weekend roundup

Waffles, fine arts and pizza: It's a flavor-filled weekend with arts options forevery taste

Experience a few of Austin's eclectic "musical communities" at the Austin MusicMap Launch Party.
Photo by: Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
Live performance, raffles and carnival games at the Home Slice Carnival-O-Pizza.
Photo by Jessica Pages
So many choices to make during E.A.S.T. weekend. Grab a guidebook and make youritinerary.
Come see how the fanciest folks in Hyde Park live at the Historic Homes Tour.

Howdy, y'all! It's another beautiful weekend in the ATX, and, as always, we've got plenty to do to keep you busy.

We love the arts in all of its myriad forms, and this is a fantastic weekend to explore all the sides of our city's eclectic arts communities. With visual arts exhibits all across the East Side, theatrical arts with Shakespeare and puppets and comedic arts paired with all-you-can-eat waffles (!), there's so much to excite your eyes and ears and your taste buds all weekend long.

East Austin Studio Tour

Most prominently, it's time once again for Austin's annual appreciation of all things artistic on the east side of town. The beautiful beast known as E.A.S.T. has grown exponentially over the years, thanks to the amazing efforts of its organizers and supporters, and these two weekends generate a multitude of must-attend parties, showings and exhibitions at galleries, homes and beyond.

Make your own itinerary, get to know some new artists, and get ready to see some amazing and mind-blowing things. Keep in mind that "East Austin" covers an ever-widening geographic area, so it will take some planning and transportation to see it all!

WaffleFest 2012

What goes better with improv comedy then warm waffles with plenty of butter and syrup? Nothing, that's right. Every year, the Hideout Theatre hosts this three-day improv comedy festival that features 26 of the best and brightest troupes in the city, like Parallelogramophonograph and Confidence Men. You just have to pick your choice of shows and then load up on all the toppings you want.

The floors are already getting sticky with all the Batter Blasters pre-made waffle mix, but the fun doesn't stop until late Saturday night. It's not so much a question of which shows you should see, because you'll like them all. The only real question is how many waffles you can cram down your gullet in three nights?

Trouble Puppet Theater's Toil & Trouble

I got to see this newly imagined production of Shakespeare's MacBeth on Halloween night, with a packed house of costumed audience members. Even with the man dressed in a full bear suit sitting to my right, I was rapt to the action on the stage and the impressive choreography of the puppeteers/actors who brought the Scottish tragedy to life. This is the only way I want to watch Shakespeare from now on, I think, with all the epic violence and spookiness of hollow figures brought to life.

Special treat: Get there early on Saturday night to see Wayne Alan Brenner's blood-soaked art exhibit, Vivid Section, in the Salvage Vanguard Theatre lobby. His works are inspired by the Trouble Puppet show, and you may get to add your own embellishments to the artist-as-work himself.

Carnival-O-Pizza

The do-gooder New Yorkers at Home Slice Pizza have carved a very necessary niche in the food market on South Congress, and every year, they throw a big ol' birthday party to say thank you to the city. This Saturday's Carnival-O-Pizza is a full day of live music and carnival games and pizza-loving antics that the whole family will enjoy.

The big draws are the pizza eating contest and the Hands On an Eggplant Sub contests, which afford the winners free pizza for a year. Raffle prizes all day long will also benefit the Austin Bat Cave, promoting literacy in Austin youth.

Austin Music Map Launch Party

The aural experts at KUT have been working diligently as of late to collect the sounds of Austin to digitally represent the various musical communities of the city in a tangible, documented format. After more than a year of hard work, the Austin Music Map is ready to share some of their findings with a spectacular launch party at the ND on Saturday night.

Austin musicmakers Nicknack, The Minor Mishap Marching Band, White Ghost Shivers and Susan Torres & The Squeebox Mafia will all be performing at this exciting event, providing the rich musical flavor to enrich the stories and projects that have already been aired on KUT. Come learn about this new way of appreciating our city's unique makeup.

Lighting of the Great Tree at The Domain

I know, I know! It's too early to be posting anything about the holiday season, but it's happening whether you like it or not... Out at the Domain on Saturday morning, the giant 40-foot Christmas tree will be all decorated and ready for the annual "ooh"s and "ahhs" that come from lighting up the six thousand lights it takes to cover a tree of this size.

Country star Jack Ingram, The Voice's Lex Land and plenty of merry carolers will also be on hand to help make the atmosphere feel like a winter(-ish) wonderland. This is clearly for the folks who wish it were the holidays all year-round. The rest of y'all should avoid the malls like the plague...

Hyde Park Historic Homes Tour

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, you're invited to come peek inside the homes of seven renovated historic homes during the Hyde Park Historic Homes Tour. After meeting briefly at the Trinity United Methodist Church at Speedway and 44th Street, you're welcome to peruse the homes on the tour at your leisure.

The tour celebrates the long-standing traditions of architecture and renovation that have happened in this, the first Austin suburb, throughout the years. As the city has grown throughout the years, much of the original structures have remained. This is a great way to see how homeowners and designers have preserved that history throughout the decades.

That'll do it for me. I hope you all have a happy and safe weekend, full of all the delicious flavors that Austin has to offer. We'll see y'all on the other side!

unspecified

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

weekend roundup

Waffles, fine arts and pizza: It's a flavor-filled weekend with arts options forevery taste

These 9 Austin restaurants will be open for Christmas Eve or Day 2024

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Still Austin bourbon named one of the top 10 whiskies of 2024

Red Light

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