It s (nearly) time for the show. AFS Cinema is getting ready to reopen, and Austin Film Society has launched a Kickstarter to get the two-screen theatre glowing again. (Photo by David Brendan Hall)
AFS Cinema, one of the gems of Austin s film scene, is coming back, and Austin Film Society has launched a special fundraiser to get the projector shining and the screen glowing once more.
The cinema closed at the beginning of the pandemic: in the interim AFS has launched its AFS at Home virtual cinema streaming platform, as well as running drive-in screenings for special events like the Sundance Film Festival. However, with vaccination rates rising and audiences coming back to the theatre, the plan is to reopen the physical two-screen cinema at 6406 N. I-35 later this summer.
Despite lengthy discussion last year,
Austin City Council did not allocate exclusive funding from the first federal stimulus, the
CARES package, for local music venues. New COVID-19 relief from Washington incoming, Austin s music entities begin to queue up.
Music Makes Austin and the
Austin Music Commission submitted budget proposals to the city earlier this month.
Both request over $20 million to support Austin s music economy from the federal
American Rescue Plan and
Cody Cowan, who also leads the
Red River Cultural District association, said that the MMA and AMC requests aligned coincidentally. Alongside disaster assistance, both plans also mention release of the long-discussed
A selection of dishes from Mongers Market + Kitchen (Photo by John Anderson)
It s the calm before the storm – that is, the uncharacteristic period of quiet between lunch and dinner – and a fishmonger is prepping for service behind the polished white tile counter at Mongers Market + Kitchen. He turns away from fileting to greet a regular by name and launches into an explanation of a few market offerings: glistening filets of black sea bass from Virginia, beautiful Barnegat scallops, plump head-on white Gulf shrimp.
This past summer, Mongers relocated to the Hyde Park space formerly occupied by Vino Vino, allowing them to double their retail offerings. Now, true to its name, the space is just as much market as it is kitchen. The selection is still modest compared to the seafood department of any grocery store – and chef/owner Shane Stark plans to keep it that way.
Art by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images (Photos by David Brendan Hall and John Anderson)
At their April 20 work session, the members of the Austin City Council certainly sounded thankful for the recommendations the City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force had just laid at their feet. Vanessa Fuentes expressed her gratitude. Ann Kitchen promised to study the recommendations. Alison Alter praised the task force members for pouring themselves into the work.
Those whom they d praised – the community activists the task force comprises – were quite untouched. With the three-hour meeting wrapping up, they wanted to know where they stood. It s imperative that we see the city manager s office, staff, council, and the city as a whole make a public commitment, said Monica Guzmán of Go Austin/Vamos Austin.