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Photo courtesy of Nils Juul-Hansen

If you’ve ever wanted a look inside some of Austin’s historic homes, now’s your chance. Preservation Austin just announced dates and tickets for their 30th Anniversary Homes Tour from April 22-23.

Now in its 70th year of operation, Preservation Austin is a nonprofit that seeks to honor the diverse culture and rich architectural history of the neighborhoods that have made Austin what it is today. The Homes Tour is one of their premier events, and the nonprofit is marking this milestone year with a special VIP Preview Party on April 18.

The party will provide an exclusive look at one of the “most charming featured homes” included in the tour while offering “new ways to engage with architectural enthusiasts and taste-makers,” according to a press release.

Past tours have explored neighborhoods such as Bouldin Creek and Castle Hill, as well as East Austin’s Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross Historic District. This year’s tour will showcase six homes in Central and East Austin on the first day, and five homes in West and South Austin on the second day.

Highlights of the tour include a 120-year-old converted train depot and an East 7th Street home designed and constructed by Genero P. Briones as a testament to Mexican-American heritage and innovation, now widely known as the Casa de Sueños.

Another featured home is a former boarding house that was once occupied by Herman Sweatt, the civil rights pioneer who challenged the Jim Crow ideology of “separate, but equal” in 1950 in order to attend the University of Texas School of Law. Other homes on the tour have been featured on Dwell and The New York Times.

Homes on the tour will be open from 10 am to 5 pm each day from April 22-23. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities for Preservation Austin’s 30th Anniversary Home Tour can be found at preservationaustin.org.

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Famed Seattle piroshky bakery makes stop in Austin area on Texas-wide tour

Meat Pie News

A Seattle bakery is coming to Dallas for a special pop-up: Piroshky Piroshky Bakery, which specializes in handmade piroshki, AKA Russian hand pies, will stop in Cedar Park on a national tour.

The bakery will be at Twin Creeks Park, 2303 Dervingham Drive, on October 6, from 5-7 pm, with luscious offerings, both savory and sweet.

Piroshkis are small pies of Russian origin, made from an enriched yeast dough, with savory fillings like meat, vegetables, or cheese, the most traditional being meat and rice or potato and onion.

Piroshky Piroshky Bakery was founded in Seattle in 1992, and offer their pastries in all sorts of delectable fillings: from beef & cheese to cabbage & onion to vegan-friendly mushroom & potato. They make authentic pastries, as well.

Their piroshky are individually made from scratch and hand-formed into unique shapes that help differentiate the flavors and fillings inside.

The company has five locations across Seattle, and also sells their products online. Their original location at Seattle's Pike Place Market serves more than 20 varieties.

But they also make annual tours, just like a rock band, to bring their goods to towns across the U.S.

The tour features options such as:

  • Smoked salmon pate piroshky
  • Beef & onion piroshy
  • Impossible beef & onion piroshky
  • Ham, spinach, & cheese piroshky
  • Potato & cheese piroshky
  • Veggie chipotle piroshky
  • Chocolate cream hazelnut roll
  • Cinnamon cardamom braid
  • Pumpkin toffee braid
  • Caraway cheddar cheese stick
  • Poppyseed cinnamon roll

The full menu is online, and pre-ordering is required. The cutoff order date for Austin is October 4 at 4 pm. There's a minimum of $50; individual items run between $5.25 to $7.25.

In addition to Austin, they're also making three other stops in Texas:

  • Houston at Elks Lodge, 10150 W Airport Blvd, Stafford, on October 7, from 5-7 pm; pre-order here.
  • SOLD OUT: Fort Worth at Martin House Brewing, 220 S Sylvania Ave. on October 4, from 5-7 pm.
  • SOLD OUT: Dallas at Outfit Brewing, 135 John W. Carpenter Fwy, on October 5 from 5-7 pm.

Who is Tux, and why did Austinites get push notifications from Lyft about her?

Cat-astrophe Averted

An Austin man has been reunited with his cat after a stressful search following a Lyft ride.

Palash Pandey's Lyft ride turned into a nightmare after he said his driver took off with his pet cat, Tux, as he was dropped off at an animal hospital for an appointment.

