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You and your pup can enjoy a special happy hour at Austin Eastciders for International Dog Day. (Austin Eastciders)
If you've got a pup, you're in luck! This Thursday is International Dog Day, and Austin is the perfect city to be in to celebrate this special day.
Here are some businesses in Austin worth checking out with your furry friend on Thursday.
Hopsquad Brewing Co., 2307 Kramer Lane
This year, Hopsquad is going all out for International Dog Day! They've teamed up with Three Dogs One Bar to create the Good Boy Golden Ale, which is brewed with natural blueberry dog biscuits from Tomlinson's Feed. Pups will also have the chance to munch on some fresh treats made with spent grain. With each beer purchased, $1 will go toward supporting Divine Canines' work. Other featured events: a raffle for some goodies, local and dog-themed vendors, a pup portraits photo booth, and a dog-friendly space within the taproom and on the patio.
Austin Eastciders Barton Springs, 1530 Barton Springs Road
Get ready for a paw-some happy hour at Austin Eastciders! From 6-8 p.m., Austin Pets Alive! will provide a mobile adoption center, Paws on Chicon treats and doggie froyo. There will be a raffle with prizes including dog food and gift cards for Drooly and Barkin' Creek, and a local dog photographer will offer a photo booth for dogs and their owners. For every pint sold during this event, $1 will go toward APA.
Irene’s, 506 West Ave.
This Thursday, Irene's is hosting their Yappy Hour from 4-6 p.m. They are partnering with Austin Pets Alive! and providing on-site adoption (you could take home your new best friend that same day). Tito's drink specials will also be offered, with $1 from each cocktail going toward APA. There will also be a donation-based raffle with prizes that include dog-related swag and portraits as well as an Irene's gift card. Key free stuff: a dog photo booth, treats and food.
Z’Tejas, 1110 West 6th St.
Want to give back to the dog community? On Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Z'Tejas will be offering custom dog bandanas to purchase at the bar, which will help raise funds for the Austin Humane Society. For each bandana purchased, 10% will go back to AHS.
Hearth & Soul, 2727 Exposition Blvd.
Think your dog is the cutest of them all? Come get your pup photographed and have them entered into the Dog Day photo contest on Instagram for a chance to win a grand prize bundle that's valued at over $200. To RSVP, you can call or message the store and reserve your spot.
Dogtopia of Austin, 2105 Ranch Road 620 South Suite 101
It's a great day to be a dog at Dogtopia, an open area doggy daycare, spa and boarding facility in Lakeway. All-day on Aug. 26, Dogtopia will offer frozen treats at lunch with a $3 donation.
Flat Creek Disc Golf Destination, 24912 Singleton Bend East Road (in Marble Falls)
Do you love the outdoors? Do you love discs? Do you love dogs? If you said yes to all of these, this is the perfect way to celebrate International Dog Day. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Flat Creek Estates will be hosting Dogs & Discs, offering free disc golf day passes, giving you a chance to explore the 18-hole course and 80-acre estate with your pup. You can either bring your own disc or rent one for $5 each. If you want some booze, you get $10 off either the Wine & Disc or Dine & Disc experience if you reserve by Wednesday, Aug. 25, using the promo code DOGS.
Read more on dog-friendly places in Austin:
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Texas linebacker Bijan Robinson came out with his own NFT trading card. The USMNT also came out with an NFT by an Austin artist.
NFTs, which are essentially unhackable codes used as one-of-a-kind "certificates of authenticity" paid for with cryptocurrency Ethereum, have been cropping up in the Austin art scene and worldwide—and they're quickly evolving into a sports fans' paradise as a new way to snag some bragging rights through digital trading cards, tickets and highlight reels.
Here are five Austin-based athletes and sports venues now involved in NFTs:
NiftyHorns—emerging Texas NFT producer
🚨🤘🏽Player Announcement!
— Nifty Horns (@NiftyHorns) September 24, 2021
First up to the plate - a man who capped a scorching spring with postseason heroics in Omaha - from El Paso, TX…
Ivan Melendez! @ivanmelendez17_
NFT trading cards for the Hispanic Titanic will be available this fall as part of our first pack drop. pic.twitter.com/2xI3aMd6Tv
College sports' entrance to NFTs originally came from another Austin—a picture of Stephen F. Austin's women's basketball team as they made their first NCAA championship berth was the first to break into the market in March 2020.
Now with NCAA NIL rules in their favor, it's easier than ever for Texas athletes to cash in on their clout. The University of Texas' LEVERAGE Lineup looks to serve as a database to connect even walk-on Longhorn athletes—like Surly Horn's "Burnt Ends" tight ends deal—to lucrative sponsorship contracts.
