It's been a while since I've been to an ACL, but this was one of the best ones I've been to!…read moreIt was super good and all the headliners were people that I really wanted to see I went weekend too, so the dust was very strong and very prominent. But wearing a mask and a bandanna definitely helped. I feel like the festival also has more interactive booths with the companies like T-Mobile, American Express, DoorDash, patron, etc. I don't remember this being a huge thing the past 10 years. So it was nice to be able to do other things in addition to watching performances. The food was pretty pricey, but I did find cilantro had the best prices for the amount of food given. Their bang bang chicken bowl was only $16 and it was pretty filling. Also took advantage of the DoorDash free food in the afternoons. My favorite booth was the Google play interactive booth. You get to play a game and if you get above a certain score, you got a $10 gift certificate to use anywhere.

My husband and I returned to ACL this year. As usual it was a lot of fun with tons of walking. So…read morebe sure to wear comfy shoes. It was super hot and in the 90s. So we took a bottled water to drink while we walked down to the festival. We took empty refillable water bottles into the festival to fill up and have to stay hydrated. They have several water stations spread out around the festival. We took our see through backpacks to carry our necessities such as our portable fans and our portable chairs. The security was good this year. They moved quickly and were friendly. This year for food I tried Southside Flying Pizza, Show Me Pizza, and The Mighty Cone. The food was good. All different in terms of taste and texture. This year the bathrooms were okay. They were stocked with toilet paper but some were dirtier than others. It just depended on which section you would go to and what time of day. Don't forget to take travel sized tissues, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes just in case you need them. Overall it was a great time. You will enjoy it if you don't mind the festival atmosphere, listening to different bands, and trying some of the many options of food. I look forward to seeing who will come next year.

I really wanted to love FoodieLand, especially with all the hype I'd heard going in, but…read moreunfortunately, my first experience was pretty disappointing. Across most of the vendors I tried, the food just didn't match the price point. Many stalls were charging premium prices, but the quality didn't reflect it. Portions were often inconsistent, and in some cases, there was more fat than actual meat. On top of that, wait times were long, which might've been understandable if the food came out fresh--but instead, a lot of it tasted like it had been prepared in bulk and left sitting. The result? Dry, overcooked dishes that lacked the flavor you'd expect at a festival like this. After a while, it honestly started to feel like I could've gone to a regular food court and gotten better quality for a fraction of the price. That's not what you hope for when you're attending something that's supposed to highlight great food and unique vendors. To be fair, there were a couple of standout stalls that were genuinely delicious, but they were few and far between, maybe 2% of what I tried. If I had one suggestion for the future, it would be for organizers to focus more on quality over quantity. Smaller portion options would also make a huge difference. For example, instead of committing to a $25 plate of 8 wings, it would be great to have the option to try one or two wings at a lower price. That way, people can try more vendors without spending a fortune. Overall, I left feeling underwhelmed and wishing the experience had lived up to its reputation. I'm hopeful for next year being an improvement.

FoodieLand definitely delivers a fun, high-energy, carnival-style experience that's perfect for a…read morenight out with friends or family. From the moment you walk in, there's a lively vibe with music, lights, and crowds that make it feel like a full-on festival. The entry fee is pretty affordable, which makes it easy to justify going--but be prepared for the parking situation. Parking was $30, which felt a bit steep and is something to factor into your overall cost. Where FoodieLand really shines is the variety of food. There's a huge selection of trendy and unique options--from Korean corn dogs and Bone Marrow to massive fried squid, Sushi Pizza and creative desserts. It's a great place if you like trying a little bit of everything or sharing bites with your group. That said, the popularity does come with a downside: long lines. Some of the most popular vendors had pretty long waits, especially during peak hours, so patience is definitely needed (or plan to go earlier if you can). Overall, FoodieLand is a great experience for the atmosphere and food variety, just be ready for crowds, lines, and higher parking costs.

