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City Cast Austin

Kelsey Bradshaw

(Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman/

Happy, happy May! Live music, good food, fun festivals, and an election are all on the docket this month. Let’s get to it:

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month With Good Food

Austin Asian Community Health Initiative’s 

 is back. Once you buy the passport, you can bring it to a number of Asian restaurants across the city to unlock deals 

 and proceeds go to connecting Asian Austinites with health care and other basic needs. Participating 

 Bar Peached, Komé Sushi Kitchen, Lau Lau, and Oseyo.

Set Your Alarm for the 2026 Austin City Limits Music Festival Lineup Announcement

The lineup for this year’s ACL Fest will be 

. Tickets for the festival, which returns to Zilker Park Oct. 2-4 and 9-11, go on sale the same day.

You Can Still Get Tickets to Austin Psych Fest

 runs May 8-10 at The Far Out Lounge & Stage in South Austin. The lineup includes The Flaming Lips, The Black Angels, and Thee Sacred Souls. 

 runs May 9-10 at Hill Country Galleria. The biannual event, which used to be held on Sixth Street downtown, is free to attend and includes live music, shopping, activities for kids, food, and more.

Temperatures are rising and you have a couple fun ways to find solace in air conditioning this month.

Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

 is May 13-17. Features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos rooted in Latine/x, Indigenous, Latin American, and Ibero-American communities will be shown at theaters throughout the city. 

 $13 for individual screenings and $60 for badges.

Paramount Theatre’s Summer Classic Film Series

 starts May 22 with a screening of “Casablanca.” Movies will be shown at the theater throughout the summer and tickets are $15.

We’ve Got a Primary Runoff Election This Month

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are 

facing off May 26 in the state’s runoff election

. The pair are competing for the Republican nomination for Cornyn’s Senate seat. Whoever wins will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November.

Other runoff races include the Democratic nomination for Texas Lieutenant Governor, both party nominations for Texas Attorney General, and some local races.

 to find out what else will be on your ballot this month.

Your Guide to May 2026 in Austin

Find the best of everything that Austin has to offer. 

Austin’s Best

Austin's Best

Elissa Castles

Looking for places to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? We've got the guide for you.

Cinco de Mayo is not to be mistaken for Mexican Independence Day, but rather a day celebrating 

 in the 1862 Battle of Puebla. The holiday gained broader popularity in the U.S. during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, when it was embraced as a way to celebrate Mexican-American identity and culture.

 is hosting a not-to-miss celebration that is free and family friendly. Head over to Republic Square on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and enjoy a variety of food vendors, an artisan market, interactive booths, and so much more.

Mariachi Classico brings traditional mariachi music to 

 in Southpark Meadows on Saturday. The event runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and also features a set from DJ Kenny Duet, face painting, a complimentary photo booth, drinks, and more.

 is giving away free tacos with a featured drink purchase on May 5 for their Cinco de Mayo Extravaganza. The party starts at 3 p.m. and goes until 2 a.m. with performances by The Latin Dukes, El Tule, and tons of DJs.

Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Güero's Taco Bar

What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with 

 that's been serving Austin for 40 years?! Güero's Taco Bar is throwing a birthday bash on May 5 with proceeds benefiting the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. Enjoy music, tacos, and margaritas from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Roy Lozano's Ballet Folklórico de Texas is performing at 

 on May 5 to present Mexican heritage through rhythm, colorful costumes, and dynamic movements. The free event runs 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature mariachi music, tequila tastings, and bites from EastVillage Market.

The Best Cinco de Mayo 2026 Events in Austin

Gather round, Garfields. I come bearing lasagna news.

, a New Jersey-style Italian restaurant, opened in Hyde Park 

 in the small building formerly occupied by Wok 'N Express.

I finally made my way to the counter-service spot last week and it was everything a girl who misses her hometown Italian spot could hope for. The portions are huge, the prices are not terrible, and the decor is so homey and fun. Oh, and they have the biggest piece of lasagna I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

The end piece lasagna is $24 and is what dreams are made of if you also prefer a crispy corner piece of any casserole or brownie pan. It’s crunchy in the right places, made with bolognese, and the layers are so soft they can barely stay in one place. And, the dish is served in a pool of arrabbiata tomato sauce that is a true highlight. It’ll give you something to write home about, that’s for sure. I highly recommend sharing this with a friend so you have room for other delights.

Take the calamari curly fries ($15). Thin pieces of fried calamari are mixed in with a mountain of curly fries that has horseradish mayo slathered on top. Eat a fry and a piece of calamari at the same time for best results.

