best colleges in Texas.

In Austin, 59.89 of people 25 or older completed Bachelor's degrees, and 22.76 percent completed advanced degrees. The racial gap was much worse at -10.87 percent. Its gender gap was a bit less than San Antonio's, at 0.69 percent, and its high school dropout rate was more at 7.56 percent.

Of course, this is where the study mentions UT, which is based in Austin. It made WalletHub's 2024 ranking of the best colleges and universities in Texas and earned the No. 2 spot; clinched the No. 6 spot in Niche's ranking of the best public universities in the country; and earned No. 2 in a list of best undergraduate programs for entrepreneurs by the Princeton Review, among other accolades.

Just breaking into the top 20, Dallas' Bachelor's degree completion rate was 57.05 percent, with 21.37 percent attaining advanced degrees. The racial and gender gaps were −14.99 percent and 1.64 percent, respectively. Much further down the list, Houston's Bachelor's degree completion rate was only 32.99 percent, and only 10.97% achieved advanced degrees. High school dropouts were at 8.90 percent, and the racial and gender gaps were −4.99 and 2.10 percent respectively.

Here are all the Texas cities on the list of 100, in order from most to least educated:

4. San Antonio
7. Austin
20. Dallas
26. Garland
49. El Paso
59. Corpus Christi
76. Laredo
79. Houston
81. Arlington
83. Irving

More information on the study by Forbes advisor, including full city rankings and expanded methodology, is available at forbes.com.

education universities