I don’t know how many of you are planning to go to South by Southwest this year, whether it’s for the film festival, Interactive conference or any of the many music events. For years, I planned ways to avoid downtown during SXSW and tried to hide from it, which isn’t too hard to do in our neighborhood. But now I love to attend SXSW Film every year and have lots of fun … except for the downtown parking.

You may not be planning to throw yourself wholeheartedly into SXSW this year, but I wrote a guide especially for Austin people who might want to see just one or two films during the festival. The guide is available on Slackerwood, a website about the Austin film community that I edit. It includes tips and tricks for parking, info on which theaters are best if you just want to buy a ticket, and the best times to try getting into a movie at the last minute. So take a look at my SXSW 2010 Guide: Filmgoing Tips for Non-Badgeholders and if you have any tips yourself, feel free to add a comment over there.

I haven’t found any films this year that were shot in our neighborhood — unlike 2009, when Artois the Goat was partially shot at San Francisco Bakery. But if I find any neighborhood connections this year, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I’m off to the movies … for eight days.

[Photo credit: “SXSW 2009” by J. Kernion]

Please join your Brentwood neighbors for their FREE Spring 2010 Plant & Seed Swap on Saturday, March 20 at 3 pm under the big tree on Arroyo Seco in Brentwood Park.

Things eligible for trading are:

• Plants (house plants, outdoor landscape plants, veggie and herb plants, larger plants like shrubs, saplings and vines are all welcome.  Please bring them potted or freshly dug and bagged.)
• Bulbs, rhizomes, starters
• Seeds or new seed sprouts
• Volunteer plants that just popped up in the wrong spot
• Garden/landscape tools, pots, books, supplies, yard art, bird houses/feeders, etc.

Bring your items and set up a small area with your goods for trade. Then simply chat with others and peruse what they have for trade. If you see something you would like, ask for it then offer that person something from your stash.

The swap has grown the last couple of years. The best part is chatting with people and learning about the plants and seeds being traded. It’s a fun time to meet others and a great way to develop your own backyard for free.

Contact Kat with any questions at kat@dukecorrea.com or 225-4732.

Photo credit: “Habenaro Seedlings“ by Peter Baer on Flickr.  Used under Creative Commons license.

Sunshine Community Gardens’ primary fundraiser, the Spring Plant Sale and Garden Festival, will be held on Saturday, March 6, from 9 am to 2 pm at the Gardens location: 4814 Sunshine Drive. The sale is a family-friendly gathering and is greatly anticipated by experienced and beginner gardeners throughout Austin and the surrounding area. The Gardens project has been on the forefront of green practices and natural gardening in Austin since its beginning, 31 years ago.

The Gardens are located near the intersection of Lamar Blvd and 45th Street. In 1979, the Gardens entered a cooperative arrangement with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to provide a garden oasis in the middle of the city. It is Austin’s largest and longest-lived community garden. Garden members take pride in promoting healthy living through natural, chemical-free gardening.

Plant sale visitors will find hundreds of varieties of organic and heirloom vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, ornamental plants and flowers. Culinary plants include tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers (including hard-to-find varieties like Bishops Crown and Beaver Dam), eggplants, and tomatillos. Flowers and ornamentals include skullcap, butterfly weed, agaves, and many more. Visitors can purchase a bag of rich compost to get their garden started. Keep an eye out for sale updates on the Gardens website (www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org).

There will be booths of food and drink, gardening products, a silent auction, and musical entertainment by the Polkadillos, and Laura Freeman and the Hey Hollies. Festivalgoers can stroll through the area and get a glimpse of what a group of hardworking gardeners can accomplish. Though most of the members use their plots for vegetables and culinary herbs, there are also multitudes of ornamental flowers, vines, exotics and wildflowers. In addition to the growing plots, Sunshine Gardens houses a chicken coop, two large greenhouses, and several small mountains of mulch and compost.

Photo credit: Jennifer M. Ramos

We’ve received notice that this weekend (March 6-7), there will be a road closure on Anderson Lane east of our neighborhood while Capital Metro works on the railroad crossing.

See the map below for details:

The red line shows the MetroRail train tracks. The closure will occur where the train crosses Anderson Lane. The green line shows the official detour around the street closure. The blue line shows an alternate route, for eastbound drivers who miss the official detour.

The road closure is scheduled to begin Saturday, March 6 starting at 6 am. It will remain closed until the work is completed sometime on Sunday.

Here is the information we received from Capital Metro:

Good afternoon folks,

Each day Capital Metro is closer to opening the MetroRail system, and we continue to working diligently to get running soon. Part of this work will include doing track work at the Anderson Lane crossing. Anderson Lane will be closed starting at 6 AM on Saturday morning and will remain closed until completion sometime on Sunday, March 7. We will be working on track alignment so that both the train and cars crossing will have a smoother ride. Capital Metro apologizes for any disruptions that this maintenance may cause our neighbors, and we will work with our contractor to complete this work as safely and quickly as possible.

Below is detour map to assist you in preparing for the detour this weekend.

Please share this information with your neighbors who live near the tracks.

Thank you, and have a nice evening,

Alissa Schram
Community Involvement Coordinator
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Tel: 512.369.7759