Adding corn in unexpected places is one of the best things a restaurant can do. Ricotta dumplings ($18) are served in a bowl with just enough alfredo and corn sauce. The dumplings are small in size but dense enough for a real bite. Consider this a light dish before your lasagna arrives.

Umarell made me want to return as soon as possible by doing one thing: delivering food to tables. Every time a new dish passed by in the hands of a waiter, I turned into a 

. My eyes got wide and I’d ask my fellow diners what they ordered. Based on this alone, I’ll be ordering the gigantic chicken parm sandwich, chicken francese pasta, and the tiramisu next time I visit.

Hyde Park Now Home to a Huge Piece of Lasagna You Need To Try

The latest on the best and newest restaurants and bars in Austin. We'll help you find where to eat, drink, and socialize.

Austin Food & Drink

Food & Drink

Big news, festival people! We’ve got a new one to attend. Manor May Day Festival is on Saturday and I’ve got all the deets.

Manor May Day Festival, which is free to attend, kicks off at 10 a.m. and runs through 6 p.m. along Manor Road in East Austin on Saturday. Think of the festival as a big block party. You’ll be able to walk around, shop, listen, eat, and hang out with your neighbors.

two dozen local businesses will be featured

 on the day, including spots like Bar Toti, Hoover’s Cooking, and Patrizi’s.

Live music, aerial performance, face painting, line dancing, and more are all 

More Events Are Happening at the Same Time

I hope you’ve got a good pair of walking shoes, because there’s lots to do and see. The following events are happening in the area at the same time as the festival:

The Festival Is Based on an European Celebration

. Celebrations often include maypoles, floral garlands, wildflowers, and more. The holiday likely originated in Greece and Rome.

What To Know About Austin’s New Manor May Day Festival

Explainers

What Austinites have been wondering. We break down why things in Austin are they way they are and how they work.

Austin, Explained

We all have a lumpy bag full of unwanted clothes for donation living in our cars or in the corner of a room. I’ve got great news if getting to a donation center has been last on your to-do list for too long: The city will pick up those clothes for you.

can now schedule appointments for clothing and textile pick-up

. You can make an appointment by calling 311, in the Austin Recycles app, or 

. You’ll be required to put your items in one, 13-gallon bag and set them outside by 5:30 a.m. on pick-up day.

“This program helps keep clothing out of the landfill,” the city said.

You can put almost anything in your donation pile:

After your donation is picked up, it is taken to the city’s Recycle and Reuse Center. From there, Goodwill picks the items up for reuse or recycling, officials say.

“Usable items may be resold in stores, while others may be repurposed into materials like cleaning rags,” the city said.

Austin Resource Recovery customers can also schedule pick-ups for 

bulk items, brush, and hazardous waste materials

Austin Is Now Offering On-Demand Clothing Pickup

Get to know the natural side of Austin: the plants, animals, weather and more that make our city unique.

Austin Urban Almanac

Urban Almanac

It’s time to lock in for the mother in your life: Mother’s Day is just a couple weeks away on May 10! If you’re looking to get out into town this year, this is the guide for you:

Pecan Street Festival is back at Hill Country Galleria this year just in time for Mother’s Day. The festival, which includes rides, shopping, food, and music, runs May 9-10 and is free to attend.

Shakespeare Austin’s annual free production at Zilker Hillside Theatre starts May 7. This year’s play is “Much Ado About Nothing” and it will be running on May 9 and 10, perfect for Mother’s Day! Shows start at 8 p.m.

On May 9, “Steel Magnolias” will be screened for free at the Moody Amphitheater downtown. Get to the amphitheater between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to hang out in the park before the movie starts at sunset.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Mother’s Day event starts at 9 a.m. and includes live music, food trucks, flowers galore, and order-ahead picnic boxes. Boxes come with sandwiches and a side salad or chips for $22 — just make sure you 

. The event comes with a general admission ticket, which starts at $15 for adults.

The Blanton Museum of Art on the UT campus is hosting 

“Blanton All Day: Bring Mom to the Museum”

 on May 10 starting at 10 a.m. For $20, you can enjoy a day of art talks, live music, food, museum tours, and more.

Where To Celebrate Mother’s Day 2026 in Austin

Ruvani de Silva

Something very special is coming to Central Texas this weekend. Zwanze Day, a biennial, global celebration of the traditional Belgian gueuze and lambic beer styles put on by Belgium's Cantillon Brewing, is taking over Johnson City.

