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Christmas is now eight days away, so if you're not feeling jolly yet, attending a holiday event might be the cure you need to rid any Grinch-like emotions.
Although 2020 has meant coming up with new traditions, beloved events around town are still happening in a safe and unique fashion.
Here are nine holiday events happening throughout town:
The Nutcracker: Home for the Holidays
A cherished pastime for many families, the Austin Ballet Nutcracker will be held virtually this year. The beloved tradition is available as a digital film through on-demand viewing with a donation to the Austin Ballet, starting at $30 for a nine day viewing. Other donation options include an exclusive access alternative for a $100 donation, with three weeks on-demand viewing of the film, extra bonus material and fun virtual events. The last option available is a VIP exclusive access for a $250 donation, which includes another exclusive access ticket that can be gifted, plus all the benefits.
This year, don't miss out on the magical tale and battle against the evil mouse king, instead get the family together with snacks and blankets and watch the special Christmas event comfortably from home. More information on the event can be found here.
Trail of Lights
The 56th annual Trail of Lights transitioned to a drive-thru experience this year to provide a COVID-19 safe experience. The Austin tradition will illuminate the city with over 2 million lights at Zilker Park until Jan. 3.
General admission tickets range from $25-$35 per vehicle, depending on entry time. Guests can also purchase a dash pass on selected dates for $60 per vehicle, including a box of holiday cookies, an ATX Lights Saving Card and early entry between 5:45-7 p.m. Tickets and more information on the Austin Trail of Lights can be found here.
The SoCo Stroll
Music Lane and the South Congress Avenue Shopping District are celebrating Christmas this year with a new tradition: The Soco Stroll. The event will last until the end of the month and is a self-guided walking tour of Music Lane and South Congress Avenue featuring lighted window displays, local shops, food and beverages, live music and more.
The event is completely free and masks are encouraged, so wear your favorite coat and strut around town to this new holiday tradition. More information on the SoCo Stroll can be found here.
Pop! A Rockin' Holiday Concert
Zach Theatre will host an hour long holiday concert with performances from Chanel, Kenny Williams, Daniel Rowan, Leslie McDonael, Roderick Sanford, Jessica O'Brien and Judy R. Arnold.
The event will be held outside of the Topfer theater with socially distant seating. Pods can be reserved for two to six people and tickets range from $92-$383 depending on seat location. Guests can enjoy performances of holiday classics while enjoying drinks available at their outdoor bar. Tickets and more information on Pop! A Rockin' Holiday Concert can be found here.
Peppermint Parkway
Peppermint Parkway is hosting its first holiday drive-thru experience at Circuit of the Americas. With millions of lights and a carnival, Peppermint Parkway is the perfect event for people of all ages. After driving through the light show, COTA will also host Peppermint Plaza, where guests can enjoy the COTALAND Kiddie Amusement Park with a ferris wheel, games, trains, food and a meet and greet with Pepper and Mint, the Peppermint Parkway mascots. Tickets are $35 per vehicle for standard admission. Guests can also purchase three different types of upgraded tickets ranging from $60-$90 per vehicle. Tickets and more information on Peppermint Parkway can be found here.
Downtown Holiday Stroll
The 26th annual Downtown Holiday Stroll is returning for a month-long celebration with free activities throughout downtown. The stroll is back for 2020 as a safe and socially-distance experience, including family-friendly activities, window displays, photo-ops, live music, holiday shopping and appearances from beloved Santa and Mrs. Claus until Dec. 31.
Holiday strollers can pick up a downtown holiday passport filled with deals, discounts and activities for the whole month from any participating business or can print one at home. More information on the Downtown Holiday Stroll can be found here.
Luminations at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Stroll through Luminations at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to view the botanical oasis covered in thousands of sparkling lights. The event is a one-way one-mile path through the Texas Arboretum, with select structures of Fortlandia and audio and visual art installations.
The event, taking place until Jan. 3, is taking reservations and operating at a limited capacity to ensure a safe experience. Tickets are $18 for ages over 18, $10 for ages five-seven and free for children under the age of four. More information on the Luminations at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center can be found here.
Mozart's Light Show
Mozart's Coffee Roasters are continuing their tradition with Mozart's Light Show, featuring shining light displays, live music, beverages and treats. Every show will have a live music experience, varying in musical guests. Mozart's At Your Table trays can also be preordered featuring bottomless hot chocolate and coffee, fresh-baked brownies and cookies and giant cinnamon sugar and salt pretzels.
