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Community Corner

🌱 Barton Springs Pool Honors Joan Khabele + Comedy Festival In Austin

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Austin.

Gabriela Cantu Couvillion's profile picture
Gabriela Cantu Couvillion, Neighbor
(Patch Media)

Hey, people of Austin! Gabriela Couvillion here with a fresh issue of the Austin Daily.

First, today's weather:

Sunny and pleasant. High: 84 Low: 52.

Here are the top stories in Austin today:

  1. The Barton Springs Pool in Austin will honor the life of Joan Means Khabele with a Ceremonial Moment of Silence & Splash this weekend. Khabele was an activist and scholar from Austin whose "courageous act of swimming in Barton Springs to protest segregation at the pool sparked the civil rights era swim-ins that eventually led to the desegregation of Barton Springs." The event will be held on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m.-Noon with free pool entry before Noon and "free valet parking from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m." Please note that there will be a swim pause from 10-11 a.m. The event will feature "a proclamation, speakers, and a water blessing ceremony" and "the PBS documentary featuring Khabele talking about her swim at Barton Springs will also be screened at the pool." In addition, "there will be listening booths set up for community members to share oral histories and personal experiences regarding race and Barton Springs" and "the oral histories will become part of an exhibit, virtual and physical, that will be featured on-site at the Beverly S. Sheffield Education Center." For more details on the life of Joan Means Khabele please visit: (FOX 7 Austin)
  2. The Roy Kizer Golf Course in Austin will be experiencing "a full greens renovation...in order to return the surfaces to the proper United States Golf Association greens specifications." During that time, the golf course will be closed from Monday, April 11 to Monday, Aug. 1. Depending on the weather, the renovation will be completed "in two phases with a full closure on April 11, 2022, and an anticipated re-opening on August 1, 2022." For more details visit: (AustinTexas.gov)
  3. Two comedy institutions, Just For Laughs and Moontower Comedy Festival, have teamed up to create the Moontower Just For Laughs Austin comedy festival, which will take place from April 13-24 "at various venues across downtown Austin." Originally the festival was held for 4 days, but now it will be for 10 days and there will be more "specialty programming" with shows
    "across 10 venues with the Paramount and Stateside hosting more than 20 headlining shows." For more on the festival, as well as a video with details on the event, please visit: (FOX 7 Austin)

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Today in Austin:

  • "MotoAmerica Superbikes at Texas at 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd. Single day passes are $42. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit http://circuitoftheamericas.com/motogp/tickets." (8 a.m.)
  • "Receive a Free Car Wash When You Donate Blood at We Are Blood. Due to COVID-19, face coverings and appointments are mandatory to donate. Schedule an appointment online today or by calling 512-206-1266. For locations and hours and appointments, visit https://weareblood.org/donate-blood/donation-locations/." (9 a.m.)
  • "Betty Buzz is celebrating Spec's Wine & Spirits 60th birthday celebration with a massive tasting event in over 90 stores in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and more! The tastings are open to the public and no sign-up is required! Guests will have the opportunity to try flights of Betty Buzz's American-made sparkling non-alcoholic mixers in-store and take their favorite flavors home, all while celebrating Spec's, Texas' favorite family-owned wine and spirits' store. For Spec's store locations, please visit (specsonline.com), but make sure to contact the venue before going to make sure there are no changes or cancellations." (4 p.m.)
  • Ballet Folklorico Guerrero Workshop at Austin High School. (6 p.m.)
  • "Roast Battle with Brian Moses at Vulcan Gas Company. More information at https://www.eventvesta.com/events/14564/t/tickets." (8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • The Austin Independent School District wants to recognize and congratulate Kari Johnston from Perez Elementary for being the South Elementary Teacher of the Year finalist! Kari has worked in Austin ISD for 4.5 years and is a dual language fifth-grade teacher. She has said, 'I believe that my role as a bilingual educator is both to teach objectives and sustain the culture and language of my students through a curriculum that is representative of their lived experiences.' For more details visit Austin ISD." (Facebook)
  • The Austin Independent School District is excited to recognize and congratulate Tatiana Antonio from Clifton Career Development Center as the High School Teacher of the Year finalist! Tatiana has worked in Austin ISD for 14 years and is currently a Culinary Arts teacher. She has stated, 'Seeing their (her students) eyes open to new opportunities and adventures has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.' For more details visit Austin ISD." (Facebook)
  • The Austin Independent School District is happy to announce and congratulate Iraida Amador-Mercado from Lively Middle School for being the Middle School Teacher of the Year finalist! Iraida has been with Austin ISD for 6 years and currently teaches eighth-grade Social Studies Dual Language. She mentions, 'my focus is to display the growth of my students in the classroom, celebrate their achievements, and highlight language acquisition, while integrating different cultural aspects of Hispanic traditions.' For more details visit Austin ISD." (Facebook)
  • "Former Congressman Will Hurd joins The LBJ School of Public Affairs Dean JR Deshazo & the LBJ Library on Monday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. Hurd will talk about his new book American Reboot & how pragmatic idealism can tackle political nonsense. RSVP for the live stream at https://bit.ly/HurdatLBJ. Purchase American Reboot at The Store at LBJ (lbjstore.com). All proceeds from sales support our programming, exhibits, and educational initiatives at the LBJ Presidential Library." (Facebook)
  • "There are so many fun things happening in downtown Austin this weekend! On Saturday, April 9, a new exhibit at the Old Bakery & Emporium called Paths of Lights has an opening reception from Noon-3 p.m. Pease Park is hosting their Squirrel Fest from 4-10 p.m. on Saturday with markets like Frida Friday, live music, puppets, movies and more! Waterloo is going to be filled with picnic blankets for the Pop-Up Picnic starting at 6 p.m. See you downtown!" (Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday! See you all tomorrow morning for your next update.

— Gabriela Couvillion

About me: I'm an active mom of two grown sons and lifelong San Antonio resident. I received a BA in Spanish from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and in my free time I immerse myself in creative writing. Thanks for reading Patch, and feel free to reach out if you have any news and happenings you think may appeal to our readers!

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