Happy New Year Macaroni's!

If you're like me, December was all hustle and bustle and we need some down time before getting back to reality.  

I'm getting some of that, but I'm also ready to venture out and start making memories for 2020.

Check out some #familyfun things to do and start making your January adventure plans.

H-E-B FREE FIRST SUNDAY: STYLISH

BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM

Learn more >> https://bit.ly/2LNuaFy

Enjoy FREE exhibition admission all day and special family activities from 12 to 3 pm! 

Join friends and neighbors to explore three floors of exhibitions, including the new special exhibition Fashion Forward.

Join us from 12-3pm for these special activities:

• Sing and dance along to some stylish beats with Groundwork Music Project. Join in the musical fun and pick up a ukulele and learn to play.
• Design scented sachets and practice sewing with activities for all ages provided by iKids U.
• Explore fashion and design with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.
• Channel your inner designer and use fashion plates to create bold and fashionable looks.
• Listen to stylish stories about standing out in fashion and in life.

22ND ANNUAL AUSTIN HOME & GARDEN SHOW

FRI JAN 10 - SUN JAN 12   https://austinhomeandgardenshow.com/  $8-$10 ADULTS / FREE FOR CHILDREN

Presented by Marketplace Events, the Austin Home & Garden Show is a vibrant marketplace where guests can shop for home-related products and services, experience stunning displays to inspire home projects, connect with industry experts, and enjoy informative presentations from renowned local and international home professionals.

In addition to hundreds of booths to explore and several unique feature displays, the Austin Home & Garden Show features numerous activities for every member of the family. With funky playsets for kids, unique workshops, entertaining TV personalities, and much more, the show is vibrantly designed with fun in mind.

2020 Austin Home & Garden Show highlights include:

Celebrity Appearances by Ty Pennington: Appearance by the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host and carpenter on TLC’s Trading Spaces.

Backyard Cantina: Looking to spruce up your yard a bit or on a grand scale? Visit the Backyard Cantina, enjoy a break from shopping and get the latest trends and ideas for your own backyard.

Container Homes and Garden: Two decorated container homes surrounded by imaginative garden landscaping. Container homes presented by Stackhouse Container Homes. Garden presented by Goodness Grows in Austin.

Tiny Homes: Ever popular, check out two Tiny Homes presented by Arnold Custom Builders. They will sit atop a unique synthetic turf presented by Speir Innovations.

Funky Fun Shops: Visit our ‘show within a show,’ the Funky Fun Shops. Local artisans, craftspeople, and unique boutiques make up this Austin-only shopping experience.

Landscape, Gardening & Outdoor Living: Featuring pools & spas, hardscape & patio ideas, outdoor kitchens, grill & firepits, and landscaping

Home Improvement: Kitchen & baths, flooring & remodeling, windows & doors, home security & technology, lighting solutions, energy solutions, cabinets, organization, and more!

THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN AT LAGUNA GLORIA

SECOND SATURDAYS ARE FOR FAMILIES: TWISTY TOTEMS

SAT JAN 11   11:00AM - 3:00PM  https://thecontemporaryaustin.org/

Squeeze, squish, swirl! Knead different colors together to concoct your own vibrant clay, then mold it into a new kind of creature during this workshop inspired by Cameron Jamie’s towering totem, hidden on the lower grounds of Laguna Gloria.

The Contemporary Austin offers free monthly hands-on art-making activities, recommended for ages 2–11.

Reservations are requested for family art-making workshops; please reserve your spot beginning the 1st of each month.

Music and Puppets with Mrs. Kate

Hosted by Buda Public Library  January 11, 2020 at 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

https://www.facebook.com/events/749770805522690/

It’s showtime at the library! Join singer and puppeteer, Mrs. Kate for a fun family centered program on Saturday, January 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Buda Public Library. Recording artist “Mrs. Kate” Carpenter will be sharing her original folk songs.
All ages are welcome and admission is free.

Mrs. Kate is a national touring children’s performer and a Parents’ Choice award winning songwriter. With puppetry, unusual instruments, and riveting storytelling, Mrs. Kate engages her audience in an unforgettable interactive, character-building experience.

MAGIC TREE HOUSE: SHOWTIME W/ SHAKESPEARE 

SUN JAN 12   1:00PM (DOORS)  https://www.austintheatre.org/

Magic Tree House: Showtime with Shakespeare

From New Jersey Performing Arts Center in association with George Street Playhouse
Best for 1st–5th Grade
A new hip hop musical based on the Magic Tree House adventure, Stage Fright on a Summer Night, by The New York Times best-selling author Mary Pope Osborne. No matter what – the show must go on! That’s what Jack and Annie learn when the Magic Tree House whisks them back to Elizabethan England. There, the daring sibling duo meets William Shakespeare himself—one of the greatest writers of all time! Based on the critically-acclaimed book series by Mary Pope Osborne, this tuneful tale is a hip-hop hit with kids and grown-ups alike. Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series has been translated into 33 languages, has sold more than 135 million copies worldwide and is the No. 1 best-selling chapter book series of all time.

