My NO BUMMER SUMMER bucket list 🏖️
A silly little list to hard launch the season, plus plenty of fun things to do in Austin, Texas.
Yesterday, I sat outside under the morning clouds and gifted myself with a little artist’s date: watercolor painting and writing up an old-school summer bucket list.
So, here it is! My deeply-unserious, do-not-come-for-my-artistic-skills, silly-little-list of things I’d like to do in summer 2024. Plus, I’ll share more top summer recs from Leila Sales, curator of the excellent Lite + Brite weekly newsletter of Austin events and activities, below!
For those that can’t possibly read my childlike handwriting, I’ll write out the full list below. This is Austin-centric, but I hope you use it as inspiration to write your own silly little list to kick off an intentional summer, wherever you may be.
The goal is not to do every single thing, but to break free from my hum-drum routines, approach my home city like a tourist, meet some new people, and get excited about my own life again. Plus, most of these activities are free or cheap. I’m putting this up where I can see it during my workday and will be checking things off all season long (and summer lasts into October here, so).
SUMMER BUCKET LIST 2024:
Explore a new swimming holeCommon Fords was a fantastic new discovery!
Drag brunch
Go topless at Barton Springs
Hit a new burger jointWholly Cow Burgers is worth the stop and has been around forever.
KaraokeAt Outer Heaven, duh.
Go dancing at Coconut Club
See live music
Celebrate the summer solstice
Go to Buc-ee’s
A Texas institution I have yet to visit.
Read summer smutHit on a strangerDay trip to Krause Springs
Go somewhere new alone
Go to Big Stacy poolThis is the free pool minutes from my house and I finally went twice this week, even though I have lived in this apartment almost three years!!
Go on a first dateGo paddleboarding
Spend a Tuesday at the Blanton
Tuesdays are free, and I haven’t been since the new remodel.
Work from Mozart’s
A coffee shop with a view of Lake Travis.
Spend an afternoon at Vintage Bookstore and Wine Bar
Go on a social bike ride
Hit a new happy hour
Try speed datingGo boating on Lake Travis
Hike ‘n’ swim at Sculpture Falls
Go thrifting
[REDACTED]
Work from the main libraryMidnight howl at the full moon at Barton Springs
Escape ATX in August
More summer recs from Austinite Leila Sales
When I discovered Lite + Brite, a free weekly newsletter of Austin events and activities, I found a goldmine of off-the-wall, harder-to-hear-about Austin events that are just my kind of oddball. So I asked Leila, the newsletter’s curator, to share some of her top summer picks with all of you.
Leila Sales is an author and editor who curates Lite + Brite, focusing on artsy, creative, DIY, and hard-to-categorize events. If it involves armadillo racing, Gilmore Girls parodies, or a bike ride concluding at a secret sound installation, Lite + Brite is probably including it.
Here are some of the Austin events Leila is looking forward to most this summer:
June 22
Fight Opera Presents: A Good Old Fashioned Train Robbery at Austin Beerworks
“I used to not care about wrestling, but that was before I discovered Austin’s incredibly rich comedy wrestling scene. The moves are impressive, but it’s the storylines that get me: they tend toward the postmodern and the deeply bonkers. Would you like to see a puppet wrestle a goat? This is the event for you!”
July 11
No Lights No Lycra at West China Tea
“NLNL is a sober dance party in the dark that I help organize. Its appeal is that it removes barriers to going out dancing—like, you don't have to stay up late, you don’t have to look cute, you don’t have to convince friends to go with you, you don’t have to worry about creeps staring at you—it’s time for you to just dance to good music without thinking about anything else.”
July 27
The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever
“For the seventh year in a row, Austinites will gather in a public place, clad in flowy red witch-dresses, and communally perform the choreography made famous by musical icon Kate Bush in her 1978 music video for ‘Wuthering Heights.’ Austin in July is very hot, but for one brief day, Kates of all stripes will transform this city into the wily, windy moors.”
July 27
Hyde Park Storytelling at Batch Craft Beer and Kolaches
“Once you’ve Wuthered in the day, you can spend your evening enjoying true personal stories from locals. I actually interviewed the producers for the L+B newsletter a couple months ago to find out how they put the show together.”
If you want weekly lists for more events in this vein, subscribe to Lite + Brite at liteandbriteatx.com.
Even more things to do in Austin this summer:
Check out one of the best theater and dance shows to see in Austin this summer (my roundup for Tribeza)
Celebrate Juneteenth this week!
Recommendations from @whereyallatthoughatx, part one and two
Juneteenth eating and drinking from Eater
Juneteenth events from KUT
The Black History Bike Ride is tomorrow, followed by a block party. I’ve joined in a couple of times, and it’s a great way to honor Black history in Austin.
Also this week:
My friend is hosting a “Bi for Now” meetup for bisexuals and pansexuals on June 21.
Attend Sun Bird Fest June 20-23 for four days of music, art, film, and education, with proceeds benefiting families in Gaza.
Attend the PRIDE for Palestine Liberation Day Party on June 22 at Neon Grotto. 10% of bar proceeds go directly to Palestinian families in need.
Volunteer for a local org you want to support.
Here’s a long list of Austin volunteer opportunities.
One of my favorites is the ATX Free Fridge — you can volunteer to clean one of the fridges, buy and deliver food, or make a meal to stock the fridges.
Join a Garbage Humans of ATX trash cleanup. There are lots of free paddleboard/kayak options during summer as well!
What do I love about you Jillian? You just don’t talk about it! You are in ACTION doing it!! So proud if you baby girl!!!💗💐💗
I love this idea and you have a fantastic list! So many things I wouldn’t have thought of! (I’d love to know what the redacted item is… 😊) Thanks so much for sharing!