The AFFA What's Up - April 15-30, 2010

AFFA NEWS

SEE IT WITH AFFA:

THE BIG SQUEEZE
Accordion Contest Semi-Finals
Saturday, May 1
2:00 - 6:00 PM

Free Admission

Outside at Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
1800 N. Congress

Semi-finalists of the Big Squeeze accordion contest perform in a free public concert at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Finalists will be selected to compete for the Grand Prize at Texas Folklife's wildly popular Accordion Kings and Queens Festival in Houston. The contest is for people 21 and under, so AFFA's own Deborah Robertson (pictured above) will not be squeezing, but she'll be there toe-tapping. All the museum's exhibits, including American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, will be free that day. Pay for parking in the museum's garage or park free on the street.

RSVP: Some seats will be reserved for AFFA. To get one, contact Deborah at orahdeborah@gmail.com or (512) 220-7705 by Wednesday, April 28.

WANT TO LIST YOUR EVENT IN THE AFFA WHAT'S UP?

Please send all listing requests to alexandra@alumni.cmu.edu and be sure to include a graphic you'd like to use (one that looks good small, as you see throughout the e-newsletter) and a brief description of the event. Note that the next What's Up will go out on Saturday, May 1. To have your event listed in the next What's Up, please send your requests to Alexandra no later than Friday, April 30. Thank you!

BUSINESS MEMBERS NEWS

WILDWOOD ART CAFE
SUMMER TRAVEL TOURS

Guatemala: Chichicastenango, Panajachel & Antigua
June 4 – 13, 2010
Chiapas: San Cristobal, Palenque & Villahermosa
July 2 – 11, 2010

Click on the PDF attachments with this e-newsletter for itineraries. For more information, please contact Joan Griffith at (512) 327-9660 or wildwoodartcafe@gmail.com.

MEXIC-ARTE MUSEUM PRESENTS

GALA DEL MUSEO: IMAGINING MEXICO

Saturday, April 17

7:00 - 10:00 PM

Elegant fundraiser event, held at a private lakeside home, featuring live Latin jazz music, exquisite Latin American cuisine and drinks, and an exciting silent auction with travel packages, fine and folk art, and specialty items. Tickets are limited - buy yours today for a unique opportunity to network and socialize with Austin community and business leaders and artists. All proceeds will benefit the Museum's exhibition and education pgorams.

To purchase tickets, visit www.mexic-artemuseum.org or call (512) 480-9373 x88.

IN THE COMMUNITY

TESOROS MEXICANOS: MEXICAN TREASURES FROM TWO FOLK ART COLLECTIONS

William D. Cannon Art Gallery
Carlsbad, CA

May 2 – June 27

In this exhibition, the nature of Mexican popular arts is explored through the eyes of private collectors Tom and Alma Pirazzini and AFFA member Lawrence Kent. Long interested in the ancient civilizations of the Americas, Tom and Alma Pirazzini have traveled extensively to build their collection of masks, lacquerware and pre-Columbian treasures. Avid collector Lawrence Kent, has accumulated wonderful folk art pieces from places such as Oaxaca, Jalisco and Mexico City. This show is a rare opportunity to see so many superb and diverse works of Mexican folk art in one intimate setting.

AUSTIN ART YARDS TOUR
Saturday April 17 and Sunday April 18
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Free and fun for all!

This is not an official AFFA event, but it holdd a lot of appeal for our members, and 2 of the 20+ yards on the tour belong to AFFA members: Sharon Smith at 1204 Choquette Dr. and Lois Goodman at 1815 Dwyer.

The tour is self-guided, and the link for a Google map of the tour locations is below. Click on a marked site to get the address, see a photo, and read a little yard ditty. There is no fee to take the tour (although we encourage you to make donations at those locations taking donations, especially at the Cathedral of Junk, which has been struggling with city code enforcement).

www.austinartyards.com/tour.htm

Yards marked in blue on the map are drive bys (don't park, don't enter the property, don't disturb the owner).
Yards marked in red are stop ins (come check it out close up and talk to the yardists).

LOIS' PICKS:

The Cathedral of Junk at 4422 Lareina Drive. If for some reason you have missed seeing the Cathedral, now is the time. There has been a lot about it in the news lately, and sadly, it may not be around in its current state too much longer.

Smut Putt Heaven at 509 Gate Tree Lane. This entire yard is filled with bottle cap snakes, mannequin heads, doll heads, ironing boards and appropriately placed crutches.

Sharon Smith's at 1204 Choquette. Sharon is a ceramic artist
and teacher. She often works with found objects with a particular interest in hub caps which adorn her fence.

Lois' casa at 1815 Dywer. While it certainly is not the
most interesting of the yards, the kids and the kid in you might enjoy the sea scape fence in the back yard.