Austin, TX
5 ways to keep your cool in the scorching Texas heat at Austin City Limits Fest weekend 2
Texas heat feels like death, no doubt about it. Nevertheless, us die-hard music aficionados bear the sun’s burden to celebrate our favorite performers at Austin City Limits Music Festival. To avoid a dreaded visit to the medical tent, here are five helpful tips to stay cool during your conquest of the outdoor music communion.
1. A good ole’ fashion reusable water bottle to refill at water stations
It’s imperative to stay hydrated lest you pass out after baking in the sun. Come to the festival with a reusable water bottle. You can’t bring liquids inside, so we recommend chugging your bottle while you wait in line. Once you make it past the gates, head for the water stations around the park to fill your bottle with ample water and refill between sets when trekking to your next stage. A good ole’ fashion water bottle is indispensable at times like this.
2. Stay vibey with Liquid IV or other hydration packets
Thank god for technological innovation. The automobile. The cotton gin. Magic hydration powders choc full of electrolytes and vitamins. While powders like Liquid IV are essential to ease hardcore hangovers, that doesn’t mean you can’t pregame these Kool-Aid counterparts as well. Downing this supplement before you go out drinking and throughout the day will give your body an extra boost of hydration to curb looming alcohol withdrawal and prevent a bad dehydration headache. Even if you don’t plan to drink alcohol the packets are helpful for rapid hydration. Single use sealed hydration packets are allowed in the park.
3. Be a savvy fan with a handheld fan
Standing in the heat is brutal, but having a fan of some kind is essential for long wait times. Luckily, ACL plants huge industrial fans in front of their stages for fans camping out at the barricade, but for those farther back in the crowd a personal paper or electric fan is clutch to keep cool. An accordion paper fan can shade your face from the sun, while electric fans are easy to hold near you face for a steady airstream. Just be mindful of how close you hold it so the blades don’t get tangled in your hair. It’s happened to me!
4. Don’t go bananas, bring some water-soaked bandanas
Bandanas are a must have to survive Zilker’s dusty conditions, but soaking one in some water and slapping it on the back of your neck offers instant relief to skin that’s getting a beating from the sun. Placing a cool bandana on your pressure points (i.e. neck, inner elbows, back of knees) will quickly lower your body temp in a pinch. At some midday sets, the ACL staff will even hand out water-soaked bandanas to folks standing at the barricade wilting in the heat. When you go refill your water bottle, douse your bandana too for that extra boost of cool relief.
5. Skip stage view, opt for shady vantage points
We all want to get front and center for our favorite performer, but sometimes we need to weigh our options: get borderline heat stroke waiting for hours to score a plush spot for a headliner, or watch from a shady grove with some handy binoculars. In the afternoon, when the sun is at its peak, I would opt for the latter. Of course, you won’t get the detailed videos of your onstage fave, but you will definitely be thankful when that cool breeze hits under the shady tree that has turned Tartarus into a bearable garden oasis.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city leaders gathered on East 11th Street on Juneteenth to celebrate the “Black Artists Matter” mural before it must be removed under an order from the Texas Department of Transportation. The mural and the city’s rainbow crosswalk are slated for removal in compliance with a Texas Department of Transportation directive requiring cities to remove political ideologies from roadways. Last October, Gov. Greg Abbott directed TxDOT to enforce the policy.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson stood on the blocked-off street where the yellow letters spelling “Black Artists Matter” are painted on the roadway’s surface. “We will never forget that when the state decided to target our murals, the community stood together to celebrate our city’s diversity, spirit, and creativity,” Watson said.
Watson criticized the state’s actions, saying, “The state government engages in negative rhetoric and threats, it targets communities that it disagrees with and seeks retribution.”
In response to the order, Watson formed the Public Spaces Task Force to identify other ways to celebrate diversity in Austin.
ALSO| Screwworm medications straining animal shelter budgets across Texas
KEYE
Daphne McDole, chief executive officer of the African American Cultural Heritage District and a member of the task force, said she wanted the event held on Juneteenth because of its significance. “I wanted to do it on Juneteenth, it was significant to me because I knew that that was the day my community would be in the district. We will be celebrating over here all day, so it was appropriate,” McDole said.
Task force members said they are exploring alternatives to honor East Austin’s history and diversity. They noted that city leaders in San Antonio created rainbow sidewalks after removing rainbow crosswalks, but said Austin will pursue its own approach.
Task force chair Steven Rivas said the community is focused on preserving the meaning behind the markings. “We chose to come together as a community and find a way to respect what these markings mean and build upon them. If we can’t have them in the street, we’re going to put them off the street,” Rivas said.
AUSTIN, Texas — The screwworm outbreak is having a major impact on animal shelter budgets across Texas. Instant kill and preventative medications for dogs and cats are an unprecedented expense.
Paul is a rescue dog from South Texas, where he was living on the streets and starving. He is now at Austin Pets Alive! getting Screwworm prevention medication and the treatment he needs to get healthy.
“Any dog that enters our shelter period, but especially if they look like this, we are going over them with a fine-tooth comb and looking for anything that might be a wound where a screwworm might have been able to gain access,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, CEO and President of Austin Pets Alive!
RELATED| FDA authorizes generic over-the-counter drug to treat New World screwworm in pets
Dr. Jefferson says dogs and cats need regular checks of their eyes, noses, ears, and underneath their fur. But Austin Pets Alive! says the best protection is a combination of Capstar, which is an instant-kill medication for existing active screwworm larvae, and prescription preventatives that provide ongoing protection when administered every 30 days.
“Just to buy the initial Capstar for our program, it was close to $10,000,” said Rebecca Giamona, Asst. Medical Care Director at Austin Pets Alive!
Giamona says preventative meds are also putting a heavy financial strain on the nonprofit’s budget at a cost of around $70,000.
“We need about 5,000 doses of the monthly preventative, and they are roughly $14 to $15 per dose,” said Giamona.
Products with the active ingredients ending in l, a, n, e, r are highly effective at preventing and treating infestations. But keeping Paul and every shelter animal up to date will take help from the public.
“Donations, and hopefully some more donations,” said Giamona.
An infestation of New World Screwworm can be painful, disfiguring, and potentially deadly for animals. Most cases involve livestock, especially cattle, but dogs and cats can also get infestations.
AUSTIN, Texas – Central Texans gather to celebrate Juneteenth or “Freedom Day” on June 19 and commemorate the end of slavery.
What you can do:
The Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA) is hosting the Central Texas Juneteenth Parade and Festival today (6/19).
It’s free and taking place at Rosewood Park in East Austin located at 2300 Rosewood Ave.
The schedule for the events is as follows:
- ACME Juneteenth FunRun – 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
- Juneteenth Historical Parade – 10 AM – 12 PM
- Park Celebration and Fireworks – 12 PM – 9:45 PM
Other events
On June 20, the Carver Kickback: Juneteenth Edition will be taking place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center located at 1165 Angelina Street.
It will be a day of celebration and remembrance and there will be BBQ plates and music as well as vendors and hands-on activations.
The backstory:
Juneteenth commemorates the end of formal slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and more than one month following the end of the American Civil War.
Colloquially known as “The Black 4th of July,” Juneteenth marks the beginning of an African American journey to carve a new place in society for free people to shape identities independent of racial caricature, eradicate slave culture, promote ethnic pride, and create economic prosperity.
The Source: Information from City of Austin and Greater East Austin Youth Association and reporting by Jessica Rivera.
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