Austin neighborhood light show organizers worry it could be event's last year
A neighborhood tradition of holiday lights returns Friday night for the season, but organizers said they worry it could be the event's last year.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A neighborhood tradition of holiday lights returns Friday night for the season, but organizers said they worry it could be the event's last year.
37th Street Lights is an effort of residents on West 37th Street between Guadalupe Street and Home Street. Beginning at sunset, homes on the street light up with a variety of "weird" themes until 10 p.m.
Some new features on the street include a Barbie themed display and a "Purple Rain" house. The stuffed animal petting zoo returns from previous years.
The light show runs until Jan. 1, 2024.
An end, or just a pause?
The free event began in the 1980s as a collaboration of artists. Now, the neighborhood continues that legacy as a way to keep the "Austin DIY spirit" alive.
But with long-time residents moving out, the event may encounter difficulties in 2024.
"We've got some major neighbors leaving the street, so we don't know if we can continue the tradition in the future. What we do know is this year we are going out with a BANG!" said organizers in a post on Facebook.
Neighborhood organizer Maddy Brat said that the team lost two "major" volunteers over the last year. The light show went through a similar situation in 2006, Brat explained, noting that the volunteer event has dipped at different times in the year.
"'Keep Austin Weird,' is a marketing slogan that really caught on and it was started for a reason," Brat said. "Austin was affordable, and there were a lot of artists who could just do art and music in their free time, and be happy and live a good life. But now it's much harder to do art and to do community events."
For Brat and others on 37th Street, the tradition helps make Austin feel special.
"Community building inspires creativity and that you don't have to fit into the 'new' Austin weird mold. You can really just do whatever you want. It doesn't matter," Brat said. "Everybody's so appreciative of the work that we do and having the whole community come together for just some genuine, wholesome holiday fun. It's really nice."
As for next year? "Wait and see."
"We'll just have to wait and see," Brat said. "We did talk about making next year the smallest Christmas lights ever; and we just put like the smallest displays on every house. But we'll see."
Street closed to cars
At just over 1,000 feet, the narrow street quickly became clogged with cars viewing the lights.
However, that won't be a problem this year — the street will be closed to cars as part of the City of Austin's Healthy Streets program during nights while the light show is active.
"This will make the lights safer for children and pets to explore. Additionally, it will provide more space for those with mobility difficulties," organizers said.
"I'm super happy that the city reached out and asked us if we would be open to this," Brat said. "Since it's such a small area, it gets really crowded. It's just a way better vibe if you can just walk down the entire street without cars being in the way."
The organizers recommend parking along other side streets and said to avoid using business parking lots nearby.