The "Pecan Street Festival" has been a part of Austin for 31 years. The festival hosts over 250 arts and crafts venders, musical and performing artists. There are also art classes, dance classes, a scholarship competition, a petting zoo and a carnival.
The Pecan Street festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd. All the fun starts at 11:00 am each day and runs until 10:00 pm on Saturday and 8:00 pm on Sunday.
The festival will have five stages with some of the most eclectic performances around. Tommy Tutone is scheduled to open the festival on Saturday night.
The Pecan Street Festival is a bi-annual event. The first festival is in the spring, and then there is another festival held on September 26th and 27th. Both festivals bring an estimated $43 million to the Austin economy.
The shows benefit local charities and is the primary fund raiser for the Old Pecan Street Association; an organization established to preserve 6th street.
When the street were first laid out for Austin the north-south streets were given the names of Texas rivers in the order in which they appeared on the Texas map; the east-west streets were given names of trees. Later these streets were replaced with numbers. This is how Pecan Street became 6th street.
Austin is known as being different and "weird" and this festival is just as diverse and weird as Austin. All kinds of people from all over the region and country flock to this festival. The admission is free and everyone is welcome.
The festival is located on 6th street, which is also the heart of live music and is why Austin is known as the "Live music capital of the world."
6th street is lined with historical houses and commercial buildings that were built as far back as the late 1800's. Many of the old buildings now house numerous bars and host many live music venues, art galleries and restaurants and cafe's. Many are landmarks and have interesting history behind them. 6th street is a very beautiful street and has many pecan trees lining the road on both sides. Many people flock to the famous street to listen to live music and see bands or just to say they've been to 6th street!
The Pecan Street Festival will also have many other venues besides music and arts and crafts. Austinites love to eat, and there will be plenty of food booths to choose from. Everything from "fair" food like turkey legs and funnel cakes to hot dogs and hamburgers, they've even added something new this year, there will be healthy food available for those who are conscious of their diet and health.
Another famous treat is ice cream. There will be venders serving various flavors of ice cream, so be sure to take time to sample some of your favorite flavors and keep cool.
If you live in Austin or are just traveling through, it is worth your while to stop by the Pecan Street festival. It is an "Austin" thing and is one way to keep Austin weird.