Going batty at Austin Batfest 2007
Night Wing bat sculpture at Congress Avenue and Barton Springs Road
I went a little batty this evening. Actually, the whole family did. We dressed up in our batty best (notice the earrings?) and went downtown to the 3rd annual Batfest, a street festival/live-music/bat-watching party held entirely on the Congress Avenue Bridge, also home to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats.
The bats, which make up the largest urban bat colony in North America, live in crevices under the bridge and are a big attraction for tourists and locals alike, who gather on the shores of Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) and on the bridge to watch them emerge at sunset. Batfest takes a natural phenomenon in Austin and makes a party out of it. Here’s a tour.
How can you have a festival in Texas without big belt buckles for sale? Here’s a unique scorpion buckle. What, no bat ones?
Tattoos were on display as well.
A Corvette batmobile drew admiration from the guys and kids.
Several booths offered free bat-making crafts for kids.
I got to meet the friendly Pickle Sickle folks, who were recently profiled in the Statesman for making, yes, pickle-flavored popsicles.
We all tried a Pickle pop, but for me one taste was enough. My pickle-loving son ate about half of it. My husband’s face shows what he thought.
Afterward we browsed the booths. This bat-hatted woman was hawking T-shirts.
Even the jewelry makers had gone batty in their decorating. The bat lurking over this customer is Halloween-worthy. Scary!
This shirt vendor was wearing his wares. Check out that skulls-and-roses print! That’s something every gardener needs, right? Actually, we’ve seen this vendor before, and my dad has purchased that exact shirt. It’s a conversation starter anytime he wears it.
At the north end of the bridge, with the Texas Capitol building in the background, Del Castillo’s crew was setting up for a closing show. I wish we could have seen them, but we had the kids with us and couldn’t make it that late.
Austin icons: music stage and the capitol building
An art guitar titled “Keep Austin Batty” stood on one end of the bridge. Other cities have cows. Austin has guitars.
As the sun set, the waiting game began. When would those bats come out for dinner? We all gathered on the east side of the bridge to watch and wait.
Some opted to wait on boats.
Others waited on land.
Watching and waiting.
Not watching or waiting.
What was the hold up? An hour passed as people sipped their drinks, occasionally craning their necks looking over the bridge rail, and kids grew bored. Where were the bats? A chant of “Bats! Bats! Bats!” arose and quickly died. We fiddled with our cameras as daylight faded.
Meanwhile, a black swan visited each canoe in turn to look for handouts.
That was entertaining for a while.
Even the Hyatt got into the spirit.
Eventually, when it was fully dark, bats came out and flew in dizzying circles under the bridge, but they didn’t emerge in the big stream that I’ve always seen before. Even if they had, it might have been too dark to see. An explanation for the disappointing bat show that I overheard is that our rainy summer produced so many mosquitoes and other bugs that the bats are fat and happy. They aren’t as hungry, so they emerge later, and they can stay under the bridge and still find enough to eat.
By this time, the kids were cranky and tired, so we headed for the car. But an act at the south end of the bridge stopped us in our tracks. Ray Wylie Hubbard was jamming on stage, singing Snake Farm. The kids love that song, so we stayed for a few more, swaying to the music, watching people dance, and enjoying the soft breezes from the lake.
You gotta love Texas roadhouse music. Especially when you’re on a bridge downtown and the bats didn’t show.
That’s OK. We brought some bats home, and anyway we can go see them whenever we want. The next time you’re in Austin, I hope that you get to see them too.
Austin is weird. I’m envious.
It’s quiet out here. We did have a fish fry yesterday at the local fire hall though. The big excitement was the highschool football game on Friday night. I tried to get Tricia to go but she just rolled her eyes.
Bill, that sounds like good fun to me too. I love a fish fry, and there’s no football better than high school football, as far as I’m concerned. —Pam
Great coverage! Big media could not have done better, IMHO.
Thanks. The paper covered it this morning but neglected to mention the bats’ no-show, I noticed. —Pam
What a wonderful post! You’ve made me sorry we didn’t go, Pam – I love the earrings, and bet Philo would even have liked the pickle popsicles. We haven’t seen Ray Wylie Hubbard live, but we’ve enjoyed seeing and hearing Del Castillo perform several times.
The abundance theory makes sense, doesn’t it? Maybe that’s why the birds aren’t keeping up with all the bugs – they’re too stuffed to hunt.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I should have mentioned that it continued through Sunday, Annie, so you had another chance. But if not this one, there’ll be another funky festival any day now. Austin’s calendar is full of them. —Pam
Thanks!
I love the bat symbol on the Hyatt.
