Keeping Austin Weird

Lots of cities and states have mottos: Keep Shiner Clean, Don’t Mess With Texas. What is our motto you ask? KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD.

If you visit Austin, you will surely see at least one hippy walking around wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt emblazoned with these words. Or, if you are driving on Mopac (or more likely, stuck in traffic on Mopac) you will find lots of KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD bumper sticker on the back of an old beat up station wagon with lots of other fun bumper stickers, at least one of which will chastise the government, recommend world peace, or announce that the driver is Wiccan.

Let me tell you, Austinites are doing their part to uphold their motto.

Yesterday was Eeyore’s Birthday. Now, for those of you who don’t call Austin home, you may have no idea what the hell I am talking about. Let me share.

Once a year, every hippy, yuppie, druggie, and family (and their dogs) converge onto Pease Park and party.

There are drum circles (hundreds show up with their own drums), May-Poles, jugglers, hula hoopers, and oh-so-much-more. Oh yeah, and lots of people dressed in costume.

Some of my faves from yesterday:

Neptune and two Mermaids (a.k.a. A Study in Gravity): I knew Neptune carried a trident. I did not realize Mermaids carried SpongeBob SquarePants purses.

Um. No comment needed:

A Fairy (or Fairie):

These guys dressed as plumbers:

There are one or two “organized” activities, but mostly everyone is just there to party. You might see a die-hard hippy in dreadlocks sharing a joint with a frat boy. A child having his face painted while a woman wearing ONLY body paint and a g-string (with a tiger tail attached) walks by. Think small scale Woodstock without the music.

Here is Fierce Tiger Woman (you thought I was making that one up, didn’t you?)

In case you didn’t drop enough acid to hallucinate a pink poodle, one was provided:

As an added bonus, my dear friend Lloyd (a.k.a. Llold) was in town, so we went together. HE STARTED EEYORE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY BACK IN 1964. How cool is that? They actually honored him yesterday. He and three other friends started it when they were in college. What started as a much smaller get-together has grown into an Austin tradition that has truly influenced the culture here. Last year we went with Lloyd to the unveiling of a statue of Eeyore at the park that held the first Eeyore’s Birthday Party. However, because Eeyore’s Party has grown so much it has been held at Pease Park for most of the 45 years.

Happy birthday, Eeyore!