Austin is well known for the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival each spring and the Austin City Limits Music Festival each fall. But music isn't the only thing putting Austin on the map. Austin also hosts the Texas Book Festival and the Austin Film Festival and Conference every year.

Started in 1994, the Austin Film Festival is all about the creative process of screenwriting and film making. The annual film festival and conference held in October highlights local organizations and businesses that work in all elements of the film industry.

This year's festival features films starring actors like George Clooney and Meg Ryan. The conference and festival bring many big names from the film industry to Austin, but the event stays true the capital city's laid back feeling. There are no red carpets and little paparazzi at the eight day event.

The conference itself offers panels, lectures and roundtable discussion on all aspects of the film and screenwriting industry, and encourages budding film writers to take part. The festival is a series of screening of all types of films: shorts, documentaries, animation, independent and premieres. Unknowns in the film industry rub elbows with the bigwigs and many have had their work move into prominence due to this film festival.

The film festival is also a series of parties with different themes at many different downtown venues. Austin restaurants, bars, shops and hotels benefit from the festival patrons. The awards at this year's festival will go to industry greats like Ron Howard.

The Texas Book Festival, also going on this October in Austin, was started in 1995 by Laura Bush. The former first lady has always been a literacy advocate and started the ball rolling on the Texas festival to honor Texas writers and promote the love of reading.

The two-day event has the unique venue of the Texas State Capital buildings and grounds. Hopefully, the weather gods will smile down on Austin with more blue skies and sunny fall weather in the forecast for the last weekend in October. Nearly 50,000 people will fill the marbled halls and hallowed chambers of the state house to listen to lectures and panels. Other downtown venues also get involved, like the historical Paramount Theater and the Austin Children's Museum hosting special events for children's authors.

The festival not only celebrates literature, but also addresses some of the issues faced by the book industry. One of this year's lectures, "Are Books Dead?," addresses the future of books and the changing ways we will read them. This year will feature over 200 authors, like Margaret Atwood, Jane Smiley, Harold Evans, Gail Collins and Buzz Aldrin. The festival is free and open to the public, with lots of opportunites for book signings.

SXSW and ACL might bring the national camera crews and the big names in music, but they aren't the only festivals promoting the arts in this unique capital city.


Ki works, and lives, in Austin Texas. His website has thorough descriptions of Austin Texas real estate. It also has a map based search of the Austin MLS along with a blog covering news and events in Austin real estate.

Every year, during the sweltering late summer months, bands from across the country converge on Austin, Texas for one weekend of music, food and hot, sweaty fun. Thousands upon thousands of people, young and old, flock to Austin each year for the massive music event that is the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Some of the biggest names in music show up every year. The festival's eight stages, spread out across Zilker Park, host more than 100 bands over the course of the weekend, each playing for sold out crowds. In recent years, music legends such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Flaming Lips, Beck, The Foo Fighters, N.E.R.D., Gnarls Barkley and many others have graced the ACL stages.

Ideally situated in downtown Austin, Zilker Park closes down each year for the massive three-day event, and the music can be heard throughout downtown. But ACL isn't just about music. A local artisan village is set up each year to allow Austin's local businesses and artists to showcase their work to the thousands of attendees, who hail from across the nation. Likewise, many of Austin's top local restaurants have booths set up selling menu favorites at the expansive food court on site. With the coveted three-day passes selling often selling out six months before the festival, ACL poses a prime opportunity for Austin businesses of all kinds to showcase their products and reach new (and substantial) audiences.

But, really, it's all about the music. With a wide range of genres represented, including country, bluegrass, rock, hip hop, folk, and pretty much anything else you can think of, ACL truly offers something for everyone. There is even a dedicated children's stage. Attendees of all ages, races, and musical interests can be found here, making it one of the most unifying music festivals in the country.

And it's not just the biggest names in music that grace the stages at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In fact, many ACL provides many up and coming groups a break out opportunity. It's the holy grail of every struggling Austin musician's career, which adds one more reason Austin thrives as the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world. Competition for a spot in the lineup is cut-throat, yet each year the array of artists manages to remain strikingly varied and comprehensive. From funky bands like G. Love and the Special Sauce and breakout stars like Vampire Weekend, to old school legends Asleep at the Wheel and gospel groups like the River City Christianettes, ACL is quite literally a melting pot of musical talent and expression (and the 100 + degree heat makes the analogy all the more appropriate).

In 2008, Austin City Limits is being held on the weekend of September 26-28. Three day passes have been sold out for months, but stragglers can purchase single day passes on the festival web site for $80 apiece. With almost 50 bands playing daily, starting at 11:00 am and running until the headlining show wraps up at 10:00 pm, Austin City Limits is the place to be in Austin, Texas, (and many would assert, the entire country) for one raging weekend each year.

Ki is an Austinite that enjoys the local music scene. He works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. His internet site has a tool that graphs mortgage interest rates along with a search for Austin Homes.