That music was loud! I could hear it all the way to my house…inside! Those are some great shots of the capitol. That must be the only good view left of it in Austin–standing in the middle of the Congress Avenue Bridge. In the 70s it was the bank buildings that started blocking the view; the 80s, high-rise office buildings; now high-end, high-rise condos. When I moved into this house, I could see the capitol from my front porch and my back yard. Not any more.
MSS, I can’t believe that, living so close, you didn’t walk down the street to join the fun. 😉
You’re right—Capitol views seem scarcer since the building boom. But that classic view down Congress Avenue toward the Capitol always gets me. It’s pure Austin. —Pam
You guys are batty down there! Actually, it sounds like a great reason for a festival and one not every city can lay claim to. Looked like fun (especially the pickle-cicles) even if the bats didn’t make their grand entrance.
It was fun, Lost Roses, even the Pickle Sickles. Any excuse for a street festival in Austin . . . —Pam
Even without the bats, it sounds like a wonderful festival. We don’t have bats under bridges, but we manage a few events around our city that provide good opportunities for people-watching.
Maybe the bats got spooked by all the people and noise? (Or were on strike for better pay, a cut of the action, who knows?)
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
It’s fun to see what excuses a city can come up with for a festival, isn’t it? Aside from Batfest, Austin’s quirkiest ones are Eeyore’s Birthday Party, a hippie fest, and Spamarama, a celebration of potted pork. Plenty of opportunities for fun! —Pam
Ray Wylie Hubbard. I’m jealous. I’ve been looking for a “Goat ropers need love, too” bumpersticker for my pickup truck since college days.
You might have to get that one custom made, Craig. —Pam
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing – made me feel like I was right there with all the other batty folks! We missed it because we were getting ready for a party yesterday, but I will definitely make a note on my calendar for next year. How’s the new camera going? From the looks of it, you’re having fun and right at home with it. Have a good rest of the holiday weekend.
Thanks, Diana. I’m glad this post made you feel that you were there. That’s what I was trying to accomplish. And yes, I am enjoying the new camera but still tinkering with the twilight settings. —Pam
Holy cucumbers Batman, you guys in Austin must be a few bats short of a belfry! 😀
As children my under-gardener and I used to play Batman and Robin. He was Batman and I was ………… Catwoman of course. 😉 So, bats are fine with me.
How sweet that you and the under-gardener are childhood sweethearts. 🙂 My childhood friends and I played Batman games too, but I was always Batgirl. —Pam
Now this is the coolest thing I have ever heard of… a bat festival, how sweet!
You are braver than I, btw. I like pickles, and I like popsicles, but I do believe that I would have declined to even try a “Pickle Sickle!”
I’m willing to try most things at least once, and the Pickle Sickle was just too interesting to pass up. So was the Batfest, for that matter. —Pam
I wonder what weird and whacky things they’re doing in Austin this Labor Day!! 🙂 The Batfest sounded and looked like great fun. I almost feel like I’ve been there…thanks so much for sharing your fun. Love those earrings 🙂
So sorry your camera died, but what a nice opportunity to update 🙂 Hope the new camera works well for you. Your gardens are so interesting Pam, with so many plants I haven’t seen before. I always enjoy strolling through them with you and like the way you share little tidbits about each one. I love the silvers with the purple beautyberry. It’s featured in the back of the Sept/Oct Garden Gate mag and I see we can grow it here. That’s great news! It’s gorgeous!
I haven’t seen that Garden Gate magazine, but I’ll look for it. I’m glad to hear that beautyberry varieties are hardy across such a large range. It’s such a great fall plant. Thanks for your comments, Kerri. —Pam
I just did a google search for “batfest no bats”, because my entire family attended on Saturday as well and I was wondering what happened to them. Came across your post here, and hey! there’s my family in the middle of your photo of people waiting on the lawn. 🙂 Thanks for posting…
Well, how cool is that?! Did the lawn folks have as much fun as the bridge folks, even though the bats were a no-show? I hope so! —Pam
What I enjoyed most about Austin when I visited once several years ago was the awesome mix of people everywhere we went. Very groovy town. This festival looks like fun and I NEED one of those skull/roses shirts!
Aren’t those shirts awesome? And so versatile! You can get one from Austinites Judy and Richard Kuenstler of Moon Dog Shirt Co.
I am so glad you enjoyed the festival. That is true about the bats, lots of rain = lots of bugs = full bats. If anyone is interested in more Bat news go to http://www.batcon.org. Cheers!!!
I should have included mention in my post that Bat Conservation International received a portion of the proceeds from Batfest. Thanks for your comment, Mrs. Quad. —Pam