CRITTER FEST

Austin’s squirrels get their own party at all-ages Pease Park festival

This family-friendly gathering has been going on for six years.

Photo courtesy of Pease Park Conservancy

Austin’s bushy-tailed residents are getting the spotlight when Squirrel Fest returns to Pease Park this spring. The sixth annual Squirrel Fest will take place Saturday, April 11 at Pease Park, with festivities beginning at 4 pm and wrapping up with an outdoor screening of the animated film Zootopia after dark.

The free, family-friendly event is presented by the H-E-B Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust and organized by the Pease Park Conservancy in partnership with Future Front Texas.

Festival activities will include a puppet show by Small Wonders Puppet Theater, a visit from the Austin Bat Cave book bus, squirrel-themed origami with the Japanese American Society of Greater Austin, and a moth study session led by naturalist Dr. Curtis Eckerman. All-ages eco-crafts will include nature painting, friendship bracelets, clay time, and sun prints.

The event celebrates the eastern fox squirrel, a native species often spotted darting through Austin parks and neighborhoods. The large tree squirrel, recognizable for its bushy tail and reddish coloring, thrives in wooded urban areas like Pease Park, where mature trees provide food and nesting sites.

The park’s affection for the animal runs deep, and a squirrel even appears in the Conservancy’s logo. For at least one afternoon at the park, the squirrels are the guests of honor, and local dogs may want to sit this one out.

Scene from Zootopia Jason Bateman plays Nick Wilde and Ginnifer Goodwin plays Judy Hopps in Zootopia. Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Pease Park, which stretches about 84 acres along Shoal Creek between West 15th and West 31st streets, was donated to the city in 1875 by former Texas governor Elisha M. Pease and his wife, Lucadia. The park was once part of the Pease family’s Woodlawn estate, while other portions of the land later became West Austin neighborhoods, including Old Enfield and parts of Tarrytown.

In the early 2000s, community advocate Richard Craig launched a volunteer effort called “Trees for Pease,” a grassroots campaign to plant and restore trees along Shoal Creek and throughout the park. That effort evolved into the Pease Park Conservancy in 2008, which now partners with the City of Austin to restore and maintain the park.

Today, the park includes destinations such as Kingsbury Commons, Tudor Cottage, the seed pod Treehouse playground, and shaded trails along Shoal Creek. Pease Park has also long hosted community gatherings, including the famously eclectic Eeyore’s Birthday Party, known for its drum circles, costumes, and colorful crowds. This year's Eeyore's Birthday Party, sponsored by the Friends of the Forest Foundation, is scheduled for April 25.

Food vendors include Zee’s Weiner System, led by chef Zak Drummond, a Rising Star Chef nominee in CultureMap’s 2026 Tastemaker Awards; plus SnoRide, Five O Four Honduran Creole, El Mariachi’s Tacos, Lady Bird Soda, Liquid Death, and Brother Friend Coffee.

happy go lucky atx

Austin improves on 2026 list of happiest cities in America

Photo by Wei Liang on Unsplash

Great job, Austin.

Austin is much happier this year than it was in 2025: A new happiness study has ranked the City of Weird among the happier cities in America, and it's the second-happiest city in Texas.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Austin moved up on the list and currently ranks as the 39th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 59th.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Austin across the three key dimensions:

No. 40 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 97 – Community and environment
No. 20 – Income and employment

Austin and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, hosting fun pop-ups for locals and visitors, or having a strong job market. The city also hosts several globally recognized festivals and events, like South by Southwest, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Formula 1, and many more. And considering that people keep moving here, Austin certainly must seem happier than many other places in the country.

Having a good job and a fun social life can count as factors for measuring happiness, but WalletHub separately emphasized that making more money doesn't necessarily mean "more" happiness.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Elsewhere in Texas
The Dallas suburb Plano and its residents' happiness far outshines the rest of Texas, according to WalletHub. Plano ranked as the 16th happiest U.S. city, and the No. 1 happiest statewide.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 70 – Irving
No. 92 – Garland
No. 106 – Grand Prairie
No. 111 – Dallas
No. 113 – Fort Worth
No. 119 – Arlington
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub reports austin