The 11 Most Unique Experiences in Austin

Easy to miss from the street, the Cathedral of Junk stands in the backyard of a small, unassuming house owned by Vince Hannemann in South Austin. Vince began work on the Cathedral in 1988, creating a hollow framework that now contains a curated assortment of discarded cables, knick-knacks, and bicycle parts—with more added every year. Invisible cables and outlets power illuminated clocks and beer signs, and the structure really does feel like a cathedral with its vaulted ceilings and stairways. Wind your way to the heart of the Cathedral, where the great chair sits in the center of the “Throne Room.”

Cathedral of Junk, 4422 Lareina Dr, Austin, TX, USA, +1 512 299 7413

While not entirely unique to Austin, food trucks certainly have found a home here. Many of the city’s favorite brick-and-mortar businesses—both restaurants and retail—started out in a food truck or trailer. From coffee and ice cream to pizza and Thai food, there is a food truck for every taste and fancy dotted all over town. The trucks are the American dream in a nutshell—a business (and in this case, a menu) built from scratch, blossoming into success. The phenomenon was well captured in the 2014 film Chef, in which Jon Favreau’s character drives his new food truck through cities such as Miami, Austin, and L.A. to generate publicity and sample his menu.

Now in its fourth year, The Weird Homes Tour™ showcases the wackiest, most outlandish abodes that celebrate Austin’s quirky charm. The tour consists of a self-paced, self-driven excursion across the city, and 10% of all proceeds go to local nonprofits that fight for affordable housing. This year, the tour spread across the city as far west as the Capital of Texas Highway, and the designated charity was Foundation Communities, the Austin-based affordable housing developer. Read more and explore all of this year’s homes here in our guide.

Austin is famous for its music festivals, but one of the city’s longest-running festivals is its quirkiest and least known. Now in its 54th year, Eeyore’s Birthday celebrates a scene in A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Poohbooks: gloomy Eeyore thinks everyone has forgotten his birthday, only to find an elaborately planned surprise party. In 1963, several students gathered for a spring picnic to celebrate Eeyore, complete with a maypole, beer, and a donkey draped with flowers. Today, the party continues every April with a free festival that doubles as a fundraiser for non-profit groups in Austin. Costumes are encouraged, and guests can enjoy face painting, henna, live music and, of course, the maypole.

As part of its anniversary celebrations, East Austin neighborhood restaurant Contigo hosts a cow tongue eating contest on its patio. Guests receive a napkin, a glass of water, an apron, and a cooked, two-pound cow tongue. The winner wins free burgers from Contigo for a year. Other contests include the corn hole tournament (the winner earns a $1000 house account) and the beer stein hoisting competition: a test of endurance, alcoholic fortitude, and a bacchanal feat of strength and will. The contestant who can hold a heavy beer stein with a straight arm for the longest earns free beer for a year. The festivities also include food, drinks, live music, and more games.

Another annual festival that predates bothAustin City Limits (ACL) Festivaland South by Southwest (SXSW), Austin’s Kite Festival began in 1929, making it the longest continuously running community kite festival in the United States. Originally a tournament with a mission to encourage creativity in children, the festival was started by the Exchange Club of Austin and held for the first time in Lamar Park. The event moved to the newly opened Zilker Park in 1936, where it has taken place ever since.