Yamas! Austin Greek Festival is an annual, weekend-long family-friendly celebration of Greek…read moreculture. Located at the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, the festival not only brings awareness to Greek traditions but also serves as a fundraiser for expansion projects. The event is very well organized and staffed by numerous volunteers. Entrance is $5 per person and it's worth noting that the entire fest is CASHLESS. They accept donations for the church in the form of "tips" each time you make a purchase. There are several food and drink stands, vendor booths, dancing, and even face painting for kids. We tried the veggie plate (green beans, rice, spanakopita, dolmades, pita) and the lamb plate (leg of lamb, green beans, rice, tzatziki, pita) and both were good! There's a number of other sandwich, gyro and salad options. While the food was good, I think the festival really shines with their beverage options. The coffee frappe, basically a frothed espresso mix with milk (dairy alternative available) was delicious and only $5. My sister and I also got ouzo shots and the frozen lemonade and everything was super refreshing in the hot Texas heat. They have a number of other soda, sparkling water, beer and wine options. Parking is well organized and there is clear signage leading you to the festival from the main road. Great weekend event! We'll be back next year!

I went to the Austin Greek Festival on a whim, and had the best time. The dancing was so engaging,…read moreand the food was excellent. It was a great way to immerse in the Greek culture without being overwhelmed.

You like live music, right? You're into fitness, too? Are you willing to walk or run 10 miles? Well…read morethen you should sign up for the annual Austin 10/20 race to enjoy a beautiful spring morning race with about 3000 fellow music lovers that ends up in a concert at Domain's Central Park (near Burnet and Kramer, on the east side of the Domain). Your family & friends can come, too, so it's like a free concert for them. Here's what I loved about this event at the end of March 2015: + Starts and ends at the Domain, very nice for us Northsiders. No hauling myself to downtown Austin at the crack of dawn, and it's pretty easy for my special friend to drop me off pretty close to the starting chute without being mired in traffic. Exiting was a breeze, too. + Plentiful port-o-lets with TP and hand sanitizer around the start/finish festival and along the route. I never waited in a line and they were pretty clean (even after the race). + Mostly flat course through the Domain, Mopac service road, Burnet, and IBM campus, providing a few spectacular bluebonnet patch sightings. I now know exactly where I can access some great bluebonnets for family photo ops before they fade for the season. + 19 bands playing along the course and 1 headliner show for about an hour at the end of the race. Honestly, the bands along the course didn't make much of an impact for me, as I only was able to hear about 30 seconds of their performances as I ran by, but it still made for a fun atmosphere. The finish line festival, on the other hand, provided an incredible opportunity to get up close & personal to the rockin', high energy headliner duo, Black Pistol Fire. By the time they came on stage at 10:40a or so, 80% of the 3000+ runners and their cheering sections had already cleared out, leaving plenty of comfortable space at front & center on the grassy lawn viewing area. Frontman/guitarist Kevin McKeown came down from the stage & thrashed right in the appreciative crowd. It was awesome! + Registration comes with 1 post-race beer ticket and additionals were only $4. This is way better than other music show beer prices around this town. Thanks to TABC, we could not partake until after 10am, but the line to redeem those "free" beer tickets moved quickly once the beer stand opened. + Five featured charitable organizations with running teams. The 2015 featured charities were Without Regrets Foundation (assisting children with parental deaths); Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Team Red, White & Blue (supporting wounded veterans); Alzheimer's Association; Team to End AIDS; and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you ran for these teams and meet their minimum fundraising goal, you received race support (like team gear, food, bevs, massages, and additional swag). + Cool pre-race expo for packet pickup at the HPBC Quarries Recreation Center. It wasn't as massive as the ones for the Austin Marathon or 3M or Cap10K, but there were plenty of vendor discounts & freebies available, as well as promotions for other upcoming races. Negative stars to the never-ending wind gusts in my face throughout the 2015 race, as well as the 2 giant blisters on my big toes I took home as a souvenir. 2015 Race Results: http://mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=8587 2015 Race Photos: https://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/regist.py?event=Sports/CPUK/2015/Austin%201020

Whether you're a runner or not 10 miles sounds like a tough strut but it's really not that bad!…read moreThey have bands pretty much around every corner and beer at the finish line. The weather is always great here in Austin around April and 10 miles in the morning is a great way to start the day! If you haven't run anything and are curious what long distances feel like this is a great starter race, the energy of the crowd, runners and bands really help to get you through all 10 miles.

