The oldest kite festival in the US and some spanking new skyscrapers

[KevinFromTexas]

Austin's Zilker Park kite festival is the oldest kite festival in the US. It was started in 1929 by the Exchange Club to encourage creativity in children. The festival has been held at Austin's main park, Zilker Park, since 1936. It has grown into one of the largest kite festivals in the US with 20,000 people in attendance every year.




































































Next I went up to a nearby parking garage to take in the view from there.

































Then I rode over to the Zilker Clubhouse for another view over the park and skyline.
























And lastly, I rode over to Butler Park before heading home.





























~Thanks for looking.

[plinko]

It's amazing how much that skyline has changed since I was last there in 2001.

Thumbs up on the kites and festival. Just another thing that keeps Austin unique.

[audiomuse]

Absolutely gorgeous photos! My love for this city is endless.
Seeing all of those bike racks full makes me so happy

Well done Kevin!

[KevinFromTexas]

I rode my bike all the way there from South Austin. Barton Springs Road, and even South Congress, were pretty congested. Thankfully there are bike lanes on those streets. I saw hundreds of bicycles. I have to say it, though, the pedicabs were really getting in the way. They were puttering along in the bike lane hogging up space. I ended up having to get creative to get around them.

[BevoLJ]

Fantastic Kevin! Thank you.

[lzppjb]

Awesome photos! My favorite is the 7th Butler Park one where you can see your shadow on the ground. Great shot of the skyline against the grassy hills and blue sky.

[Danny]

Gorgeous Austin´s skyline, parks and kite festival. My favourite Austin´s skyscraper is The Austonian. It looks great!

I´ve really enjoyed your very clear and very nice pics. Those views from those parks are amazing. Thanks for sharing, Kevin.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!

[Coldrsx]

That's even hipper than hipster cool.

[haux]

That Gables Park Plaza is really coming along! I didn't know it was going to tower over the first building so much. Your photos are great. I really regret moving away from Austin, and I hope I can get back there soon.

[AviationGuy]

Great photos, Kevin! Looks like it was a lot of fun. I was thinking the other day that you have to like having fun if Austin is going to be a good fit.

It would be interesting to know how many of the kites got tangled up or ended up in trees/power lines!

For some reason, the Monach is still my favorite downtown building.

[boden]

These are some happy looking pictures. That skyline is WOW!

[fflint]

Looking great, Austin!

[Shasta]

Love the kite/skyline pics!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Fun set of pics. I was wondering if people get very upset when their lines get fouled? With so many kites that must be a bit of a problem.

Loved this shot:



Oh yeah, I enjoyed the skyline pics too.

Thanks Kevin.

[KevinFromTexas]

Thanks, guys.

Ex-Ithacan, people seem pretty cool about it. And it certainly does happen. The other thing is people trying to get their kite up in the air can cause kites to dive bomb you. You really have to watch where you're going because there are a lot of strings of course. It's a big mess, but I like it.

I did run over/through a kite string that had somehow found its way across the street. They had Barton Springs Road closed, and as I was riding down the street coming back from the parking garage and other part of the park, the string got caught on my bike and snapped it.

By the way, I meant to comment on this graffiti art on the rail bridge. Last year sometime there had been another graffiti painting on the bridge that was painted over. The art has generally been well received by most people. It's mostly suburbanites that don't get it. Anyway, the "Never Give Up" comment was in reference to the old painting being painted over by either the City of Austin or the railroad. This painting showed up sometime around New Year's I believe.

[Austin_Expert]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

It's mostly suburbanites that don't get it. Anyway, the "Never Give Up" comment was in reference to the old painting being painted over by either the City of Austin or the railroad.

How do you know who doesn't "get it", and what the graffiti is in reference to?

[KevinFromTexas]

People seem to think any painted art on a structure is an automatic negative without their having given any thought to its context. I never gave the rail bridge a second thought or glance, and certainly never intentionally photographed it until it was "graffitied." This isn't a case of a structure being defaced. It's public art. And not only that, but it's free. It didn't cost a thing for it to be painted on there. Of course if the shortsighted authorities keep removing the art, that will add some cost. But, I'd rather see some free graffiti on the bridge than some hideous public art sculpture that only confuses the masses and costs taxpayers. I rarely ever pay attention to commissioned public art. It's usually awful and feels rushed since it all too often looks like the person didn't put much thought into it, and were only eager to cash the check. What's more amazing about this graffiti is it was likely done in the middle of the night at the risk of arrest and jail, and while a train or two rumbled across the bridge just a few feet away. People also assume that the type of people who do graffiti art must be a bunch of hoodlums, or an even less informed judgement, that it's gang related. Maybe I'm wrong, but from what I've heard from people, and it's mostly coming from the suburbanites, is that any graffiti is negative. I guess they like their environment sterile and squeaky clean.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

People seem to think any painted art on a structure is an automatic negative without their having given any thought to its context. I never gave the rail bridge a second thought or glance, and certainly never intentionally photographed it until it was "graffitied." This isn't a case of a structure being defaced. It's public art. And not only that, but it's free. It didn't cost a thing for it to be painted on there. Of course if the shortsighted authorities keep removing the art, that will add some cost. But, I'd rather see some free graffiti on the bridge than some hideous public art sculpture that only confuses the masses and costs taxpayers. I rarely ever pay attention to commissioned public art. It's usually awful and feels rushed since it all too often looks like the person didn't put much thought into it, and were only eager to cash the check. What's more amazing about this graffiti is it was likely done in the middle of the night at the risk of arrest and jail, and while a train or two rumbled across the bridge just a few feet away. People also assume that the type of people who do graffiti art must be a bunch of hoodlums, or an even less informed judgement, that it's gang related. Maybe I'm wrong, but from what I've heard from people, and it's mostly coming from the suburbanites, is that any graffiti is negative. I guess they like their environment sterile and squeaky clean.

I don't live in the suburbs (I live only about 4 miles north of downtown). At least based on our neighborhood listserve postings, people in our neighborhood view all graffiti negatively. The exception seems to be the "hi, how are you" down on the drag. But typically, the railroad bridge just looks junky up against a sleek, beautiful downtown skyline. But there's nothing wrong with people having different opinions on it. The graffiti shown in the photo above doesn't look too bad, but over the years most of what I've seen has looked pretty bad.

[atlantaguy]

Beautiful city, great pics and cool looking Festival.

Thanks, Kevin!

[zeroyxp]