Table reservations start at $10 per table and are available for parties of up to six people. Mozart's will be spacing tables six feet apart to ensure guest safety. Tickets and more information on Mozart's Light Show can be found here.
Christmas themed trivia nights at Pluckers Wing Bar
Melissa Skorpil
Pluckers Wing Bar is hosting two virtual Christmas themed trivia nights to kick off the holiday season. The first game night hosted by Pluckers will be a Christmas themed family trivia night held on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Dec. 20. The kid-friendly game night will have three rounds of Christmas themed trivia and fun physical challenges for the whole family.
If you're looking for a trivia night to compete with all your friends, Pluckers is hosting its second trivia night for teams on Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Round up a team of your friends to answer 10 questions in different categories. Guests will also receive a free menu item on their next order at Pluckers. You can register to participate here.
This is part of a holiday series counting down to Christmas, so make sure to visit Austonia tomorrow, as we reach seven days until Christmas.
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Popular
UT is developing technology targeted at power, steel, cement and other industrial plants to lower emissions. (UT Austin)
The ruling was brought after a challenge to a lower court opinion brought by Texas and more than a dozen other states.
Vaibhav Bahadur, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin called the SCOTUS decision significant, noting that Texas is the biggest energy producer in the U.S., and produces more energy than the United Kingdom.
“Power generation accounts for a significant fraction of U.S. carbon emissions, and the EPA loses its ability to control what's happening in about half of that sector,” Bahadur said. “And it's not just the U.S., I think people and environmentalists on pretty much anywhere on the planet will be disappointed because this is going in the wrong direction. We know we want to be decarbonizing, and this is essentially putting a roadblock on progress toward decarbonization.”
So, we’re going to need some insurance, Bahadur says. He’s carrying out work that’ll act as such through his research on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), the process of sucking carbon from the air and burying it.
For the past five years, he’s been working on a novel approach to storing carbon. It involves supercharging the formation of carbon dioxide-based crystal structures and storing billions of tons of carbon under the ocean floor.
“If all of this is successful, then we will have another option for safely and responsibly storing carbon at the bottom of the seabed for essentially eternity,” Bahadur said.
Still, Bahadur talked about a different approach to responsibly cutting down emissions in the next decade, and doing so in a meaningful and substantial way, then the environment will eventually heal itself and we might not need CCS.
But that’s not the path we’re headed down.
“We're already starting to see temperature records being shattered this year, and we're still to hit peak summer,” Bahadur said. “All of this just makes me think that we need CCS to a larger extent, and possibly sooner than what a lot of scientists anticipate, especially if we can't keep our emissions in check.”
Gary Rochelle, a professor in the department of chemical engineering at UT, thinks CCS was ready to be deployed in 2010 and those 12 years have made a difference.
“But now we've emitted all that CO2,” Rochelle said. “And unfortunately, unlike other pollutants, when you emit CO2, it's there. It's not going away.”
Gary Rochelle and Vaibhav Bahadur are both researching technology to address carbon emissions. (UT)
Still, the delay is good in that now researchers like him have had time to learn about and improve the technology, allowing for fewer problems once it's deployed.
In December, UT announced a licensing agreement with advanced technology company Honeywell. The technology from that is targeted at power, steel, cement and other industrial plants to lower emissions.
Rochelle has been working on the technology since 2000 as part of an international collaborative effort. When he talked to Austonia on Thursday, he had just had calls with collaborators in Germany and Norway. Currently, he’s working with some Ph.D. students on addressing a chemical reaction that can happen with the technology known as oxidation that could lead to ammonia emissions and cause problems for a large-scale commercial unit.
Rochelle says he’s driven to this work because he wants to make a contribution.
“We're trying to develop this technology so that we can make a difference,” Rochelle said. “It's a nice problem to work on. The students are motivated and those are the primary things which drive us.”
Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the high court’s decision which acted as a blow to President Joe Biden’s plan to reduce emissions.
“Today’s landmark victory against an out-of-control administration is also a big win for Americans who worry about skyrocketing energy costs due to expensive federal regulations that threaten our energy industry,” Abbott said. “President Biden cannot keep attacking the energy industry and the hardworking men and women who power our nation.”
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