Austin Real Estate Scene

This special issue of This Week in Downtown  covers two weeks of holiday fun. Below are my personal picks for loads of fun and laughter.

The featured event Downtown during the New Year’s celebration is First Night Austin 2007 which offers everyone a chance to interact with the arts and celebrate our unique community! The fun begins at 2:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. If you’ve never experienced this event you are in for a real treat! There’s something here for everyone to enjoy. You, your kids and your guests have so much to do downtown this holiday season. So come on down and get/stay happy throughout the holidays!

On Stage & Loads of Hilarious Comedy  - Esther’s Follies, Improv treats and a New Year’s Eve mystery just dying to be solved.Dec 21-23, 28-31 Esther’s Christmas Comedy
Esther’s Follies, 525 E. 6th Street
(512) 320-0553, esthersfollies.comWe all know that the holidays aren’t always a barrel of laughs. Well you can change that this year by bringing your guests and/or dysfunctional family to the funniest show in town – Esther’s Follies. You’ll be screaming throughout this rollicking holiday romp through the Comedy Landscape of 2006. The Christmas comedy starts with The Twelve Days of Christmas with George W. Bush; Mrs. Claus sings The Santa Claus Lament, a bawdy rumination on life without her man at this time of the year; and Esther’s star magician, Ray Anderson, levitates the Christmas Angels of the Follies! Add juggling, magic, the tap-dancing Grandmas, and you have a truly awesome Austin Christmas! Regular Showtimes: Thurs. 8:00 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. Special New Year’s Eve Shows, Sunday December 31 at 8:00 & 10:30 p.m. Call 320-0553 to reserve your seats today!

Dec 30 Same Year’s Eve Improv Extravaganza

8:00 p.m.
The Hideout Theatre, 617 Congress Avenue
(512) 443-3688 (H-I-D-E-O-U-T), hideouttheatre.comOnce a year all of the improvisers in Austin come together for one gigantic show in celebration of the city we live in and the art form we love. Same Year’s Eve Improv Extravaganza throws together players from over 17 local troupes in a spectacular exhibition of improv comedy. The evening includes games, scenes and long-form musicals based on audience suggestions. After the show there’s a free party with food and drink. Tickets are $10 and available online at hideouttheatre.com or 1/2 hour before the show at the box office.Dec 31 New Year’s Eve Improv Celebration
10:30 p.m.
The Hideout Theatre, 617 Congress
(512) 443-3688 (H-I-D-E-O-U-T), hideouttheatre.comAustin’s premiere improv comedy troupe, The Heroes of Comedy, brings in the New Year with an enchanted evening of improv games, scenes and a champaign toast at midnight. Join in on the fun as the cast reflects on the year that has passed, speculate sabout the year to come and celebrates that magical moment of transition between the two. Your $15 ticket buys an entire evening of entertainment that careens full speed into the New Year and includes a Champagne toast as the ball drops at midnight!

Music Scene  - Trans-Siberian Orchestra lights up the Erwin Center and The Association, that wildly popular 60′s band, joins the Austin Symphony Orchestra for its Holiday Pops concert.

Gallery Watch  - “take me to bed or lose me forever” closes with live performances – huh? – you’ll want to learn more…

Special Events  -  American YouthWorks is selling pies for a piece of the financial pie all around Austin, First United Methodist Church’s is hosting its annual Christmas Brunch of the Homeless, and Candlelight Tours of the Texas Governor’s Mansion happen the day after Christmas

Sporting Life – Tons of action with UT and the Austin Toro’s hitting the hoops over the next couple of weeks.

Retail: Welcome to the Austin City Store and don’t forget there’s lots of great shops in downtown for all your last minute holiday gift ideas, Check out the Second Street District, and the shops on Congress Avenue including it’s newest retailer Authenticity.

Street Closings   -  Click here to learn about traffic changes coming up.