About Austin's Downtown

Hey kids! Grab your crayons and put on your thinking caps. The City of Austin is holding a flood safety poster contest for kids ages 6-13. A gift card for $100 goes to the first place winner in each age group. Subsequent gift cards in varying amounts will be awarded to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place winners as well. Additionally, have the chance to win a ride aboard a swift water rescue boat and will see your winning poster printed in a special Flood Safety insert of the Austin-American Statesman as well as part of safety calendars for next year.

The theme for this year's contest is "Turn Around-Don't Drown". The point of the contest is to involve local Austin kids to help educate other children about the safety issues surrounding flooded areas. I know it may seem weird to consider flood safety when we are currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in our state's history. But floods remain the #1 cause of all weather-related deaths in the state and the top weather-related emergency in the City of Austin itself.

To be considered for a prize in the Austin Flood Safety Poster Contest, kids must be between the ages of 6 and 13. All drawings must be submitted on 8 1/2" x 11" paper but drawn in the landscape format (longest sides of paper are at the top and bottom). Each entry should include the headline "Save Yourself! Turn Around - Don't Drown" or "¡Sálvese! Es Mejor Regresarse - Que Ahogarse". The poster itself should depict the dangers of driving in flooded waters. How that depiction is represented is up to the artist. The back of each entry should include the child's name, age and grade, the name, phone number and email address of their parent/guardian and the school they attend as well as their teacher's name and phone number. If you have their teacher's email address, that would be appreciated as well, but it is not required. For all the details about the contest, please read the City of Austin's Flood Safety Poster guidelines here.

All entries must be received in the City of Austin offices no later than February 24, 2012. Entries postmarked before but not received until after will not be considered for prizes. All poster entries can be mailed to the attention of Joan Esquivel at the City of Austin WPD, PO Box 1088, Austin, TX 78767. The city offices will accept entries dropped off to them on the 12th floor at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road up until the deadline. Please keep in mind that all entries received by the City of Austin for the flood safety poster contest will be considered city property and will not be returned.

Shay Hargus, your Austin real estate specialist

Austin Texas has a motto: Keep Austin Weird! We all work very hard to keep that motto true to life!

Austin is a great place to live, work and raise your family. As word has gotten out about the great economy thousands have been exploring Austin.

If you would like more information on Austin Texas Living contact us and we will send you FREE home listings, job listings and other great information on Austin the LIVE MUSIC CAPITOL!

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Eating at Iconic Threadgill's in Austin Texas

There's so many excellent places to dine in Austin Texas that it's hard to decide which one to highlight in my first "foodie favorite" recommendation post. Nevertheless I found the one that will appeal to most anyone that visits Austin Texas and wishes to dine at an iconic restaurant.

Threadgills was originally opened in 1933 by Kenneth Threadgill as a Gulf filling station that became a favorite hangout after hours for drinking, gambling and jamming. Often musicians were paid in beer! This was a family-like atmosphere that brought back loyal patrons.

Kenneth Threadgill received the first beer license in Travis County.

Janis Joplin played here in the 60's when it was a haven for traditional Southern "rednecks" and hippies. She was a regular at the Wednesday night hootenannies!

Home cooked Southern meals may include Chicken & Dumplings, Old South Butter Beans, Black eyed Peas, Collard Greens, Blackberry Cobbler and many other delightful yummy dishes.

Where else do you see Kool-Aid as a drink of choice on the menu?

Threadgills doesn't have a Happy Hour....they have a Howdy Hour! It's a Texas "Thang".

Along with your typical Sweet Tea, soft drinks, coffee and Kool-Aid, they have a full bar with fine wines and beer (draft and bottles). Two drinks that caught my eye:

Janis Joplin- Southern Comfort & Jack Daniels over crushed ice. As soft as Janis got.

Dr. Dang - Southern Comfort & Amaretto, topped with Dr. Pepper & served over ice.

Live music is on the menu as well. The original Threadgills at 6416 North Lamar Blvd. features music every Wednesday night and Bluegrass Brunch on Sunday Morning. Tap your feet to the Gospel Brunch Music on Sunday mornings from March to November @ Threadgill's World headquarters @ 301 West Riverside and Barton Springs.

Call Home and Hearth Realty for your real estate needs and we'll take you to one of the two locations for a meal.

Dec 30, 2011 - Jan 8, 2012

The first week of January is a special time for the Austin music scene, bringing with it the annual tradition known as Free Week. During Free Week, participating venues offer nightly free shows featuring some of Austin’s best local talent. The experience is like a small-scale version SXSW, with all sorts of interesting, free shows happening in every direction.

Austin is known as the Live Music Capitol of the world. Every night in Austin you can find great live music all over the downtown area. During FREE week enjoy it for FREE.

With a city as diverse as Austin, there’s guaranteed to be something fun for everyone. To make your trip planning a little easier, we’ve handpicked some of Austin’s truly unique destinations.

We would love to help you see Austin at it's very best. Email or call and we will help you plan your trip.What is the best time to see Austin? I love the early spring and summmer. The temp in Austin is mostly mild year around so you can visit anytime and really enjoy both the indoors and outdoors.

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Alan Kirkpatrick

Realtor Austin Texas HomesLLC.

alanmaz1@earthlink.net

WEB http://alanmaz.actris.mlxchange.com/

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