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Austin's food scene going above and beyond the restaurant doors, as Season 18 of Bravo's "Top Chef" welcomes three Texas chefs—all of whom have cooked in Austin—to the kitchen.
The new season, set to air on April 1, takes place in Portland, Oregon. The competition will pit 15 chefs from all over the country against each other for the crown, with a 20% chance of a Texan taking home the gold.
So what does Texas have to offer?
The only current Austinite on the list, former Comedor executive chef Gabe Erales was let go from the Mexican restaurant for "repeated violations of (restaurant) policies and for behavior in conflict with our values" in December. Erales was with the restaurant since it opened in April 2019, winning "Best New Restaurant" from Texas Monthly, Esquire Magazine and Austin Monthly while under his direction.
A native of El Paso, Erales said he has been heavily influenced by his family's Mexican heritage and draws inspiration from having worked in both Mexico City, Mexico and Copenhagen, Denmark, in his Top Chef bio.
Erales has worked all over Austin, from Dai Due Taqueria (closed due to the pandemic), Fonda San Miguel, La Condesa, and Geraldine's. More recently, he is working on a new restaurant concept that he "hopes to announce soon."
Though Dawn Burrell no longer calls Austin home, the now-Houston chef is a jack of all trades. Outside competing for the USA's Track & Field team during the Summer 2000 Olympics, Burrell is a 2020 James Beard semi-finalist and has worked for major chefs like Monica Pope and Tom Aiken.
Burrell hopped from Houston's Uchi before moving to Austin's hugely popular Uchiko as a sous chef. Burrell now leads the kitchen at Houston restaurant Kulture, but she has since announced her next stage is working on a new restaurant dedicated to "Afro-Asian flavors" alongside Lucille's chef-owner Chris Williams.
Prior to serving food at Rosalie Italian Soul in Houston, Sasha Grumman spent a year in Austin as the chef de cuisine at Launderette, a gourmet New American restaurant converted from a laundromat-gas station.
Grumman recently started a focaccia, or Italian bread, business that she hopes to take national.
Season 18 will welcome back judges Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, along with a host of Top Chef alumni, who will watch the chefs compete through 15 weeks of challenges.
The new season will celebrate food in Portland, even including a cameo from "Portlandia" stars Fred Amisen and Carrie Brownstein, and challenge chefs to feed frontline workers, perfect their surf and turf and create Portland-famous Pan-African cuisine.
More on TV:
"Walker" reboot renewed for season 2
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As Texas gets ready to lift the mandatory mask mandate on March 10, food and bar workers gathered at the Texas Capitol to express their frustration with the lack of COVID-19 precautions without adequate access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The event, which began at 1 p.m. on Monday, was hosted by the Austin chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, Restaurant Organizing Project and The Amplified Sound Coalition.<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDI1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTM1NzQyNX0.kZm8_GzGX3Qi335F3RhpfX8CwAqMmczdyJ44XtpkIwM/img.jpg?width=980" id="4d92f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="45abac48ca2a02a7496163ef4ce6c5c6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="4737" data-height="3158" /><p>Gina Dvorak and another Restaurant Organizing Project member set up by putting up a sign which reads, "We Won't Die to Serve You. 70% before 100%." Organizers of the protest believe that the population should be at least 70% vaccinated before opening Texas 100% back up.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDQ0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDAwMDg1MX0.lDRLp6vr4XAGhhx9IjlL5ONLJsq1ltnIdgsItzvy-eU/img.jpg?width=980" id="a8528" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="24bdbda5c4017143ef8302119de2eae5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3840" data-height="5760" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>Crystal Maher, a member of the Restaurant Organizing Project, stands in front of the Texas Capitol to express to other protesters in attendance how not being eligible for a vaccine has impacted her ability to safely keep her job. