6AM City In-house

Here’s a novel idea 📚

ATXtoday’s guide to the Texas Book Festival
A group of people looking at books at the Texas Book Festival.
Get your book shopping done in between panels at the Texas Book Festival | Photo courtesy Texas Book Festival
Your weekend is about to be booked.

The Texas Book Festival starts this Saturday, and it’s taking over much of downtown with panels, book sales, and author signings — and it’s almost entirely free.

Your ATXtoday City Editors are planning to attend (spoiler alert: we’re pretty excited), so here’s our guide to the event.

When: Sat., Nov. 5 from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. + Sun., Nov. 6 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Several booths and buildings in Downtown Austin are hosting festival events, largely congregated around the Texas State Capitol. Check out a full map here.

ATX_BookFestival2

Keep your eyes peeled for local authors at the event.

Photo provided by Texas Book Festival

What: In addition to book shopping stations set up by BookPeople and signings by both children’s and adult authors, there are 100+ panels and readings taking place across the festival grounds. Some events are for Book Ticket holders only.

You can check out the full Saturday + Sunday lineups yourself, but here are a few we’re excited to go to:
  • Saturday:
    • 10 a.m. — The Mexican American Experience of Texas with Martha Menchaca
    • 12:30 p.m. — Love and Romance: New in Romance Fiction with Annette Chavez Macias, Jasmine Guillory, and Priscilla Oliveras
    • 4 p.m. — Speaking Up, and Standing Out with David Levithan, David Barclay Moore, and Kelly Yang
  • Sunday:
    • 11 a.m. — Mexican American Voices in Texas Music with Kathleen Hudson, Ernie Durawa, and Lesly Reynaga
    • 1 p.m. — The Last Gangster in Austin with Jesse Sublett
    • 3:45 p.m. — Ghosts, Scorpion Women, and Scrawny Chicken Gods: Genre-Defying Fiction and Poetry with Daniel A. Olivas, Adam Soto, and Leticia Urrieta
If that’s not enough content for you, the annual Lit Crawl is also taking place on Saturday in restaurants and other venues in East Austin. Tune in for happy hours, speakers, workshops, and even a literary death match — here’s the full lineup.

Who: More than 280 authors are participating in this year’s festival, including:
How: This is the easy part. Just find some parking (okay, that’s not as easy as it sounds — here are some tips) and show up.
6AM City In-house

Click here to have your event featured.

Today, Nov. 3
  • HIRIE - Mood Swing | Thursday, Nov. 3 | 7 p.m. | Historic Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th St. | $20 | Get ready to dance to music from Ballyhoo! and Surfer Girl at this concert.
  • Lewis Black: Off The Rails | Thursday, Nov. 3 | 8 p.m. | ACL Live at the Moody Theater, 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd. | $75 | The Grammy Award-winning “King of Rant” will have you in stitches at this comedy show.
Friday, Nov. 4
  • Roots & Wings Festival | Now-Saturday, Nov. 5 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Multiple locations | Free | This two-week festival honoring butterflies + bees includes events around Austin, such as pollinator garden planting + guided walks.
  • Kelsey Waldon | Friday, Nov. 4 | 8:30 p.m. | 3TEN at ACL Live | $15+ | The singer-songwriter is touring for her newest album, “No Regular Dog.”
  • Pease Nights | Friday, Nov. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park | Free | The last night of this concert series features music from The Texas Gentlemen, plus drinks and snacks.
Saturday, Nov. 5
  • It’s My Park Day | Saturday, Nov. 5 | Times vary | Locations vary | Free | Volunteer to help clean up Austin’s parks at this day-long event — make a donation for a commemorative t-shirt.

