Lite + Brite: 43 Participatory Austin Events 8/14

Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.

As you know, this newsletter loves a site-specific event, so obviously a brass band parade on canoes is made for us. We also love a good play on words, so we’re delighted to list a drag performance called “My Chemical Bromance,” a circus-themed wrestling/drag show called “Cirque du So Gay,” and a costume evening for powerful women called “Ladies Knight.” If you want new craft supplies, new CDs, new romance novels, new antique furniture, or new revenge for rat kings, this is the week of events for you. Go forth!

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 a bonus edition around the start of each month. If you enjoy this newsletter, 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

EVENTS WE’RE EYEING

Friday 8/14

Saturday 8/15

  • Minor Mishap Marching Band Canoe Parade at Lady Bird Lake
    Not just any marching band playing in a parade, one on a series of boats
  • Road to Lone Star Le Mans at the Mueller Branch Park Pavilion
    Drive race cars (in simulators), car show, Mini-Z cars, trivia, + DJ
  • Tones Fest at the Asian American Resource Center
    “All-Azn music + maker celebration” w/live music, crafting stations + art
  • Cirque Du So Gay at Highland Lounge
    Circus themed performers “blur the line between drag + wrestling”
  • Summer Slash at the Travis County Expo Center
    80s horror-themed party w/live music, DJs, car show, + film showings
  • Bookstore Romance Day at bookshops throughout Austin
    Support Austin’s independent bookstores as well as the romance genre
  • Ladies Knight at Tiny Minotaur
    All genders welcome to dress as “LADIES who are also KNIGHTS”
  • Deadlift + Drag at OutWellness
    Watch drag performers who can also deadlift weights, w/DJ + drinks
  • Mediafest at the Windsor Park Branch Library
    Swap + share physical media, play your vinyl + CDs, + make analog video art
  • PowerPints at the Highball
    “Drink + learn things” at comedic talks on a variety of esoteric topics
  • Summer Craft Supply Swap at Make at Rosie
    Crafting swap where you can gain or lose supplies + unfinished projects
  • Listen Like Wolves at 2200 S Lakeshore Blvd
    Join in documenting audiovisual materials for future art piece
  • Austin Shorts Fest at Eastside Cinema
    Wear your short shorts to watch two days of short films
  • Austin Sketch Fest at ColdTowne
    Fest celebrating some of the best local + out-of-town sketch comedy
  • Stargaze Theater Festival at the Dougherty Arts Center
    “Five original short plays by local playwrights”
  • Falling Down the Mountain of Great Storms at the Rosette
    Play w/cajun music, “herons flying around” and human-animal hybrids
  • (weekly thru 8/23) Speak No More: Lovecraft at the Tavern
    “Immersive, site-specific, improvised event” inspired by eldritch horror
  • (weekly thru 8/23) Escape the Box at the Texas State Capitol
    Solve time-traveling puzzles w/friends while exploring the statehouse

Sunday 8/16

  • Yeehawties at Austin Motel
    Austin’s favorite queer 90s country DJs hit the pool w/drag performers
  • Pride Routine Showcase at 506 E. St. Elmo Rd.
    See adult cheerleading troupe’s Pride-themed routines
  • The Rat King’s Revenge at Tiny Minotaur
    Get in costume for a LARP aka “interactive theater experience” 
  • Listen Like Wolves at 2200 S Lakeshore Blvd
    Join in documenting audiovisual materials for future art piece
  • Austin Shorts Fest at Eastside Cinema
    Wear your short shorts to watch two days of short films
  • Austin Sketch Fest at ColdTowne
    Fest celebrating some of the best local + out-of-town sketch comedy
  • Stargaze Theater Festival at the Dougherty Arts Center
    “Five original short plays by local playwrights”
  • (weekly thru 8/23) Speak No More: Lovecraft at the Tavern
    “Immersive, site-specific, improvised event” inspired by eldritch horror
  • (weekly thru 8/23) Splash Dance at the Austin Motel
    Poolside aerobics with Austin’s most creative aerobics instructor
  • (weekly thru 8/23) Escape the Box at the Texas State Capitol
    Solve time-traveling puzzles w/friends while exploring the statehouse