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMTE2NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDE4MDM2NX0.KxAr79cvXkVSSbi8-FMriy0x11ToNjGNf1gttgq6E0g/img.jpg?width=980" id="f3635" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4e86893fa7849da59e82b77e23c838e8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="5760" data-height="3840" /><p>The event hosted around 50 people, most of whom are also restaurant and bar workers facing the difficulties of working during the pandemic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDM4Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTM3MDEyMH0.J0d9HRXK-PEmIT1L0UB4FxkFzypA3anwcTq_WcQUByU/img.jpg?width=980" id="77272" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc7c7afb2ac88d9e730ff91e166f89bb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3349" data-height="5024" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>Kiara Collins, Eric Santos and Taylor Escamilla are all essential workers who have been questioning their safety in their workplace. As many of the other protesters, the three wore masks with the word "Expendable" on it. According to Collins, they were only given to essential workers in attendance to represent how they have been treated since the onset of COVID-19.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDMxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjYxMTYwMX0.5OmQtESOyMh_hx8qyl55k9vcaPcuFBXudw-6_2vAB_4/img.jpg?width=980" id="1a2c6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bdde8aac925c6c89d5ce79cb10f26ab4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="5095" data-height="3021" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>As Maher continues to introduce speakers, two essential workers who came out to support the protest, record as counter-protesters heckled the event's speakers.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDM2Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjI2MDY2NH0.MwKHpHdzUevFBE09qK_yCm5xk2aNrf6SX2Zj1eKS948/img.jpg?width=980" id="b4350" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="99a92fd7915410a88e2e01c29b287edf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="5714" data-height="3809" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>Some of the counter-protesters in attendance were live streamers from InfoWars, an extremist organization, who heckled speakers until the rally dispersed. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDM5My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MjMxMDE3M30.t-cdYkJtR4sQNjXKw6NdQ2W0hHifpYdmzIVqM3IlWDE/img.jpg?width=980" id="a2105" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f2709791eb6720d66a1e562cbfec0df0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3379" data-height="5086" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>A representative of the Del Valle Community Coalition spoke about the impact the lack of vaccine access has had on the Del Valle area. As she attempted to give her speech, anti-masking protesters yelled at her causing many people to attempt to block them out.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDM5OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MjU1ODk3Mn0.KoB4NEKoXVrmE1I6c-xMmgo8wjF-reNi9-cSgVjed_U/img.jpg?width=980" id="cb146" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c5a5447baec810f009a062bb848995e3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3543" data-height="2362" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>Protesters blocked the way of anti-mask counter protesters as they heckled the event's speakers and held "My Body My Choice" signs. "It's kind of insane how they're using 'my body, my choice.' It doesn't only affect you. So it's not just your body," Taylor Escamilla said.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDQwNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjE1NTMyMn0.EYmzHcak3jKguwF9kmCeSCTvJCPQ2QUi9YGPdmZXRdI/img.jpg?width=980" id="cfd4f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="565902a3fe450bfb34f948ca75fe56f2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3840" data-height="5760" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>Jeanette Gregor, cofounder of Amplified Sound Coalition, also had to fend off counter-protesters as she gave an impassioned speech about the danger essential workers place themselves in by going to work and have yet to qualify for COVID-19 vaccine. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgwMDQxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzEzNzcxMX0.WyLkHPUVQY7jQ9AsdG8l8GgLbMr8ro1-RQ07zAWAidc/img.jpg?width=980" id="543e1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ab63a3d6dc6a016d5bdc863a8501ea6e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="5323" data-height="3549" />
Christa McWhirter
<p>Around 2 p.m., State Troopers began to arrive at the Capitol amid heightening tensions from protesters and counter-protesters. As police presence began to increase, the event came to end about 15 minutes later. Despite the constant back and forth between sides and the arrival of law enforcement, the protest came to end peacefully.</p>
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Stacey Abrams spoke during the 2019 SXSW festival. This year, she's a keynote speaker in the festival's virtual event. (Danny Matson/Getty Images for SXSW)
The world has changed drastically over the past year, and South by Southwest, one of Austin's most beloved institutions, has, too.
After being abruptly canceled by the city last year, one week before it was set to kick-off due to the increasing understanding of the potential impact of COVID-19, it returns this year in a virtual format March 16-20.
