History of Austin

The festive history of Austin's favorite holiday traditions and events

Holidays in Austin aren't usually postcard-perfect scenes of white snow and roaring fires, but that doesn't stop the city from having a holly jolly good time. In fact, Conde Nast Traveler recently named Austin one of the best places to spend Christmas in the U.S. — even if our holiday dinner is more likely proceeded by a dip in Barton Springs than a dash through the show.

It's Austin's unique holiday traditions that make it a dazzling destination, but like so many traditions, the origin stories aren't always known. As we celebrate another holiday season, we dug into the history of Austin's most famous holiday events.

Zilker Holiday Tree and Trail of Lights
What began as a humble holiday celebration in 1965 has now become a tradition known around the world. Today, the Trail of Lights encompasses over 65 displays and two million lights, with welcoming 400,000 visitors throughout December. In fact, the holiday light display is so popular it is nominated for the USA Today's Top 10 Public Holiday Lighting Displays (the winner will be revealed on December 14).

Each year, the addition of the Zilker Holiday Tree to the Austin skyline heralds the coming holiday season. The first tree was lit by Mayor Pro Tem Emma Long in 1967, and two years later a citywide art contest was held each year with the winners taking over lighting duty.

Today, the tree is 155 feet tall and has 39 streamers each holding 81 bulbs for a total of 3,309 lights. The tree is topped with double stars made up of 150 frosted bulbs. The tree uses one of Austin's 18 remaining moonlight towers as its base. Fun fact: The swirling pattern of the tree was originally suggested by city electricians. In the years since, thousands of Austin families have celebrated and swirled under the lights.

Decorating Loop 360
Exactly when residents began decorating the Juniper trees alongside Loop 360 is uncertain, however, area residents first began noticing the phenomenon in the mid-1990s. Since it actually violates Texas' anti-litter laws, those early lawbreakers went into stealth-decorating mode, spreading tinsel and ornaments in the wee hours of the morning while donning all-black ensembles.

As the years passed, and the tree decorations became expected. In response, the Texas Department of Transportation relented and started urging people instead to ensure the tree decorations were secure and not blowing into the roads or polluting nearby creeks and waterways. And people began showing up during daylight hours dressed in regular clothes to join the festivities.

Because the trees are often decorated then ignored after the holidays, local organizations now conduct cleanups in the new year to ensure the tradition is kind to the local environment. Volunteers fill U-Haul trucks with ornaments headed for Goodwill stores and trash headed to the landfill.

Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
Once upon a time in Austin, shopping for handmade goods wasn't always accessible. The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar took care of this need starting in 1975 at South Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters, located at 505 Barton Springs Rd. Musicians such as Willie Nelson,Van Morrison, and Frank Zappa filled the hall with beloved tunes while shoppers browsed handmade and unusual crafts.

Despite the AWHQ closing in 1980, the bazaar has continued to grow in popularity, bouncing between six locations before moving to the permanent home at the Palmer Events Center in 2010. Keeping Austin Weird and wonderful, the bazaar continues to delight crowds every year.

The 2019 Armadillo Christmas Bazaar runs from December 13-24. In addition to music, and handmade goods for sale, holiday activities will be offered, including brew master tasting, onsite chain stitching, a mushroom selfie closet, and much, much more.

New traditions
There are also a number of relatively new holiday traditions in town, including the 37th Street lights, Mozart's Coffee Roasters' free and ever-growing dazzling light show, lighted boat parades on Lake Austin, and the lighting of the former airport tower in the Mueller neighborhood.

It is December, and the weather is typically mild and enjoyable, but there is still a plethora of holiday happenings in the community. The only downside is choosing one event over the other.

The Zilker Holiday Tree has been a dazzling skyline addition since the 1960s.

Photo courtesy of Licarione Photography

The Zilker Holiday Tree has been a dazzling skyline addition since the 1960s.

holidays downtown

High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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