But there hasn't yet been a database that gives each player their own Robinson-esque NFT trading card—until NiftyHorns stepped in with an NFT business model that they hope to one day have officially linked to the school.
They've already made headway with an NFT for Longhorns baseball player Ivan Melendez using the same blockchain utilized by TopShot.
"(We want to) not make it exclusive to star players or just the big three sports," NiftyHorns co-founder Josh Pitel said. "We feel very fortunate to be in a space where the fan base is large enough and passionate enough to actually support a wide variety of athletes."
Bijan Robinson—Candy.com trading card
With nearly 130,000 followers across Twitter and Instagram, Bijan Robinson is a star on and off the football field. He's used that clout to his advantage and partnered with Raising Cane's, Athletic Brewing and Centre Apparel.
And he's now following in the footsteps of NBA's TopShot with his very own NFT. Trading cards are a growing commodity in the NFT community, with TopShot raking in $700 million on cards, highlight reels and more last year.
Robinson's 100 Rare NFTs currently sit at $250 and feature a hero shot, his jersey number, position and an animated signature with a sleek, high-tech gold finish.
COTA NFTs—360 views and tickets too
Each of the two NFTs feature 360 views of different aspects of the COTA track. (Circuit of the Americas)
Back in October, Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein appeared to embody his promise to make the 2021 U.S. Grand Prix the "biggest event on the planet this year" as an estimated 400,000 attendees made it through the gates for the Formula One weekend event.
To commemorate the event, the circuit decided to leap into the trendy NFT scene with two 360-degree panoramas, set at minimum bids of $30,000 each. And like many who look to tack on physical elements to the mystical crypto world, the circuit includes two VIP passes for MotoGP or Formula 1 events this year or next.
"Circuit of The Americas hosts some of the world's most iconic sports and entertainment events," Epstein said in a press release. "Just as visitors realize how unique and special COTA is, we know collectors will appreciate the significance behind our designs as well as the premium hospitality associated with the winning bids."
Campbell-Williams Field NFT Collection—a true UT NFT
Check out this dope project I did for the Campbell-Williams Field NFT Collection!
— Bryson Williams (@artofbryson) September 11, 2021
Titled "Longhorn Legacies" Made in collaboration with @VybHouse and @Rickthelaureate
For more info check out https://t.co/XFr5gDSFta pic.twitter.com/SRCyWsjVqM
As the school's two Heisman Trophy winners, UT football legends Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams made sports history at their times as running backs for the Longhorns football team—and they encouraged others to become part of sports history themselves with a rare collection of 100 NFTs in honor of the renaming of the school's historic football stadium.
In collaboration with UT, Campbell and Williams created the collection a year after the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium was renamed in their honor. The "Campbell-Williams Field NFT Collection" included:
- The Campbell-Williams Experience NFT, which gives its owner two VIP tickets to the 2022 Super Bowl and Williams' Super Bowl 2022 party in Los Angeles,, dinner with Earl Campbell and friends and a 'UT Legend' memorabilia package.
- The ArtofBryson NFT, which included two tickets to The Red River Showdown (UT vs. Oklahoma) on Oct. 9, a Zoom call with both Williams and Campbell, signed cleats from current running back Robinson, and other care package add-ons.
- The Moon Ticket: six NFTs that grants its owners to an out-of-this-world astrology chat with Williams
- And the 100 trading-card style NFTs featuring artwork and both players' digital signatures.
USMNT—and their NFTs—come to Austin
Own a piece of #USAvJAM 🔒
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) October 7, 2021
Fans at @Q2Stadium can download a @PaniniAmerica NFT of our #OnlyForward match poster with a QR code at your seat. pic.twitter.com/J3IuEW1Ykn
As the U.S. Men's National Team headed to Austin's brand-new Q2 Stadium to play Jamaica in October, so did its Only Forward Art Series. This edition of the months-long series featured a poster design from Austin artist Phoebe "Feebee" Joynt.
Joynt incorporated her specialties in graphic design, street art and logo work to create the gameday poster, which was featured around town, at Austin FC's downtown store and online as an NFT.
"I was thrilled to work with FootyCon and U.S. Soccer," FeeBee told the USMNT. "I've always had a passion for soccer after being introduced to the sport by my dad as a young child and I'm so excited to create a piece inspired by the game that also references and is in dialogue with the amazing city of Austin that I call home."
The rare free NFT became available to all fans attending the Oct. 7 World Cup Qualifier as well as via purchase on the NTWRK app the day before the game.
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