The incident happened Saturday, September 30, just before 3:30 p.m., according to Pandey. He said he had Tux inside of a cat carrier bag in the backseat. Once he was dropped off at Banfield Pet Hospital off Research Boulevard in northwest Austin, he got out and went around to open the door. But by the time he started to open it, he claims the driver sped off.

"I ran behind him. I was banging on his door, was banging on his window," Pandey said.

Pandey said he messaged the driver through the Lyft app. The messages provided to KVUE by Pandey show only a few messages from the driver hours later that read, "I don't have anything of yours" and "She isn't there sorry."

In the conversation, the driver also noted he had picked up others after his ride with Pandey and there was nothing in the backseat area.

"He said that if he knew that I had a cat with me, he would have canceled the ride. He said that he picked up multiple people after me and none of them mentioned the cat, which is, how's that, again, possible?" Pandey said.

Pandey said he reported the incident to the Austin Police Department, reached out to Lyft and posted on social media to spread the word. That led to an immense response.

Pandey noted Tux has a microchip and said he had also been in contact with the microchip company.

KVUE posted about the effort to find Tux, which led to a response from Lyft CEO David Risher.

KVUE reached out to Lyft on Sunday. A spokesperson released the following statement below:

"We were in touch with Palesh within minutes of his initial outreach to @lyft - via social media as well as multiple emails and phone calls. In addition to communicating with Palesh, we have been directly in touch with the driver and other passengers that rode with him following the ride with Palesh. We realize we could have done better in communicating regular updates to Palesh and the community. We all want the same outcome - for Tux to get home safely - and will keep the community posted."

After the statement was sent out, Vice President of Customer Service at Lyft Jody Kelman spoke with KVUE about the company's response.

"We certainly want to be part of helping him find his cat, Tux. Tux is clearly a wonderful member of his family," Kelman said.

Kelman said the company would notify Lyft employees in the Austin area and have employees on the ground in the area where the drop-off occurred.

"We also are are sending out a notification to all of our riders and drivers in Austin to see if if there is anything we can can do to just find find more information about what's happening with Tux," Kelman said.

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Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

Austin artists play AC Hell Fest at Hoel Vegas, plus more non-ACL music picks for early October

Music Notes

Whether you’re planning to dive into ACL or not attend at all, you should take note of the great local, non-fest gigs that are on the calendar during the same timeframe. See below for recommendations.

Balmorhea at the Paramount Theatre – Thursday, October 5
Get yourself to the Paramount Theatre this Thursday, October 5, to experience the acclaimed neoclassical and instrumental act Balmorhea. Joseph Shabason will open the show. Tickets range from $30-$40. By the way, if you haven’t already done it, you should listen to Balmorhea’s 2023 album, Pendant World.

Breast Cancer Resource Center Benefit at Hotel Vegas – Saturday, October 7
Hotel Vegas will be hosting a benefit for the Breast Cancer Resource Center this Saturday, October 7, and the lineup for it features a trio of quality indie rock acts, including Black Books, March And Beauty, and Fragile Rock. Cover will be just $10 via a suggested donation at the door.

Half Dream at Swan Dive – Saturday, October 7
Half Dream will release their anticipated debut album, Will I Still Bloom?, this Friday and then follow it up with a release party at Swan Dive the next night (Saturday, October 7). The dreamy rock act will be joined by Buffalo Hunt and Batty Jr. Tickets for the show are $10.

Booher at the Mohawk – Thursday, October 12
Indie rock vet Booher has been hard at work on new music, and you can check out the first batch of tracks at his 7” release party at Mohawk on Thursday, October 12. Trumpeter Swan and Saint Loretto will serve as support. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 the day of.

AC Hell Fest at Hotel Vegas – Saturday, October 14
In need of some direct ACL counterprogramming? Then look no further than the nicely titled AC Hell Fest, which will happen at Hotel Vegas on Saturday, October 14. Riverboat Gamblers are set to headline, and you’ll also be able to see Starving Wolves, The Oxys, Tiny, Del-Vipers, The Get-Lows, User Unauthorized, and No Association across two stages. Tickets are $25.

Peelander-Z 25th Anniversary Show – Sunday, October 15
Peelander-Z just put out a new album, P-Party! Z-Party!, and they’re also celebrating their 25th year as a band. Get in on all of the fun at their show at The Far Out Lounge on Sunday, October 15. Dog Party will open for the colorful punk rockers. Tickets are $15.