Austin, TX

I don’t know about you guys but I’ve been really tied up watching the Olympics. I’ll be sad to see the conclusion this weekend but I’m looking forward to the Basketball finals. Watching all that exercising is exhausting. Hmmm, maybe I need to get out this weekend! Here’s a look at what’s happening in and around Austin:

The 16th Annual Bamboo Festival
When: Saturday and Sunday, August 23-24, 2008
Hours: Saturday 10 am - 6 pm, Sunday 10 am - 5 pm
Where: Zilker Botanical Garden
$$$: Admission is free. Parking fee $3

Everything you could ever want to know about bamboo and more. Jewelry making, clothing, crafts, music and even a live plant auction. The 16th Annual Texas Bamboo Festival is the annual fund raiser for the Texas Bamboo Society Chapter of the American Bamboo Society, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization. Proceeds are used to provide research, information, education, assistance to public bamboo gardens, support for bamboo artists, and to bring new varieties to the multi-state region represented by the Texas Bamboo Society.

I have to say that I just love the name of this event:

The Evil Eye Ball
When: August 23, 2008
Where: The Off Center
$$$:

Celebrating 13 years of good fortune, this is Rude Mechs’ annual benefit celebration. The will be a live auction featuring a week’s stay in a fabulous Brazilian resort.

Dance Umbrella presents 10 Minute Max
When: Thursday -Saturday, August 21, 22 & 23, 2008
Where: The GWC Cultural Center Theatre, 1165 Angelina St.
$$$: $12 adults, $10 for DU members & students and $6 for children

The weeks forecast calls for an umbrella - Dance Umbrella, that is, and its annual showcase of short performance works.

19th Annual Grape Stomp and Harvest Festival
When: Saturday, August , 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Where: Fall Creek Vineyards, 1820 County Road 222, Tow, Texas 78672
$$$: Free other than reserved luncheon

The annual “Grape Stomp” is a two-Saturday traditional favorite; full of fun and activity for all ages! With great anticipation and excitement, families enjoy winery tours, live local music on the vineyard patio, Castle Bounce, a play house, hayrides, chain-saw ice carving, and, of course, the excitement of your own “bare” feet grape stomping, “I Love Lucy”-style with the video playing, in wine barrels, all free of charge! Receive a free souvenir wine glass with wine tasting. No wonder Fall Creek’s Annual Grape Stomp & Harvest Festival is where YOU want to toast the harvest in the Texas Hill Country! Bring your appetite as Executive Chef Leu Savanh, of famed August E’s Restaurant in Fredericksburg, and notable Texas Culinary Academy Chef Graham Mitchell will be offering a two-course cooking demonstration lunch paired with two glasses of award-winning Fall Creek Vineyards wines at 2 seatings each Saturday, 11:30am and 1:30pm, by reservation/325/379-5361 for $22/person, all inclusive of food and wine!

August is hot and it doesn’t get hotter than this weekend with my favorite summer event:

The 18th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
When: Sunday, August 24th, 11am - 5:30pm
Where: Waterloo Park, 12th and Red River
$$$: Admission is FREE with a donation of three non-perishable food items for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas

One word of warning for those of you interested in entering a hot sauce in this year’s competition. According to the Chronicle’s website, “If you want the public to sample your fabulous sauce under the tasting tent at the park, you must have prepared it in a commercial kitchen and bring a receipt as proof. Please call Elizabeth Derzco at The Austin Chronicle to find out more about local commercial kitchen opportunities: 454-5766.” The same applies to restaurants.

Featured Musical Acts:
- Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears
- Band of Heathens
- Jungle Rockers
- Fingerpistol
- Girl in the Closet