<p>The festival, which for more than 30 years has drawn visitors from across the globe to Austin every March, will this year put an even greater focus on the changing world around us, with themes that touch on everything from cultural resilience in the arts to finding connection in a virtual world, said SXSW Chief Programming Officer Hugh Forrest.</p><p>Additionally, the festival will spotlight ways to create both immediate and lasting progress in areas such as racial injustice, poverty, nationalism and the climate crisis amid a global pandemic, Forrest said. Keynote speakers include Austin's musical icon Willie Nelson, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg; and political activist and bestselling author Stacey Abrams.</p><p>"Strangely, amazingly, in 30 years of SXSW, Willie Nelson has never spoken at SXSW. This is his first time ever," Forrest said. "If there's anyone who is the spiritual leader of Austin culture, of the Austin vibe, of the thing that's making everyone in the world try to move to Austin, that is Willie Nelson. I'm so, so excited he's a part of this year's event."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0ODM2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODI5NTE0N30.w9pAekhL2fSWbPNC94pGxRF_Cim3vWV8tpr-wDRAuL0/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d499c68273cdedb721d095b1368d0a31" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="10a1f" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0ODM2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODI5NTE0N30.w9pAekhL2fSWbPNC94pGxRF_Cim3vWV8tpr-wDRAuL0/img.jpg?width=980"/></a>
</p><p>Austonia checked in with Forrest about highlights of this year's festival, lessons learned over the past year and what the festival might look like going forward. Below are edited excerpts from that interview.<br/></p><p><strong>First things first, how are you doing?</strong></p><p>Let's not do another one of these years anytime soon, right? It has been a challenging year for everybody in Austin and Texas and the U.S. and the world. Personally, I've worked at SXSW for 30-plus years and this feels like it's been the most challenging year I've ever done this.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="400" data-rm-shortcode-id="effea26f488b3bc29ea699fbf925c1da" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5NTk0MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDYzMzMyOX0.PAN7hpfNEUK7zz5dCMPXFV8fVz1LZ5AdCNaApmn1BBc/img.png?width=980" data-width="400" id="4c888" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">SXSW Chief Programming Officer Hugh Forrest (Hugh Forrest/Twitter)</small></p><p><br/></p><p><strong>Last year, the city decided to cancel SXSW on March 6. What was that like?</strong></p><p>We were one of the first big events in the U.S. to be canceled because of COVID. At the time when it was canceled there were people who were like, 'Do we really need to cancel this?' A month, two months, three months later? It was absolutely the right call to make, and thank goodness the city had the foresight to do that.</p><p>You all had spent 10 months planning for SXSW 2020. How did the cancelation impact SXSW staff personally?</p><p>It was heartbreaking to have the event canceled. (Under normal circumstances) it's a really hard slog of 10 months but you're always rewarded when spring comes and all these people come to Austin and it's a heck of a lot of fun and it makes all the hard work worthwhile. That didn't happen this year. That was challenging. We had to layoff some of the staff, and that absolutely sucked. It was a difficult spring.</p><p><strong>How did you plan for the 2021 event with so much in flux in the world?</strong></p><p>That was challenging also because to the extent that we can recall where our mindset was in March, April and May last year, it seemed like this thing was going to be over in a few months and we'd be back to normal. We were kind of planning two or three different scenarios at once, whether 2021 will be an in-person event like we've always done, or wait, maybe it'll be somewhat in person, somewhat online, or wait, maybe it'll have to be fully online. By early fall, mid-fall it became pretty apparent we weren't going to be able to do any kind of in-person experience.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1960" data-rm-shortcode-id="ecbc31c4c527db55218bbd76937ee1c7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5NTk1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTg2MjAxM30.EJsbeP_4FLliWPSrQvhYHhv2VuZ_meQnATnS0jFyk1I/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="3483" id="55c20" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">A normal year of SXSW brings in thousands from all over the world.(Aaron Rogosin/SXSW)</small></p><p><br/></p><p><strong>What were the primary challenges with planning a virtual event?</strong></p><p>One of the things from a planning standpoint and an execution standpoint that has made this year's event so much more difficult is that we have 30 years of experience producing a live event. We've gotten a little better every year and of course in 30 years that equates to a lot of improvement. We've never done a virtual event before, so there's no playbook to look at. It's just a completely different scenario and very, very challenging.