Weekend Events Roundup

Fly above the radar with our top weekend event picks

The mercury hasn’t risen above 90 for about a week, and you’re likely having a pumpkin spice latte for every meal of the day — screw it, it’s officially fall in Austin. We’ll all have a good excuse to go outside for activities and to proudly wear our one cardigan in 86-degree weather.

Just remember that unless you are attending a certain music festival of note, this will also be another weekend to avoid the Zilker Park area at all costs. So consider it another opportunity to explore lots of fun new alternatives. And be sure to check out our calendar for a more complete rundown of how to have fun until Monday rolls back around.

Friday, October 10 – Sunday, October 13

Theatre en Bloc Presents: Fat Pig

One of the boons of the fall season is a wider selection of theatrical performances and shows to choose from, from bombastic Broadway productions to intimate community shows.

Theatre en Bloc offers one of your top weekend choices for local performing arts. Fat Pig is a production from witty mind of Neil LaBute that focuses on body image. It tells the story the romance between lovestruck Tom and plus-sized Helen, which Tom tries to keep from his fat-phobic friends and colleagues. Fat Pig is a comedic look at the often-serious issue of how appearances determine so much about our lives.

Texas Performing Arts: Dial “M” for Murder

If you still have an itch to see talented thespians on stage, you can also check out a production of a tense and thrilling classic. Most people remember Dial “M” for Murder from the Hitchcock film adaptation, but the original stage production written by Frederick Knott is worth seeing after all of these years.

Even if you’ve never seen the film, the play is just as intense and entertaining as ever, even without the Hitchcockian flair. The term “edge of your seat” is a bit clichéd, but the story of a man plotting to get his wife out of the picture permanently will make that banal phrase ring true.

2013 Gruene Music and Wine Festival

Sometimes, you just want to get away from it all, and with another weekend of Austin being at maximum capacity, you might want to consider a short drive out of town to try out another fest.

The Gruene Hall in New Braunfels is an icon to any Texan who’s ever done the boot scootin’ boogie, and this weekend it will be the site for the Gruene Music and Wine Festival. Sip on some offerings from Texas’ best wineries and get in a dancing mood while listening to the sounds of the likes of Charlie Robison, Stoney LaRue, Ray Wylie Hubbard and many more. It will be a good way to remind yourself that there are fun festivals that happen outside the Austin city limits, too.

Sunday, October 13

Firefly Marathon at the Alamo Drafthouse

Like a shooting star across the sky, the sci-fi/Western TV series Firefly burned brightly but was quickly extinguished, mostly because Fox is terrible at keeping awesome shows afloat. But this Joss Whedon project has managed to stay relevant for many years now, due to an intensely devoted fanbase that refers to itself as The Browncoats.

The Austin chapter of The Browncoats wants to pay tribute to the series with a marathon of all 13 episodes starring Captain Mal and the crew of the Serenity, and it’s more than just geeky wish fulfillment. The marathon will also help benefit nonprofits such as Equality Now and SafePlace, so some of the money that you’ll spend to drool over Nathan Fillion or Gina Torres will go toward a good cause.

Catch a marathon of Firefly at the Alamo Drafthouse this weekend.

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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