Zwanze Day, which is on Saturday, is at once a little nod to the importance of Belgian gueuze and lambic beers, and also a bit of fun. “Zwanze” is the local Brussels term for sarcastic humor. Cantillon is releasing a special experimental beer that playfully riffs on their classic styles, limiting its availability to a small selection of hand-picked locations worldwide where the beers will be tapped at the same time (2 p.m. for us) for maximum dramatic effect.

 is one of the participating locations for the 17th annual Zwanze Day. The event runs noon to midnight and 

. The day will include a vinyl DJ, themed cocktails, food pop-ups, and other treats.

Nestled into a beautifully restored 19th century building just off Johnson City square, Nice N Easy is the brainchild of couples Garret Crowell and Adrienne Ballou and Matt and Margot Piper, who met through previous roles at Jester King Brewery. The bar opened in 2021 after two years of renovations.

The team took great care in creating a drinking space with a “desert-adjacent” aesthetic, highlighting original details like handmade terra cotta architectural brick from D’Hanis Brick & Tile Company in San Antonio and thin brick from Texas-based Elgin Butler. Bullet holes from the building’s rough-and-ready history remain visible.

Nice N Easy’s emphasis on slow, relaxed quality has built up a steady following of locals, visitors, and savvy Austinites happy to make the trip out of town for their expertly curated drinks list, including Matt Piper’s bewitching bespoke cocktails and beers and wines from Crowell’s Yokefellow Beer and Ballou’s Lightsome Wines. As a true barperson’s bar exuding unfussed quality, Nice N Easy is a natural fit for Zwanze Day, one of the most famous and highly curated events in international beer.

As the last lambic brewery in Brussels and dating back to 1900, Cantillon take their role as lambic-gueuze ambassadors seriously with their own museum and guided tours and tastings to preserve the historic culture of Belgian spontaneously fermented and blended beers.

At Nice N Easy, the news that they were chosen as the only Texas venue included in the project is still sinking in.

“It honestly seemed a bit like a pipe dream until Cantillon officially announced 

 and we happily saw Nice N Easy listed in alphabetical order,” said co-owner Matt Piper.

Nice N Easy’s selection also reflects their collective ethos and combined experience, with the owners having been involved in hosting previous Zwanze Day events at Jester King and Crowell and Ballou gaining advice and inspiration from Cantillon’s Jean Van Roy while developing Jester King’s original Spon series, the Texas Hill Country’s version of spontaneous beer, back in the early 2010s.

“Hosting Zwanze Day was always a cool idea in the back of our minds, but we never realistically thought that dream would come to fruition. What a privilege,” Matt Piper said.

This year’s list of 70 venues across 22 countries reads like a who’s who of craft beer cool:

Wellington, New Zealand’s Garage Project Wild Workshop

Nice N Easy’s inclusion in Zwanze Day puts the little Hill Country bar on a very exclusive map, and for those who haven’t visited yet, offers a very exciting opportunity to take part in one heck of a party.

“We’re most excited about the camaraderie and enthusiasm of the event as a whole, especially since the beer industry seems to be experiencing a tough go of it right now. Beer is all about community and carving out time to enjoy it with friends. Zwanze Day facilitates this by bringing people together in a quirky way,” Matt Piper said.

Where To Celebrate Zwanze Day Just an Hour Outside of Austin

Looking for a guide to Earth Day in Austin? We’ve got you covered:

. That year, rallies were organized across the U.S. to raise awareness about environmental issues. The Environmental Protection Agency was formed the same year.

Earth Day is now celebrated around the world on April 22 and here in Austin all week long, through clean-up projects, tree plantings, and other events.

Volunteer on Barton Greek Greenbelt and Violet Crown Trail

Doesn’t a six-mile trash-pickup hike led by a drag queen sound incredible? On Wednesday, several Pride groups are hosting a hike to clean up trash along Barton Creek Greenbelt and Violet Crown Trail starting at 10 a.m. The hike, which is free to attend, will be led by drag queen Xtra. 

 at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. You can pick up trash on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail or via a provided kayak or canoe on the lake. The cleanup is free to attend but you must register beforehand.

Celebrate at Texas Science & Natural History Museum

The Texas Science & Natural History Museum on The University of Texas at Austin campus is 

. Pop in to make fashion designs with plastic waste or to explore different rock types. The activities are included with museum admission. A free demonstration by the UT Physics Circus is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Don’t worry — you won’t miss out on fun events if you’re busy tomorrow! Earth Day ATX at Huston-Tillotson University is now being held on May 2. The event runs noon to 5 p.m. and is free to attend. Art, games, music, food, and more are all part of the festival.