</p><p><strong>The March timing of SXSW meant it was deeply impacted by the pandemic two years in a row, first with a cancellation and second with a virtual event.</strong> <strong>With the ACL festival and University of Texas football announcing that they plan to have in-person events come fall, is that frustrating for you at all?</strong></p><p>Is it hard to take? Yes. Is there any alternative? Not really. When dealt with lemons try to make lemonade. I think for as challenging as this year has been, meaning planning for SXSW 2021, we've put together a pretty phenomenal program. It's going to be a different program than what you would experience in person but in many ways, it's not different. SXSW has always focused on massive creativity. People are doing incredibly innovative things, have ideas about the best new technologies, the best new music, the best new films. That's what we're doing again is bringing together very, very creative people and trying to inspire our audience, because inspiration is more important than ever in 2021.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="379" data-rm-shortcode-id="3c471cf05ddf1160d2b6f80fe3cd9521" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5NTk3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTk4NTg3OX0.uYYYt3tK691l1GwTifk6BJ1eq4aOfzBlD7Ug6WkjcRQ/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="674" id="71b49" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">SXSW 2021 Online XR. (SXSW)</small></p><p><br/></p><p><strong>From the pandemic to the Black Lives Matter movement to the election, 2020 was a year like no other. How did the events of the past year impact this year's programming?</strong></p><p>The one-word answer is immensely. I think the 2021 program is very, very reflective of everything we've seen over the last 12 months, be it COVID and COVID recovery or the Black Lives Matters protests and how a lot of us are trying to become more DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) focused individually and as companies. Also, the divided scenarios that we saw on Election Day and thereafter and, even if you want to go back two weeks ago in Austin, the huge storm being likely a feature of climate change. We've got a lot of climate change content at this year's event.</p><p><strong>What doors has having a virtual event opened in terms of programming?</strong></p><p>The fact of being a virtual event where speakers participate by being on a Zoom call has given us the opportunity to pull in speakers that we've always wanted to have at SXSW but it's never quite worked. One of the best examples there is (businessman, investor and author) Sir Richard Branson, who is speaking on a session about how business leaders should be against the death penalty. It's a fascinating session, he's very committed to this cause and also committed to this idea that businesses need to get more involved in social issues. We've been trying to get him to Austin in the spring for at least the last five years and it never worked out and this year it did from a virtual standpoint.</p><p><strong>What should people expect from the virtual SXSW experience?</strong></p><p>One of the neatest things about the virtual event is in some ways people will be able to experience the convergence of different industries that SXSW always executes in an even more robust way. You'll be able to do a film screening and then go to a panel about food and then go to a music showcase and then a comedy thing, all in the space of 90 minutes and all from the convenience of your laptop or your connected device.</p><p><strong>Do you have any attendance projections?</strong></p><p>One of the features that I'm always proud and excited about for SXSW is it brings so many international people to Austin. In recent years in fact, about 25% of our paid registrants were from outside of the U.S. That number has gone up even more with the virtual event.</p><p><strong>What's your hope for SXSW 2022?</strong></p><p>I think, I believe, I hope that we'll be back to an in-person, real-world event in 2022, but I think what we will have learned doing the virtual event this year will be a huge help. The pandemic has impacted every business and the pandemic has forced every business to evolve and change and grow and reevolve very quickly and do 10 years of evolution in the space of a year. The event business is no different than that. When we come back in 2022, we'll have a hybrid approach where people who can travel to Austin and experience SXSW can experience the event that way. People who simply want to experience the event from the convenience of their computer will be able to experience the event that way also.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="2239" data-rm-shortcode-id="0cb04d272f82cdef807054668ddc234e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5NjAzMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzMzOTQxN30.NaJoefmYow6j1puywschT3Cw40oUAaandWNqLudFmg4/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="3359" id="179a8" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(David Brendan Hall)</small></p><p><br/></p><p><strong>Any final thoughts on this year's event?