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
100+ MORE EVENTS

Have a holly jolly jog
Medals on a red table
Get into the holiday spirit by running to support Provisions Outreach. | Photo provided by Athlete Guild
Runners, joggers, and walkers are invited to don their favorite green + red holiday costumes (think: Santa, elves, or something with mistletoe) for the Holiday Hunger 5K Run and Walk, and Elf run for the kiddos on Sat., Dec. 3. The race starts at 9 a.m. from Bulverde City Park (29815 Bulverde Ln., Bulverde). 🎅

Proceeds from the race will support Provisions Outreach. Pro tip: Score a discounted ticket by registering before Sun., Nov. 20.*
REGISTER TO RUN

Weather
  • 84º | Partly cloudy | 24% chance of rain
Announced
  • After 21 years in Nashville, the CMT Music Awards will be hosted in Austin this April at the Moody Center. The announcement was made last night during country superstar Carrie Underwood’s set at the downtown venue. 🎸 (Austin American Statesman)
Civic
  • The Broken Spoke could earn historical landmark status today, depending on the outcome of an Austin City Council vote. The South Lamar honky tonk has been teaching Austinites and tourists how to swing and two-step since 1964. (KXAN)
  • Austin Energy’s base rate increase went into effect this week, affecting most customers by an average of $15 per bill. The rate change is in part meant to recover costs caused by this year’s unusually hot summer, when power use went up by about 14%. (KVUE)
Development
  • A plan for a 55-story residential tower would mark the first new residential building on Congress Avenue in more than a decade. The proposal for the site spanning 308-318 Congress Ave. is currently navigating the Historic Landmark Commission. 🏗 (Austin Towers)
Festival
  • A new country music festival is headed to Georgetown in the spring, and Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan were just announced as headliners. The Two Step Inn festival is expected to include 40+ acts over two days — check out the lineup. 🎶
Number
  • $1.3 billion. That’s how much it could cost to build the proposed 400-acre Surf Lakes community in south Austin. The neighborhood has been dubbed “the biggest surf park development on the planet.” 🏄 (Austin Business Journal)
Award
  • Austin’s Office of Sustainability received three MarCom Awards for its communications efforts. The accolades include a platinum recognition for the department’s State of the Food System Report — read it here. 🏆
Plan Ahead
  • Tickets are now available for the Trail of Lights’ Night Lights Preview Party, the annual fundraiser kicking off the holiday event. In addition to drinks and food trucks, the party will have live music and carnival rides. 🎄
Ranked
  • Austin was ranked the ninth-best place to raise a family in a StorageCafe ranking of large and mid-sized cities. Plano took home the first place spot in the country, and Lubbock was ranked No. 10.
Shop
  • Calling all party planners. This personalized charcuterie board made by a Texas Etsy seller is a holiday season must-have. It comes with several engraving options as well as a set of four carving knives, making it the perfect way to serve your favorite holiday treats.*
Content marked with an * is brought to you by our advertising partners and helps make this newsletter free.

Get ready to wine and dine 🍷

What to expect at this year’s Austin Food + Wine Festival
A person grilling food
From the fire pit to tasting sessions, you won’t run out of bites at this festival. | Photo provided by Austin Food + Wine Festival
As if you needed more weekend plans (see our Texas Book Fest breakdown here), this weekend is also the Austin Food + Wine Festival. The decade-old festival celebrates several days of eating, drinking, and general good cookin’.

The festival takes place at Auditorium Shores on Saturday + Sunday. The scheduling of events includes:
  • Demos with chefs such as Kevin Fink + Fermín Nuñez
  • Tasting sessions
  • “Meet the Maker” events, including one with Dos Hombres founders Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul
  • A fire pit with foods from local artists
  • The annual “Rock Your Taco” competition
If you can’t swing the $625 all-in tickets, there are also some individual dinners taking place as part of the festival:
  • Fri., Nov. 4 at Maie Day — $150 per person
  • Fri., Nov. 4 at Canje — $175 per person
  • Sat., Nov. 5 at Este — $115 per person
See which chefs will be present + check out a map.
THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by London.

Editor’s pick: It’s going to be an exciting weekend, Austin. If you’re not already, follow us on Instagram at @ATXtoday as City Editor Figi and I document our experiences.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Your complete guide to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Connect with us.

Editorial: Laura Figi, London Gibson, Dayten Rose, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea, Josh Kranzberg | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Camille McLeod | Advertise with us.

ADVERTISE | SHOP | CAREERS | ETHICS

Did a friend forward this free newsletter to you?
SUBSCRIBE

Content marked with an * is paid advertising. Content marked with an ^ is created by our content studio. The company may also generate commission from affiliate links in the newsletter.

Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.

Copyright © 2023 6AM City Inc, All rights reserved.

P.O. Box 2505, Greenville, SC 29602

ADVERTISE | CAREERS | ETHICS | PRIVACY | THE BUY