Heading to the Pecan Street Festival on 6^th Street in downtown Austin…

Why is this festival on 6^th Street yet called Pecan Street Festival?  We found our answer in the history of Austin.  In 1839 Edwin Waller laid out the Austin streets in a fourteen block grid plan with the north-south streets given Texas River names and the east-west streets given Texas Tree names – hence Pecan Street.  The tree names were changed in the late 1800s.

Now back to the festival which began in the late 1970s.  The festival is held twice a year, first weekend of May and last weekend of September, and attracts approximately 300,000 attendees.  The festival has juried arts and crafts, food, and music, as well as a petting zoo.  There were pony rides but we were too large for the pony.

Pony Ride?

Sixth Street is lined with historic homes and commercial buildings dating to the late 1800s when Austin was established.  These structures now house restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, art galleries and cafes.  Sixth Street is the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World”.

While walking the Festival route, which was great exercise, we could not only listen to the Festival music but also the live music coming out of various clubs along the route.  The wares offered covered just about every category from Classy Bottoms Up pajamas with matching wine glasses (Laurie is holding out for Fleur de Lis or Flamingo pattern), art, children’s hair bows, pottery, recycled wine bottles into drinking glasses, jewelry, and international items.  The food was endless from Cajun, German, ice cream, lemonade, and more.

We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking, eating, listening and shopping.

Wine and Lounge

Ladies with unique idea

Refreshing

Enjoying the Festival