</strong></p><p>On the one hand, it's a very different year because it's virtual and that has produced huge challenges, but on the other hand, it's the same SXSW we've been doing for 30-plus years where we're trying to emphasize, showcase, celebrate, propagate massive creativity in all different industries, bring very creative people together and see what kind of connections and new ideas come when you bring those people together. That's been the formula for what has made SXSW so special in the past and I think it will also make SXSW very special in 2021 and thank goodness in 2022, knock on wood, we'll be back to being able to do it in person and in real life.</p><p><strong><em>IF YOU GO</em></strong></p><p>SXSW's 2021 iteration, SXSW Online, will be held virtually March 16-20. Passes are $325 and include access to all aspects of the festival, including conference keynotes and featured speakers, film festival premieres and screenings, music festival showcases and events, comedy festival showcases and online exhibitions. After the festival ends, much of the content will remain available for passholders to view through the end of March. Learn more <a href="https://www.sxsw.com/attend." target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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(Austin Public Health/Twitter)
Austin Public Health will release first dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments on a weekly basis starting Monday evening. The specific days and number of appointments made available will depend on the weekly allocation from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Previously, APH released first dose appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
<p>The department is making this change in part due to feedback from residents, many of whom have <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-covid-19-vaccine-waitlists" target="_blank">reported difficulty</a> navigating the city's pre-registration system. "It's an evolving system," APH Assistant Director Cassandra DeLeon said during a Friday press conference. </p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We have listened to feedback on 1st dose scheduling process & have made changes.<br/><br/>Starting today (3/8), we'll conduct a weekly release for 1st dose appts. on Monday evenings for the entire week. Should more become available later in the week, we'll release on Thursday evenings. <a href="https://t.co/nDPPGQufJq">pic.twitter.com/nDPPGQufJq</a><br/>— Austin Public Health (@AusPublicHealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/AusPublicHealth/status/1368955364658515969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>Depending on inventory, unplanned vaccine shipments and no-show rates, APH may release additional vaccine appointments on Thursday evenings. The bulk of vaccine appointments will be made available on Mondays. <br/></p><p>APH made thousands of vaccine appointments available outside of its typical first-dose release schedule last week after staff caught up on the appointment backlog caused by recent winter storms more quickly than expected. </p><p>The department also implemented a queuing system in late February. When first dose appointments become available for scheduling, registrants are added to a queue and receive an estimate wait time until they are at the front of the line; at that point, they will have 10 minutes to make an appointment. </p><p>APH provided the following tips for hopeful vaccine recipients:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Appointments are only available to those in the eligible groups. If you are unable to get into the queuing system, you are not currently eligible.</li><li>When it is your turn to make an appointment, the registration site may take you to the log in screen. If this happens, it does not mean you have lost your spot; you should log in and continue to schedule. </li><li>If you get stuck clicking "Next" when trying to make an appointment, it means too many people are choosing that time slot. Click on the home icon in the upper left corner and click "Schedule, Reschedule, Cancel at FIRST Dose Vaccine" to find a new time slot. Do not click the back button on your browser.</li><li>Enable all cookies when in the queue, which APH says will help hold your place in line if you are logged out. </li></ul><p>Despite being a designated hub provider, APH continues to field much more demand for vaccine appointments than its available supply. Around 218,000 eligible people were registered on the department's waitlist, Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said Friday. With a weekly shipment of 12,000 first doses allocated by the state, the department is only about to vaccinate around 5.5% of those eligible registrants each week. </p><p>Supply is improving, however. The FDA recently granted an emergency use authorization to Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine, which quickly translated into larger allocations for the state—and Travis County, in turn. With more local providers now receiving shipments of the vaccine, APH encourages eligible residents to regularly check appointment availability at their pharmacy and doctor's offices. </p>
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