SAME REVIEW POSTED ON GENERAL LISTING: Thank Que TM for…read morehosting the greatest food related festival I have EVER been to! SUPER organized, great venue, stellar staff, rocking jams, & of course tons of the best Barbeque from all over Texas in one place for me to sample until my heart was content & my gut simply could not handle any more! Definitely WELL WORTH the $80 general admission fee that some folks squawked about! Did they accidentally attend the wrong event?! What I learned this year: 1. If you really want to pay the extra$ for VIP admission & have the advantage of having one hour early admission, than please do - but it is absolutely not necessary. [Sorry TM, I know you want to make the bucks!] Three hrs is PLENTY of time to see, eat, & drink everything in sight. 2. Park at the Hyatt across the street. $6vs$9 [sorry Long Center] & the lot fills up quickly & is no fun trying to leave. 3. A few other reviewers mentioned having to wait in line for the GA time at 1pm. There are so many eager beavers & people are terrified that all the food is going to be gone. NOT the case. Show up at about 1:30, walk right in, & get the party started! 4. Right when you walk in there is a huge line of BBQ stands each handing out samples of their best stuff. The samples are rather large & you will fill up quickly. First three stands, maybe 3 people in line in front of me so no wait. Bam, bam, bam! PACE YOURSELF! And, I think sharing is a great idea. There is another complete line of stands when you walk upstairs. 5. Full bars in several locations, most with very long lines. Go inside upstairs & there is no wait what-so-ever. 6. Don't worry too much about the stands running out of food. There are a total of 25 pits representing, some more popular than others (e.g., line for Franklins was about an hour+ - didn't do it, more on that in a bit & Original Black's was about 20 mins). City Meat Market ran out of everything but sausage an hour in, but I think they were just un-prepared. By the time I made my way upstairs, La Barbecue had run out, but it was about 20 minutes before the festival ended - my bad. Unless you are a National Food Eating Champion you will not be able to make your way thrU all 25 joints. 7. There is ample seating throughout; however, you probably won't feel the need. Part of the adventure is to just walk around, explore, indulge, chat, collect some free swag, etc. Go with the flow! 8. No icky port-o-pots! Two restrooms inside building. Cool, clean, & no lines-even the ladies-gasp! 9. I took two koozies with over-the-neck straps on them. Must have accessory=two free hands! Bring a tote to put all of your goodies in. They supply a small paper sack, but it's not big enough. 10. At the end of the festival, if vendors have any meat left they won't sell it to you...but they will GIVE IT YOU! Where to start? How about where I bee lined it to? Louie Mueller's out of Taylor, TX. By far The Best Brisket out of all that I tried! Yes, even better than Franklins - remember, I said I'd get to that - I will. The prefect rub, not too salty or peppery, fantastic flavor, great smoke ring, & so melt in my mouth perfection! Original Black's was the only place I got a rib from..tear right off the bone perfection. Great Q & some of the nicest folks you will ever meat...I mean meet. Thanks for gifting me a bottle of signature Hot Sauce! Lockhart Smokehouse cooked up a whole cow head & rack of lamb. What a treat! Finally onto Franklins. Shamefully, I have never done the get to Franklins at 6 a.m. & stand in line for 7 hrs to get the famous (you have heard of it right?) Q. The festival had ended so we began to leave, I glanced over & saw there were still people standing around Franklins. I told my husband "let's just walk down & see if they have any scraps left." WOW! There were actually about a dozen (not 5,000) people in line getting trays of samples-brisket, pulled pork, & turkey. Could not have been more thrilled! Finally got to try Franklins & waited 3 minutes! How could this get any better? I said the word turkey out loud &...slam! AN ENTIRE SMOKED TURKEY BREAST wrapped in foil pulled right off the heat pit & into my hands! Then we were each given two overflowing containers of both brisket & pulled pork. AND the gal around the corner asked "Would you like that to go?" "Uh huh...yes, please." We went home w/just under 7 lbs of Franklins greatness after no wait & absolutely for free! After all of my Q quests I will say Franklin offers superb brisket, moist turkey, & fantastic pulled pork! The best EVER? No. But certainly at the top of the list! I'm probably going to shot walking down the street. No, really, please don't. Yeah, lil hype surrounding Franklins, but Aaron truly does have the craft down pat & is a truly sweet guy to boot! THANK YOU SO MUCH! There can't possibly be anything else to say-most people who started reading this probably gave up a long time ago- except to say that I will be back next year!

You can't go wrong with catching a UT football game here. I hadn't been in years and had so much…read morefun today on my birthday. Even with the physical stadium feeling really really old, they do a great job with all the modern flair they've added. I was shocked soda is only $3. What???? That's awesome!!! And they've totally upped the production since the last game I saw. There were fireworks all game long. Tons of entertainment. A drone show in the 4th quarter! What a blast!!

