Austin, TX

Austin Chronicle's Hot Sauce Fest helps benefit Central Texas Food Bank

Published

1 year ago

September 9, 2024

Press Room

Austin Chronicle's Hot Sauce Fest helps benefit Central Texas Food Bank

Austin Chronicle’s Hot Sauce Festival returns

It was cooler day weather wise but things were still hot at the Hot Sauce Festival. Lauren Rangel has the details.

AUSTIN, Texas – Most of Austin enjoyed the break from 100-degree weather Sunday, but a couple of hundred others decided to sweat it out at the return of the annual Hot Sauce Festival.

“Normally, it’s a scorcher, but I have to say we got really lucky today,” said Sarah Wolf. “I think it’s the coolest weather we’ve had in the history of the Hot Sauce Festival.”

For hot sauce lovers, it only makes sense to kick the heat back up a notch

“It’s got 1 percent reaper pepper,” said Boerne Brand Hot Sauce.

“Oh wow, yeah, that’s bold,” said Adrian Leal, one of the many hot saucers fans at Far Out Lounge and Stage Sunday. “I would say definitely smokey, tasty.”

Hot Sauce Fest 2024

It’s that time again for lovers of all things spicy! Austin Chronicle’s Hot Sauce Fest is back and Sarah Wolf previews Sunday’s event with Good Day Austin’s Libbi Farrow and Adaleigh Rowe.

The Hot Sauce Fest brought makers from all over Texas, and even a few from out of state, like Eddie Stankiewicz, who owns Stanky Sauce in Orlando.

“Historically, my favorite is my pineapple habanero ghost pepper sauce,” said Stankiewicz.

This is his 3rd year at the festival.

“The spice community in Texas, in general, is huge, it’s one of our most shipped-to states in the country,” said Stankiewicz.

But for others, it’s their very first time. Lisa and Bob Jansen moved here a year ago and were excited to finally attend.

“I liked the peach habanero, and the other one was great too,” said Lisa Jansen.

“I like the various flavors here behind the hot sauce,” said Bob Jansen. “They were really good. We’re gonna come back and probably get some of these.”

Every ticket spreads some love to the Central Texas Food Bank.

sauce

Austin Chronicle’s Hot Sauce Festival

Hot sauce extraordinaire and founder of Fantastic Fuego Tony Nunez is joined by the Chronicle’s Sarah Wolf to talk about the event which is in its 34th year.

“It’s just an ideal fit for a foodie fest like the hot sauce festival, and so we love this partnership with them,” said Wolf.

Wolf, with the Austin Chronicle, said Hot Sauce Fest is one of their largest fundraisers for the food bank.

Since its start, it’s helped provide a sizzling 1.25 million meals.

“Being able to come to someone else’s community and help them, you know, give back that’s a pleasure, it’s an honor for us,” said Stankiewicz.

It’s a cause certainly worth taking the heat for.

“You see that they really like to push themselves to try new sauces, you see friends egg each other on when trying like the Carolina Reapers or the ghost pepper sauces,” said Wolf. It’s just fun to see people’s reactions. That’s why these shows are so popular where you eat spicy things right? It’s just really good people-watching.”

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Austin, TX

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Published

6 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.

Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.

Texas, though, is a different story.

For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.

“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”

It all depends on the weather

How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.

Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.

If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.

How can you treat allergies in Austin?

If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:

Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
Take a shower before going to bed.
Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.

Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:

Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
Vacuum and sweep regularly.
Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
Keep doors and windows closed.
Clean out the vents in your home.
Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

18 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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