Lite + Brite Monthly: August
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the August monthly edition of the Lite + Brite newsletter.
As we put together the below list of events to look forward to in August, we realized this is going to be a particularly stacked month. A number of days include nearly impossible choices, like: Do we want to spend August 11 celebrating 50 years of hip-hop or fine-tuning my psychometric abilities? Will we spend August 19 watching ASL poetry or drag queen wrestling? We cannot do it all, which feels profoundly unfair. We need one of those Hermione Granger-style Time Turners for this month.
We also want to remind you that joining our Patreon at the $5/month level or above will give you access to our Secret Spreadsheet where we track events. The spreadsheet already has more August stuff than we could fit in here, as well as upcoming listings going into the fall. It’s not everything, but it is some things. Frankly that could be this newsletter’s motto. “Lite + Brite: Not Everything, But Some Things!” Hard to find more truthful advertising than that!
If you’re not already a subscriber to this newsletter and you want to be, click here. We do one newsletter a week, usually on Fridays, plus this bonus monthly edition around the start of each month. Please support us by contributing to our Patreon and by forwarding this email to your friends who enjoy things like listening to music and leaving the house sometimes.
Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
Looking Ahead to Upcoming Events
Our weekly newsletters will include many more listings, but here are a handful of events that we know will be coming up over the next month. We’re giving you the heads up now in case you want to pre-buy tickets or block off the time.
- August 3, 9, 10, 20, 23, 24, 27, 30, and 31: The Missing Mages at Tiny Minotaur Tavern
LARP + imbibe in a tavern setting with mushroom-infected mages - August 4: Mycorrhizal Myth Machine at the Museum of Human Achievement
“In the safety of their cars, participants will unlock the secrets of plant-mycelial communication” - August 4: La Dolce Vita at Club Eternal
Haven’t experienced a late night italo disco party? We can fix that for you - August 4-5, 7, and 10: Cat Video Fest at AFS Cinema
Broke: Cat vids at home. Woke: Cat vids on a big screen with popcorn - August 5: The Wooden Nickel Carnival 10 Year Anniversary at 3312 Pecan Springs Rd.
Sideshow performers, “seed spitting contest,” DJ, game booths + more - August 5: Imperfect Tennis at Collection Rert
Artists collaborate on an opening w/solo + collaborative works - August 5: Babestock at the Metropolis Apartments Pool
Killer lineup of female and nonbinary DJs spinning poolside + food, raffle - August 6: ATX Pride Market at Distribution Hall
Celebrate Austin Pride w/Vendors, screenprinting, food+drinks - August 10: No Lights No Lycra Summer Sunset Sessions at West China Tea
Our own dance party in the dark (+sunset) - August 11: The 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop at Spokesman Coffee
Celebrate 50 years of hip hop w/DJs, MCs, b-boys + b-girls - August 11: Psychometry Workshop at Ancient Mysteries
Fine-tune your own psychometric abilities + connect to the spirit world - August 11: Daft Disko at Empire Control Room
DJs spinning French house + nu disco in the style of Daft Punk - August 12: Austin Pride Parade at the state capitol
Austin’s own pride celebration w/a massive parade downtown - August 12: Austin Pride Festival at Fiesta Gardens
“Inflatable Games & Carnival Rides, Drag Queen Story Time,” vendors + more - August 12: CATS+ Drive-In at the Museum of Human Achievement
A cavalcade of collaborative interactive art from MoHA residents - August 12: Public Tour at Central Texas Pig Rescue
“A guided walking tour of the Enchanted Pig Forest” - August 12: Slashdance at Elysium
DJs spinning 80s/90s horror tunes, photobooth, lasers, dancing monsters - August 16: Handsome Devils Puppets at the Glass Coffin
“Tremendous, strange, + curious” puppet musical - August 16: Sea You Later, Summer! at the Dougherty Arts Center
“Build a sensory sandbox,” make sand art + sandcastles - August 16 – 20: Cirque Vida at Indra’s Awarehouse
Circus artists, dancers, + acrobats consider the familiar - August 19: ASL Slam at the Highball
Neon-lit visual poetry slam in ASL - August 19: Drags and Dropkicks at the Highland Lounge
“Protecting our kings, queens, and in-betweens” w/drag + pro wrestling - August 19: Not Long for this World at the Odin
“Workshop of biomachines” + “artifacts that integrate biological organs and animals w/technology” - August 19: Tapefest 2023 at the Windsor Park Branch of the Austin Public Library
Celebrate analog cassettes + VHS by trading tapes and making A/V art - August 20: Lagers and Literature at Meanwhile Brewing
“Like books? Like beer? Then boy, do we have the perfect event for you!” - August 21 – 27: When Where What Week at unannounced venues
When Where What ATX throws a week of “parties, freebies, + chaos” - August 23 – 24: Gags to Riches at the Holiday Inn
DJs, burlesque artists + performers explore the corporate world - August 23 – 27: aGLIFF’s PRISM 36 at AFS Cinema and Galaxy Theaters
Fest devoted to films about + relevant to the LGTBQ community - August 24: No Lights No Lycra Summer Sunset Sessions at West China Tea
Our own dance party in the dark (+sunset) - August 26: Bat Fest at the Congress Ave Bridge
Take in Austin’s local bat horde w/some live music - August 26: Endless Summer at Elysium
“Nighttime Gothic Beach Party” w/parasols, performers, hot dogs - August 26 – 27: Texas Woodworking Festival at the Palmer Events Center
A whole lot of furniture makers, tool makers, antique dealers, + more - September 1: Shrek Rave at Empire Garage
“Cool is dead!” “Who cares!” chant Shrek ravers - September 2: Yoi Toki: A Futurefunk/Vaporwave Party at Parish
DJs spinning music for people who dig 1980s Japan + Roman bust aesthetics - September 2: Austin Afrobeats Fest at Mohawk
Pan-African DJs, live music, panels, art, vendors + food
What We’re Listening to
Brian’s Pick:
Smooth tropical electropop in English and Spanish from Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo w/help from Mac DeMarco, covering such topics as nude beaches, palm trees, + tropical vibes. The accompanying video is inspired equally by 1980s Ibiza and the Leisure Suit Larry video game series, and speaks deeply to my inner music and video game nerd. Bonus: Palomo will be performing songs from his upcoming album here as part of Levitation in October.
