1 2020 AUSTIN TEXAS South Central Texas Area 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION Page 3 II. INFORMATION ON AUSTIN Page 5 III. PROPOSED ATTENDANCE Page 8 IV. PROPOSED EVENT SCHEDULE Page 8 V. HOTEL INFORMATION Page 9 VI. STRENGTH OF THE FELLOWSHIP Page 13 VII. AREA SUPPORT/FUNDRAISING Page 15 VIII. TRANSPORTATION Page 16 IX. PROPOSED CONVENTION CHAIR Page 17 X. PROPOSED BUDGET Page 18 3 INTRODUCTION Welcome to Austin!!! Austin combines that unmistakable laid-back feeling with a vibrant downtown, recreational and cultural activities, and unique shopping. Austin appeals to visitors from every corner of the globe – with cultural events such as SXSW Music Festival, Austin City Limits Festival, plus a variety of film and interactive conferences, an array of dining and food trucks, Formula One racing and ESPN X Games. Everyone visiting Austin these days leaves with something great to say. Austin is considered the Live Music Capital of the World! And for good reason. Austin’s entertainment district is home to more than 250 live music venues from historic honky tonks, jazz clubs, outdoor concerts, festivals and more. Austin has been both filming location and the setting for several major motion pictures, including Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, and Transformers 4. 4 Jimmy Kimmel has hosted his show from Austin for the past two years during the SXSW. It’s the only place that’s been able to lure him from his soundstage to broadcast from somewhere other than his Los Angeles studio. Local celebrities include Matthew McConaughey, Willie Nelson and Richard Linklater, but locals tend to let them be. After all, everyone deserves to eat their breakfast tacos in peace! It’s kind of an unwritten law of the land. Austin’s history dates back to the 1800’s, when pioneers started to settle along the North Bank Colorado River. When the Republic of Texas came to Austin, they admired its beauty and potential for growth, so much so they relocated the capital to Austin. Original name was known as Waterloo and eventually was changed to Austin after one of the Republic of Texas war heroes, Stephen F. Austin. As you walk the streets and surrounding areas, you will be enamored with all the historical implications, from the Congress Bridge to the University of Texas. Not only did it make its way through many hard times, but emerged and blossomed into a place of growth for technology and business, outdoor beauty and activities and a population that loves everything about it. Not only is Austin known for the advancement in entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies, but we can’t forget the amazing cities large support to the music and arts. Music is a huge part of the culture in Austin, and is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World”. Many tourist love the fact they can walk the streets of Austin and find a patio with local artist singing and dancing. SXSW is one of the biggest festivals in the world that opens the local businesses to artist from all over the world. Year upon year Austin City Limits Festival celebrates the music of Texas by featuring Texas Blues, Rock n’ Roll, and Alternative rock. Austin’s entertainment district is home to more than 250 live music venues from historic honky tonks, jazz clubs, outdoor concerts, festivals and more. Austin is one of the most popular cities not only in Texas, but also the 11th in the entire United States. As one of the fastest growing cities in the US, over 900,000 people call Austin and/or Travis County home. As people join the city they will be embraced with the “Keep Austin Weird’ culture. This Keep Austin Weird culture allows for people to enjoy local businesses and local food in the eccentric decorated locations. This growing culture allows for Austin restaurants to continue to create cuisines that will appeal to the tastes of locals and visitors alike. 5 Information of Austin Lady Bird Lake is a major recreation area for the City of Austin. It overlooks the downtown high rises full of Fortune 500 companies, as well as local businesses. Its banks are bounded by the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail that is 10.1 miles long. This trail is known for being able to overlook the banks of Lady Bird Lake, admire Congress Bridge, fireworks on the water, and live music on the banks. You are able to engage in various sports that include kayaking, biking, running, soccer, paddle boarding, and canoeing. Overall this trail is the heart of the activity center for Austinites. Austin has tons of appreciation to the music industry and what it can bring to the community. We lend our parks and businesses to local artists, as well as artists all over the world. Each year, we use the park known as Zilker Park to host festivals, such as Blues on the Greens and Austin City Limits. Blues on the Greens is the largest free concert in Austin that has been going on for the last 23 years. This concert supports local musicians and local vendors by celebrating Jazz, Blue Grass, and Alternative Rock. This music festival invites locals and tourist to bring kids, food, dogs, and layout overlooking the beauty of downtown Austin. Austin City Limits also takes over Zilker Park every fall with over 200,000 people. This festival invites over 130 artists every year for a three-day festival. This celebration of music in the local parks is just one of the reasons Austin is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World”. The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue located along Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas. The Long Center is the permanent home of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera and Ballet Austin, as well hosting other Austin-area performing arts organizations. What makes this location so special is not only the amount of performances it welcomes, but also the implications of community. This performance art center was built by the community for the community. It opens up to community groups ranging from flash mobs, races, weddings, and even boot camps. This location is often known as one of the best views in Austin, so Many locals even use the space as a place to just admire the beauty of the Austin skyline. 6 The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is a historical part of Austin that overlooks the Colorado River Banks. This bridge was built in the early 19th century and was known as the Congress Avenue Bridge. In 2006, this bridge was renamed in honor of the late Ann W. Richards, the 45th governor of Texas. This bridge is the home to North America's largest urban colony of Mexican Free-tailed Bats, with a summer population of 1.5 million bats. At dusk, from March to September, Austinites and tourists line the bridge to watch the dramatic sight of the bats streaming out in their nightly quest for insects. This celebration of bats has even led to the attraction of over 100,000 people annually, and has led to huge conservation efforts with the Texas Department of Transportation to keep the bats safe and making bridges all over Texas habitable. Barton Springs Pool is a man-made recreational swimming pool located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The pool exists in the channel of Barton Creek and is filled by water from Main Barton Spring, the fourth largest spring in Texas. This natural spring is a three-acre pool ranging from 1-18 feet in depth. The pool is a popular venue for year-round swimming, as its temperature maintains a narrow range from about 68 °F (20 °C) in the winter to about 71.6 °F (22.0 °C) in the summer. This spring habitats the Barton Springs Salamander and is known as the federally protected habitat. This natural spring has dated back to the 1970’s and has reached 800,000 guest annually. The Zilker Botanical Garden (31 acres) is a botanical garden of varied topography located on the south bank of the Colorado River at 2220 Barton Springs Road, near downtown Austin, Texas, USA. This non-profit organization called Austin Area Garden Center was established in the 1950’s in effort to educate and promote gardening to all ages. This garden promotes education to young students and focus on teaching young kids the importance of gardening and agriculture. The beauty that has been put into these gardens has led to half a million tourist every year. This Garden is made up of 30 different garden clubs and around 2000 members. This collaboration allows many different locals to continue to bring beauty and education to the city. 7 Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a unidirectional, grade 1 FIA specification 3.427-mile (5.515 km) motor racing facility located in Elroy, on the southeastern periphery of Austin city limits, in Central Texas. COTA plays host to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, Motorcycle Grand Prix of The Americas, Red Fest, X-Games, and many concerts year round. The location is not only known for the challenging racetrack, but also the Austin360 amphitheater. The amphitheater is where some of the largest world acts have performed year round. When the racetrack was built they could not help but to notice the beauty of the Austin hill country in the skyline, and in honor of that they built a legendary 25 story observation tower. The Texas State Capital is by far the most important part of the historical context of this city.