Amazing AWSOME HOOK 'EM BABY amazing venue amazing organization .. so proud to be part of itread more

This was my first time at the baseball field and it was so fun!…read more The field is easily accessible from 35 and MLK or Manor road. Parking in lots and garages is limited, but there is some free street parking (yes! Biggest shock of my life!). We were very early seeing as how parking was so easy and the gates were still locked. After a few minutes the gates were unlocked and we were inside. We started by stocking up on gear. We found the athletic store, grabbed a hat and scarf and moved on to the snacks. The grab and go was perfect. We got hotdogs and popcorn and drinks, placed them on the reader and paid. The attendants were very nice and helpful. Since it was raining and the seats were wet, we were told we could sit up in the dry seats while we waited out the rain. The wet seats weren't bad until that 60 degrees started to feel really chilly. As they say, there's not a bad seat in the house. Definitely looking forward to coming back for more games!

First time visitor to Disch-Falk Field for a Longhorns baseball game. My girl is a proud UT alumni…read morebut somehow hadn't been to a baseball game. I had to remedy it. The game time had been changed three times due to weather so we weren't sure if we'd even get to watch the game against the UC Davis Aggies. The good: Stadium is small so there really are no bad seats. Food and beverage prices are reasonable and happy hour prices prior to the national anthem being played unless you buy a Longhorn yeti cup, then you pay the premium. The bad(ish): Parking. It's weird trying to find a spot, we ended up parking on the street for free, so I don't know if it's really a bad. The crowd was pretty chill with the exception of some kids going nuts, but that was a lot of fun to watch. Overall, we enjoyed the game and the stadium. We can't wait to return for some SEC conference games.

I was a festival photographer the past weekend at Euphoria. It's a really nice location right at…read morethe river. Not too big but big enough. But seriously who would look up a festival review on Yelp.

If you were at Carson Creek Ranch last weekend and spotted a little rainbow unicorn eating pizza,…read moredancing from stage to stage, climbing and swinging in trees, or cozying up in a hammock...well, then you might've seen yours truly. Heh. As far as Texas fests go, Euphoria is right up there with Something Wicked as being the very best of the best. The main festival grounds were spacious yet intimate with three stages that only took about five minutes to hop to and from. For lights, lasers, and music that made your senses go 'oohh, aahhh,' the Unearth Tent would've been your go-to. Euphoria's main stage hosted big names like Pretty Lights where there was open air with plenty of space to move around, dance, and play with light up balloons, beach balls, and whatever other toys were floating around. For more chill vibes, the breathtaking Dragonfly Amphitheater which sat on the bank of the Colorado River pulled in your tree hugging, hammock life hippies. Outside of stages, there were tons of local vendors, yoga and personal well being workshops, food trucks (Chi'lantro and Home Slice included), and art displays galore. The cherry on top of it all was when the main festival music ended and the campgrounds came alive with two after hours stages that went till the wee early morning hours. Thanks for the amazing memories and can't wait till next year, Euphoria Tribe! Next stop: Spring Awakening in Chicago...lesss goooo!!!!

If you are a vintage car and truck fan, this is the place!! Annual event always held in Austin…read more Huge car show with car people coming from all over. 1915 to 1965's amazingly and lovingly restored. Swap meet for those looking to trade. All sorts of booths for every taste and age. Just a solid family 2 day event. Recommend!!!

Lone Star Round Up is a pretty cool experience if you don't mind the traffic and the crowds, of…read morecourse. Everyone is pretty energized to see what kinds of cars and trucks show up. And the owners are bringin' it too! Chevy, Ford, Dodge, rebuilt, custom made, you name it. I also saw a celebrity: Tow Mater!

My wife's grand niece made it to the UIL Texas high school championship in the 100 yard huddle…read more Family members from several Texas cities came to Austin to support her. This track and soccer stadium is big. This is an open to the sky seating stadium. It was brutal in the Texas sun, heat, and humidity. Fortunately, free water was available to everyone. Best of all, EMS service was giving free cold iced towel to everyone. Anyone can return to get fresh iced towel. Man, that iced towel hitted the spot and saved me and family members from heat stroke. I had one around my neck and on top of my head under baseball cap. Almost everyone in the stadium was doing the same. Bathrooms were relatively clean for such high density usage. Security was tight, which was a relief in a full stadium. There were police patrols everywhere. Parking was $15 in the adjacent parking lot, credit or debit payment via smart phone only. All the fans were polite and kind. No drama or dangerous situation occured. Over all, everyone there had a wonderful time. For my family, it was great catching up with families from all part of Texas.

I'm a big fan of track and field. I watch track and field during the Olympics. But I had never…read moreseen it live. When I saw tickets available for the Texas Relays, I knew I had to go. And it was an amazing experience. Every seat in the stadium provided a great view of the races and events. All of the schools were competitive and they are so fast in person. The stadium was nice and they had decent options for food and drinks. I would absolutely return again!