Alan Palomo – Nudista Mundial ‘89 ft Mac DeMarco
Leila’s Pick:
As you might expect if you knew my demographics, I have loved Jenny Lewis for most of my life. Her fifth album, Joy’all, is out now, and although I’m still sort of wrapping my head around it, I’m also using this new release as an opportunity to revisit her old work. I did not win tickets to her ACL taping last week and this is an injustice from which I may never recover.
Jenny Lewis – Rise Up With Fists!!
All-the-Time Austin Artsy Fun
Our weekly newsletter features upcoming events, but sometimes the activity you’re looking for isn’t an event at all—it’s a place that’s always there. Next time you find yourself on an afternoon when nothing special seems to be going on, you could consider checking out one of these evergreen options.
- The Eureka Room
Uniquely goofy, silly, + fun immersive games you play with a group. No spoilers! - Escape the Box on South Congress
So you think you can escape boxes. Sure, but what about time traveling boxes? - We Luv Video
The Alexandria Library of video rental. It’s community-run, you can rent movies or watch them in a cinema while literally surrounded by VHS tapes and DVDs. - The Goats at Jester King Brewery
More a theme park geared towards folks who like refermented cherries in their beer (me) than a brewery. I have not experienced the Goat Experience, but I have seen their goats, and I approve. - Cathedral of Junk
A towering achievement to collecting weird old stuff that will spark nostalgia and cause you to wonder at your last tetanus shot timing - West China Tea House
In addition to their events, West China is a wonderful place just to chat with interesting and welcoming people and drink some delicious tea - Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve
A lovely park + nature walk that is protected by a crack corps of dedicated peacocks and peahens. Good luck escaping without some flashy, feathery displays. - Laguna Gloria
The Contemporary Austin’s outdoor sculpture garden. Culture + Nature = Profit. - Austin Creative Reuse Center
A nonprofit shop where you can get any art, craft, or office supplies you can imagine for literal pennies. Eat your heart out, Office Despot. - Museum of the Weird
It’s right there on Dirty 6th but worth a visit. From famous fake paleontology to recreations of horror film sets, there’s lots to see. - James Turrell’s Skyspace
Like Turrell’s best works, this is an art experience which unfolds slowly over time. Watch as the changing colors of sunset remake the space.
Thanks to our Patreon subscribers
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Alexander Freed, Spencer, Kristen Backor, Timon A., Kate Murray, and Amy Wilde. We’re deeply grateful for your support, which allows us to do things like “pay our Mailchimp fee” and “spend hours researching Austin events when technically we should be working.”
If you’d like to support us on Patreon and get access to exclusive member-only benefits, you may do so here.
Socials
Follow Lite + Brite on Instagram to keep up with our adventures. Recent weeks brought us to Prose & Puns at Last Stand Brewing, the Foxtrot grand opening party, and the Future Fossils show at the ODIN.. And come chat with us and the rest of the L+B community on our Discord server!
About Us
How do we choose which events to feature?
Honestly, it’s pretty random. We might include anything in Austin that we, personally, would conceivably want to go to, generally excluding normal concerts, comedy shows, and movie showtimes because there are many other good resources for finding those. (We especially recommend Showlist for live music, The Darker Side of Austin for goth and metal suff, and the 60+ Weirdest Things in Austin for exactly what it sounds like). This list is by no means exhaustive; it’s just stuff that caught our eye this week. If you have an event that you want us to consider including, send it over.
Who are we?
We make this newsletter. We put on No Lights No Lycra every second and fourth Thursday of the month. We do some other stuff here and there. We love going out to creative events in Austin, and we want you to join us. Visit us at liteandbriteatx.com, and support us on Patreon if you like what we do.