It’s no surprise that if 110 people move to Austin everyday, the city is ever-changing, in a constant state of transformation and growth. It seems like new businesses pop up by the dozens everyday, while others disappear suddenly, or relocate. Even if you’ve lived in Austin all your life, your local bucket list is probably always changing or being added to. 2017 will see another huge haul of openings, closings, high and low water levels at the greenbelt – such is life! Here’s our 2017 Austin bucket list – the new places we can’t wait to hit up, and the things we need to see or do once more before they go!
- Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In – In quite a bittersweet fashion, Blue Starlite will be moving from the backlot of Austin Studios on January 7th and relocating to the wide open country of Buda. Founder Josh Frank has plans to transform Blue Starlite into the nation’s first camp-out cinema, which is awesome, but we’ll miss being able to nostalgically watch a movie in our vehicles right smack dab in the city. Although the new location will only be 11 miles outside Austin city limits, we have to go to Blue Starlite once more before the big move, just to take in the awesome view of downtown Austin from the movie lot.
Image courtesy of Fed Man Walking. - Veggie Heaven – If you’ve been in Austin a while, you’ve probably either heard of or been to Veggie Heaven, right next door to the UT campus. Veggie Heaven was known for its affordable vegan and vegetarian eats, owned and operated by Stacy Chen and her mother. Our hearts sank in 2014 when Chen retired, closing the campus haven for delicious steamed buns and the popular dish called Protein 2000. Luckily, 2017 will see a Veggie Heaven resurrection! Veggie Heaven will reopen in the Clarksville neighborhood, and offer tried and true favorites as well as ramen, tacos and of course, bubble tea.
Image courtesy of CultureMap Austin. - Sound on Sound Festival – The revamped and rebranded Sound on Sound Festival, once known as FunFunFun Fest, hit the ground running in Fall of 2016 at a new location in McDade, TX, about 30 minutes outside of Austin. Held on the grounds of a renaissance faire during the faire’s off season, the festival has a very unique atmosphere that can only be described as both enchanting and peculiar. It’s going to be quite entertaining to see how this festival progresses. In 2016 Sound on Sound brought in tons of great acts such as Car Seat Headrest, Beach House, Phantogram, Big Boi, and Courtney Barnett.
Image courtesy of The Austinot. - ACL Live Taping – Please let my name get drawn. Please let my name get drawn. Austin City Limits Live is not only an Austin institution, but it’s the only thing of its kind in the whole nation – a televised series of musical performances by some of the greatest artists in the world. From Willie Nelson, Neko Case and Bonnie Raitt, to Arcade Fire, Paul Simon, Wilco – the list is practically never-ending – ACL Live has shown off the music of hundreds upon hundreds of musicians from all over. There are no tickets available for purchase to a taping. The only way to grace the Moody Theater is to have your name drawn at random. Maybe 2017 will be our year!
Image courtesy of Eater Austin. - Spend a day at The Domain’s Rock Rose – North Austin Vs. South Austin – Austinites have been arguing over which side is better, weirder, more Austin-y, for years. The Domain used to be an upscale outdoor mall out in the ‘burbs of north Austin. Now it’s home to Rock Rose, an artsy new district that boasts hip local restaurants, swanky bars and interesting shops. One thing is for certain – there are a lot of places in Rock Rose worth trying out, such as Jinya Ramen Bar or St. Genevieve, a wine lounge.
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Need a little help constructing your Austin bucket list? Well, we have a tour for that. Our Real Austin tour, a.k.a bucket list tour, is a great, fast-paced overview of the city. Hop on board any day for $35 a person!