Your Guide to Earth Day 2026 in Austin

Austin Trivia: How Much Do You Know About Local Civics?

What's being decided in Austin City Hall and why it matters. We monitor local elections, political news, and Austin City Council. 

Austin Election and City Hall News

Local Civics

The Austin Independent School District school board 

 and will discuss the district’s 2026-2027 budget, which could end up with a deficit of $181 million.

Here’s what you need to know about the deficit before the meeting gets underway:

Low Enrollment Numbers Are Partly To Blame

The Austin school district has seen a somewhat steady decline in enrollment numbers over the last 10 to 15 years, 

, an education reporter at the Austin American-Statesman, explained 

during a recent discussion with City Cast Austin

Public school districts in Texas are funded based on how many students they have enrolled. That means they get more money per student from the state if enrollment numbers are higher.

. The dropping numbers can be attributed to a number of factors: The cost of living in Austin, immigration issues, and more choices being available for students, Heath said.

“We all know it's very expensive to live in Austin and has been for quite a while,” she said. “And if you are raising kids and want an affordable place to live, Austin may not be right.”

School districts surrounding AISD, like Hays and Bastrop, have seen enrollment numbers increase in recent years as people move out of Austin for more affordable housing options. Charter school enrollment has also increased in the last 10 years, as families are looking for more autonomy for what their student does in school.

New immigration policies have also led to families taking their kids out of AISD.

“You’re seeing this in districts all across the country where people are leaving, either by choice or by force, to go somewhere else,” Heath said.

Additionally, the state’s recapture program is likely hurting AISD. 

 takes tax dollars from districts with high property values like AISD, and redistributes the money to districts with lower property values.

Austin pays more into the recapture program than any other district in the state. In 2024, voters approved 

 that generated $171 million — $130 million of which went to the state’s program to fund other districts.

Proposed Budget Cuts Include Staff Layoffs

District officials must approve the budget for the upcoming school year in June, and some proposed changes include:

Reducing planning periods for secondary teachers

Reducing arts programming for elementary students

“Because nothing has been decided, and there's a lot of uncertainty, I think people are quite nervous,” Heath said.

Want to hear more on the issues AISD is facing? Listen to our episode with Keri! 👇

The district must approve a new budget in June.

Everything You Need To Know as AISD Stares Down a $181 Million Budget Deficit

 are calling for Cesar Chavez Street to be renamed after the 

 reported several sexual assault allegations against the labor leader last month.

The investigation says Chavez abused women and girls, including Dolores Huerta, a fellow leader in the labor movement who Chavez worked with. Fallout from the report was swift — across the country, events honoring Chavez were canceled, statues were removed, and school curriculums 

In Austin, four city council members — José Velásquez, Vanessa Fuentes, José “Chito” Vela, and Zohaib “Zo” Qadri — made a request earlier this month to change the name of Cesar Chavez Street.

Chavez died in April 1993 and that December, Austin’s First Street 

 after him The street runs west to east from MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) to U.S. 183. El Concilio Mexican-American Landowners de East Austin, a local nonprofit, originally organized a call to rename First Street to honor Chavez. Now, the group wants the street 

“It’s a lesson learned,” Gabino Fernandez Jr., an El Concilio leader with El Concilio, 

. “Going back to First Street eliminates future discoveries about individuals that could lead to the same situation.”

The council request calls for City Manager T.C. Broadnax to develop a community outreach plan on whether or not to change the street name, and how much doing so would cost. It also asks Broadnax to report back to council on May 27.

“The city of Austin is committed to upholding the dignity and safety of all people and affirms its

unwavering support to survivors of sexual violence,” the request 

We recently asked City Cast Austin readers what they think the street’s name should be and got quite a few responses:

. She’s a civil rights icon, too, and bravely came forward with her story about Chavez.

Texas musician Stevie Ray Vaughan already has 

One of Texas’ two women governors, Ann Richards, was another reader suggestion. 

Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bat Bridge

Pastore was an Austin police officer who 

 to rename the road after Pastore has more than 1,500 signatures.

This wouldn’t be Austin if someone didn’t suggest Nelson. 

These are all great options, but it’s possible our reader 

 had the best suggestions: “Bessie Coleman, Simone Biles, Bonnie Dunbar, Opal Lee. ANY WOMAN!”

Local Civics

Austin Trivia: How Much Do You Know About Local Civics?

Kelsey Bradshaw

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