Zilker Garden Festival is a fun festival for anyone with a thumb, green or otherwise, hosted in the…read moreZilker Botanical Garden. Not too big, not too small, it's bustling with a variety of items for sale. There are plants of all kinds, potted plant arrangements, outdoor decorative items, locally sourced food and bath and body products, jewelry, clothing, and baked goods for sale. The plants alone are a gardener's dream, and the prices are quite reasonable. There's a food court with picnic tables; the choices are good but expect high prices and little seating, like all festivals. Even better for the true 'greenie' are the professional talks on horticultural and outdoor topics, different on both Saturday and Sunday. As if that's not enough, there's live music too. I'd recommend coming early on Saturday if at all possible, as many plants are sold by Sunday. Leave extra time to walk around and see the gardens after all the booths and you'll be a happy camper. Bring a wagon if you have kids or plan to purchase plants. Don't forget bottled water, cash, and a hat. In 2014, the entrance fee was $7. Parking is in Zilker Park on the south side of Barton Springs, not the botanical gardens. Follow signs to the right for event parking. Parking is $5. Sure enough, the Zilker Garden Festival has been going for over 50 years. And for good reason!

I have gone to the ZGF every year for the past 20 years, but this will be my last year. Parking at…read morethe 4 Pay as you Park meters took almost 50 minutes. For the second or third year, there are more jewelry, craft & home improvement vendors than plant vendors. I don't go to the ZGF to buy a mop or new windows. Very sad to see it decline.

Hey, Hot Chocolate 15K, welcome to Austin!! Glad you're here and hope you'll come back next year…read more Me and my running buddy/BFF had a blast at this event and plan to make it an annual affair if we can. The hills on this course kicked my butt, but it was exciting to breeze down that final peak into the finish line at a respectable pace even as exhausted as I felt. Results posted here: http://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-9009?lc=en I'm fairly new to running, having only completed 2 previous 10Ks (our annual Austin institution, the Cap10K) and several low intensity charity 5Ks (all on paved streets in downtown Austin), so that's where my comparisons to this (first of many, I hope) Hot Chocolate race are made. My requests for next year are pretty well summed up in Jeanette's and Lauren's reviews, but here's a brief recap: The good (to keep): -- well organized, from registration to packet pickup to race day -- free, close in parking at the event; we were able to park quickly and walk right over to the starting chute with no hassle -- super friendly volunteers (wearing cool volunteer promo baseball t-shirts) -- great crowd management strategy with few bottle necks on race day -- neat runner premiums included with registration fee (drawstring backpack, tech shirt, sunglasses, finisher's goodie cup o'chocolate stuffs) -- awesome medal shaped like a chocolate bar for 10K finishers -- family-friendly options like the 1K fun run and 5k short course. My kid was even given a goodie cup of his own, just for being with me when I picked up mine. -- cool water misters at 2 or 3 points along the 10K course, which we really needed (see water report below) -- cold water-soaked towel & iced bottled waters at the finish line -- easy gear check system with tags tied to your racer bib # -- chipped bib racer time tracking by Chronotrack (with options to text message start, split, and finish times to up to 3 numbers to let your friends/family have some idea where you are in the course) -- high resolution photos emailed after the race, included with registration (unlike most other races where you have to order & pay for these separately) The bad (to improve): -- the heat! It was freakin' boiling hot & humid out there, even at 9am. Can we move this thing to a more comfortable date, OR start much earlier in the day, OR have it at night? This is Texas, so just assume that heat stroke is a real concern any time of year except maybe November through March (and even then, it could be pretty hot). Other reviewers are correct when they suggest that the 10K event begin before the other shorter events (which would help with the heat problem if it's going to be a day race). -- the rocks! About 1/4 of the 10K course was on big (2-3 inches wide) white caliche rock surface through the COTA unfinished parking areas. This is dangerous, especially to runners not wearing shoes with hard soles for rough terrain, but even in the best shoes, risks of ankle injury & wipe-outs are real. Most runners I heard talking about it were expecting to be on pavement, so next year, please communicate well about the type of terrain and appropriate footwear. Even better would be to plan out a different course that stays on pavement or at least plain dirt. When possible, I stuck to the edges of the trail when we had to go through the rocks. Dodging piles of wild animal poop added another level of difficulty. -- water stops on the 10K course: too few. Talk to some people who participate in or manage the Cap10K (held in April when it's not nearly as hot) and find out how they manage the water. Austinites don't usually need to bring water to events like this because it's available about every 1-2 kms. For this race, we had 1 water stop during the first 3.5 miles -- insane! I could hear lots of runners in my pace group complaining, "Where in the heck is the water?" We eventually got to 3 more water stops clustered closer to the end of the course, but there should have been more up front. I know next year, I'll plan to carry my own hydration just in case. -- junk food overload. I love chocolate as much as any red blooded woman, but I think many people paying to participate in a fitness-oriented activity are not going to be interested in a bowl full of sugar at 9am (even after running 6 miles). Like Lauren, we ate the bananas, kept the finisher's bowl, and tossed the rest -- such a waste of food! I like the idea of offering an empty bowl, or maybe one that just has a wrapped dark chocolate bar with it. Maybe frozen bananas on a stick dipped in chocolate? -- the fees. My experience is limited to mostly 5Ks for charity (as a mentioned above), but the $64 registration for this event seemed pretty pricey to me and other runners I heard talking about it. Organizers might consider offering an option to register to run without the swag bag and bring down the cost a bit. Even with all those criticisms, I'd definitely go again next time. See ya in 2015!