Parent's Night Out with Kidding Around Yoga And Hooping

Kidding Around Yoga And Hooping is hosting 8 "Parent's Night Out" Events taking place this Spring. Make your 2020 Resolution to Treat yourself more often, you guys seriously deserve it!!!

These 8 exciting events take place on:   Saturday, January 18th  - Friday, January 31st - * Friday, February 14th * - Saturday, February 29th - Saturday, March 14th - Friday, March 27th  - Friday, April 10th - Saturday, April 25th

All Info @ http://bit.ly/PNO-Spring2020

THE MLK COMMUNITY FESTIVAL

MON JAN 20  9:00AM

The Annual Community March celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy while uplifting diversity and multi-culturalism in our city. The MLK Community March kicks off on Monday, January 20, 2020 at 9 a.m.with a short program at the MLK Statue on the University of Texas campus.

We will then march to the historic Huston-Tillotson University, where exciting activities are planned. All businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals are invited to march and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy.

MLK COMMUNITY FESTIVAL

The MLK Community Festival kicks off at 11:15am and will last until 3:30 p.m.; it will include all types of vendors and local musical artists to make this year’s celebration the best ever! A vendor application can be downloaded for those interested in purchasing booth space. For questions and information, please contact Carol Wright by email or by telephone at (512) 657-3064.

SUPPORT THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK

This year, we are asking marchers to help by donating can goods or non-perishable food items, which will be donated to the Central Texas Food Bank. Help to give to those in need by helping the Capital Area Food Bank fill their shelves with non-perishable food items. “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Donation receptacles will be available at The University of Texas and the Capitol, while the march is in those locations. Receptacles will also be available at the festival at Huston-Tillotson University.

Please follow these guidelines when considering what to donate:

• Healthy, non-perishable foods
• Items with intact, un-opened, consumer or commercial packaging
• Items with non-breakable packaging (no glass, please)
• Food within the expiration date on the packaging
• Food from your community or backyard garden
• Canned meats like tuna, stew, and chili (pop-tops preferred)
• Canned Vegetables
• Pasta and pasta sauce
• Beans
• Healthy cereals
• Peanut butter

CAPITAL METRO BUS SERVICE INFORMATION

Use Capital Metro’s online trip planner http://www.capmetro.org/planner/ or call the Go-Line at 512-474-1200 for information about routes and schedules.

TEXAS WILDLIFE DAY

SAT JAN 25  9:00AM - 5:00PM  https://tmm.utexas.edu/

Celebrate everything feathered, furred, smooth and scaled at Texas Memorial Museum!

FREE admission and FREE family-friendly activities hosted by UT Austin scientists, TMM science educators, and Texas Master Naturalists.

Museum exhibits open 9 am to 5 pm. Activities run from 10 am until 4 pm.

Scheduled presentations TBA

If you need an accessibility accommodation to participate in this event, please contact TMM Education at least five days before the event. 

WINTER TREE FEST

SAT JAN 25   11:00AM  https://www.wildflower.org/

FREE WITH ADMISSION

Celebrate Texas trees in the Arboretum with family-friendly tree climbing, walks and talks, s’more roasting, fort building, a tree sale and more! Wildflower Center ecologists and arborists will present fun, educational walks and demonstrations under the trees. Young explorers can learn, craft and play all day.

This year’s festivities will be centered around our special Fortlandia exhibition!

The Wildflower Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Winter Tree Fest activities (11 a.m. – 4 p.m.) are all free with admission. Admission is always free for members!

COMMUNITY ART SUNDAY

SUN JAN 26  2:00PM - 5:00PM  https://creativeaction.org/

Join us as we kick off the 2019-20 school year with our environment in mind! Enjoy feature activities and art workshops to illustrate how creativity and art can spark solutions for a better future. Plus: live performances, complimentary food and drinks, community atmosphere and more!

Community Art Sunday is a free, recurring event that builds and engages community through live performances, art workshops, and active learning experiences and fun for all ages. The event series is a collaboration with nonprofit partners, local businesses, schools, and community leaders.

Arts activities include:
Sustainability Storybooth
Eco-Friendly Journal Tracker
Monogram Pocket Folder Reuse
iSpy Sensory Scavenger Hunt
T-Shirt Yarn Creation
DIY Pencil Case

Free coffee, snacks, and beer will also be provided.

Creative Action, 1023 Springdale Road, Building 3