Monday 8/17

Tuesday 8/18

  • (weekly thru 8/25) Tricky Tuesdays at Hole in the Wall
    Drag, live music, comedy, + magic from “Peter the Adequete”

Wednesday 8/19

  • BoyzDSM at Elysium
    Drag kings + drag performers’ “kink positive showcase”
  • Digital Security Party at Monkeywrench Books
    Beginner-friendly lessons on computer + internet security
  • Down the River Wild at the Dougherty Arts Center
    Watch a Yellowstone doc + make your own miniature riverscape

Thursday 8/20

  • History Hour at the Austin History Center
    Group coloring, photography, silent auction, + Austin history book sales
  • Brewmania at Proud Mary Coffee
    Baristas compete w/signature drinks, cash and wrestling-themed prizes + DJs
  • Lezfest at Hotel Vegas
    Country fair game booths, best-dressed prizes, DJs, bands, drag, + karaoke
  • Gay, Drag, Drunk History at Stargazer
    “Not the history class you remember, but the one you deserved”
  • Synth Salon at the Austin Central Library
    Jam on provided synthesizers + share your musical works-in-progress
  • Now That’s What I Call G-G-G-gay at Elysium
    All-genres linedancing party w/DJs + dance lessons
  • Pocomania at Highland Lounge
    DJs, drag hosts, + events themed around syncretist rituals
  • Listen Like Lovers at Crashbox
    “Participatory soundtracking,” “collaborative conduction” + drop-in choir
  • Falling Down the Mountain of Great Storms at the Rosette
    Play w/cajun music, “herons flying around” and human-animal hybrids
  • (weekly thru 8/27) Movies on the Lake at Mozart’s
    Watch a big summer movie floating on a boat on the lake

Friday 8/21

NHA290
We’re Going Deeper

Broadcasting live from a lovely backyard in the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia inspired a relaxing journey through new age, deep house, + italo house sounds.

Stream We’re Going Deeper

Tracklist
Deep 6 – We’re Going Deep
Data Bass – A Piano in the Night
Mr Marvin – Entity (Jazzy)
Miskotom – Star Master (Rev. Thorn Remix)
Kasper Bjørke – Biarritz
Hello Meteor – Waterproof Thoughts
Chris Blackwell – Table Mountain
G.E.N.E. – Get the Taste Radio
Saint Etienne – Kiss and Make Up
Mark Barrott – What About Now? (Storm Clouds Over Cap Negret)

No Humans Allowed is Brian Blackout’s award-winning, weekly robots-themed radio show on internet station KPISS.fm. Machine vibes 4 machines. Songs for robots, androids, mandroids, cyborgs, AIs, cylons, skinjobs, roombas, wifi routers, smart devices, anything colored Bondi blue, and virtual assistants. Humans not required. Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 6pm CT on kpiss.fm, with over 200 episodes now streamable in the archives on topics like and Beach Simulations, Roomba dance parties, undersea adventures + Cyber Texas.

PATREON THANKS

A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Liz, Melissa Dunn, Kat, James Gray, Emily Heddleson, Andrew Creswell, Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Thomas Refferson, Bones Malones, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Alexander Freed, and Kristen Backor. We’re deeply grateful for your support, which allows us to do things like “pay our Beehiiv 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

Recent weeks found us attending a classic video game fest, admiring a flock of Purple Martins, and checking out some of the unique activities we could find in the UK. Follow Lite + Brite on Instagram to keep up with our adventures. We’re now on Bluesky too. Yay federation! And come chat with us and the rest of the L+B community on our Discord server (where we sometimes post stuff early too).

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 and Side by Sideshows for live music, The Darker Side of Austin for goth and metal stuff, Concept Animals’ ATX Art for You for gallery openings + artist talks, ATX Theatre for plays, and Superfantastica for weird Austin places + things. 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 are Leila + Brian. We make this newsletter. We do our own events, most often No Lights No Lycra, + also BYOT, a party where we share very good YouTubes (here’s a playlist from the last one). We go very hard seeing bands at SxSW (here are playlists of our favorites from 2026). We once got called “local Austin couple” by KXAN. 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.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK, CHAMPIONS

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