There are few things I'm willing to get up at 5:30am for, and the Hot Chocolate 15k is one of 'em…read more It was held out at the Circuit of the Americas track, which I'd not been to previously - so it was fun to be out there at daybreak to check it out. We opted for the 5k, which kicked off at 7:50 on a paved, hilly route that mostly circled the track. There was some sort of motorcycle event going on simultaneously on the track - which kept things lively and loud. We made great time, and were rewarded afterwards with ice cold water, bananas, and individual chocolate fondues. Yeah, that's right - chocolate sunrise. What a way to start the day. Ok, so on second thought - maybe it was the chocolate that got me up this early! Never the less, I got my burn on and got my sweet fix all before 9am. Happy Saturday!

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME/MONEY! I went to see Zion Marley on Friday. Very lackluster with…read moresound/feedback problems. I asked to purchase a Gen. Adm + plus. They charged my card then said that they didn't have GA+ for one day, only for 3 days. So they LIED TO ME!. Then they had NO REFUND and wouldn't return my money! The ticket desk could never give me a time line of the artists performances. When you buy your ticket, they never say anything about a $5 chair fee to TAKE YOUR OWN CHAIR IN! There's even a fee to take your own blanket in! Then when you get in, the area close to the stage is blocked off and says "No Chairs/Blankets" past this point, after you paid for it1 The only food vendor (jerk chicken) line was too long. They need about 3 jerk chicken vendors. Last year was $20 and $25 cash at the door, in and out option and definitely no chair fees. These new owners really took the fun out of this event. Will not attend again!

This was a great festival! This was my first year going and I also volunteered for the first few…read morehours through my employer on Sunday. There were many vendors selling drinks and food, none of the lines were crazy long, which happens at most festivals I go to. The view of downtown was fantastic, I hope they keep having the festival at auditorium shores! It wasn't overcrowded on the lawn, lots of room to spread out. Many portable bathrooms. The music was awesome. I stayed pretty much all day. Good vibes all around. Will definitely be going next year!

I came here on a date for Valentine's Day actually, and my date set the whole thing up. I was aware…read morethat this movie theater existed, but I didn't actually know how it worked. Turns out when you buy the tickets online, you get a complementary free candy or popcorn with each ticket, and it's very easy to find your way in. When you're going down San Antonio St. toward fifth Street, you just go into the entrance of the garage on your left and you go all the way up until you come out to the open parking area. The way it's set up is that there are two screens, and when you come in and get your complementary candy or popcorn, they tell you which radio station you need to set your car to in order to connect the audio for the movie. When I came, my date and I watched eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, and it was very easy to figure out how to connect the audio. The screen wasn't huge, but it was big enough that we could see the movie just fine. It turned out to be a very romantic date, and I really appreciated that we were inside the car the whole time and didn't have to open the windows or come outside or anything so we were able to enjoy more privacy than a traditional movie theater. I would absolutely come here to see another movie!