Sights & Sounds, what can one say? It's hard to believe at times this little gem sits a mere two…read moreblocks away from the burgeoning 33,000+ student campus that is Texas State University-San Marcos. Sights & Sounds is truly about a small town, community-based gathering for the holiday season. No, it's not a 100,000 person a night extravaganza where you're confined by shuttles as the only effective means of transportation, and it's also not an overly commercialized event, either. You'll find plenty of lights in the trees and from the overhead light poles--and piped Christmas music emanating from speakers around the grounds--but it's not a thematic Trail of Lights replica by any stretch of the imagination. You really have to appreciate the simple life approach that Sights & Sounds takes to celebrating the Christmas season in order to enjoy it. The community draw is the sound stage, where school after school, group after group, choir after choir, troop across the sound stage in this city-wide Christmas pageant. I don't watch these shows as much as I once did, but I always know someone's child in them. And, honestly, this single aspect is one of the more enduring and endearing features of Sights & Sounds. I think the event's allure increases dramatically on the colder nights, when a particular mix of wintry atmosphere, Christmastide approaching, and "Wouldn't a hot chocolate be really great right now" rules. Balmy 70 degree temperatures just don't give this event the same curb appeal it has when the weather outside is frightful. I personally don't care for the expanded carnival midway atmosphere aspects of the event, but, fortunately, you can ignore that as it is isolated at the back of the fairgrounds. And, honestly, the event has to appeal to everyone. The Bethlehem exhibit seemed more disorganized than usual this year. I mean, when the angels in the manger scene announce "The real baby will be here in an hour", and it's already 6:30 (an hour after opening), it's one of those shake your head and laugh aloud moments. Since Santa arrives by a different conveyance each night of Sights & Sounds, maybe he should bring the baby with him. That is, if Mrs. Claus is okay with it. It was great fun checking out the baby goats and camel. I hadn't seen a camel drink from a soda can before, and that was really quite cool. Just in case you're wondering, they do know how to rotate the can with their tongue to get the opening right side down, and no, they don't want to give it up at the end any more than we do. The camels and goats will nibble at your hand so be sure to have food, because that's what hands are for! Last, but not not least, don't forget to check out the Arts & Crafts tent. It's at the back of the fairgrounds, between Bethlehem and the midway. There's only one solitary white tent, so there are fewer vendors than there once were when there were two plus candy-cane motif tents, but you still might find that unique Christmas gift for that special someone here. San Martian by trade, Austinite by residence, I will attest that Sights & Sounds is both a "Don't miss" and a keeper. UPDATE: Pictures added 12/5/2010.

As you can imagine, Sights and Sounds of Christmas --while festive and fun-- does not provide a…read moremeans of indoor plumbing. As such, i had to use one of the many porta-potties available to attendees. Once inside, i switched the handle to indicate that it was "in use". That is when the horror began. I heard the voices of teen delinquents on either side of my porta-potty, saying things like "Let's tip this ***** over!" and "Bet, You won't!" Before i could even pull my pants up, the Ground was rocking back and forth beneath me. I shouted for help but my cries were in vain. With one final shove, the porta-potty was tipped and i was instantly drenched with the city of san marcos' bodily waste. The Horrifying stench was like nothing i'd ever experienced and the hot, soupy texture will plague my nightmares forever. Beyond that, festival is great! lots of food n rides, i recommend the cliff hanger if youre feeling adventurous :) looking forward to next year

NO inclusivity whatsoever. This parade tries to mimic Los Angeles and San Francisco but you do not…read moresee the inclusivity and intersectionality here and it's shameful. How has this been such a sore oversight for so long? I'm now looking at Austin Pride Parades past and it's the same thing. Do I need to plan this parade myself? From the people and organizations walking in the parade to the spin off events attached to it, you do not see people of color being included and it's shocking. And you can't say that Austin doesn't have people of color. I'm disappointed, Austin.

Sorry Austin but no cigar. It was hot and there was no refuge from the sun. There were only three…read morevendors for alcohol and water. No joke I had zero options to get water other than to wait in line for 20+ minutes. Almost had a heat stroke just trying to get water. If you ever go to Austin pride bring your own food and water or be prepared to wait 20+ minutes for either. It cost $20 to get in and the food options were Corn dogs, Mediterranean or Texmex of which most was sold out less than two hours after the event started. Ultimately if you've gone to a pride in a city or metro area think small town prides when you are coming here and don't expect the food, alcohol and goods vendors you're used to. The people were very friendly but I was burned out after walking around in circles in the heat for four hours. Cupcake was the highlight of the event with her performance and I was not a fan before but after the event it was the most happening thing here. At the end of the day I was let down because I thought Austin Pride would be comparable to a larger city or metro area. If you visit bring water, an umbrella, your own food and a lust for small town festivities.