1. It’s In a garage
2. It’s free
3. Beer and kid-friendly
4. There’ll be a bike and skateboard valet
5. Vegan vendors
6. Food Trucks (by Roaming Hunger)
7. Group Finger Painting Wall
8. Outside Yoga (by Wanderlust with live music by Jeff Liffman)
9. Drum Circle (by Xandali)
10. Hackeysack and frisbee
11. Slacklining! How Austin is that?! Slacklining demos (by Keep Austin Slacklining).
12. Hang suite replete with bean bag seating and DJ (DJ Edica)
13. Open-Mic, On-stage Jam Session
14. And there are sure to be more than a few Austin Hipster sightings.

Folks, it doesn’t get more Austin than this. Grab your kids, leash up the dog and head over the the Empire Auto Garage this Saturday for some good, pure Austin good times.

- Quel

Quel is a marketing research professional, turned stay-at-home mom, turned temporary homeschooler and all around crafty broad. She has blogged about her adventures in Austin since moving here in 2005 and loves exploring Austin fun with her 5-year-old son. Find her at http://www.homegirlblog.com.

The card, designed for students 6 – 18, is a transit pass that gives unlimited bus and rail rides from June – August. The Go Local partnership will give kids discounts on all kinds of Austin awesomeness.

Some stand out deals offered through Go Local:

• 10 percent off of SUP & Canoe programs at The Expedition School
• $2 off 2 games of laser tag at Blazer Tag
• 10 percent off of Alamo Drafthouse
• $1 off Museum of Weird
• 15 percent off of Tsunami Cycles
• 10 percent off a small ice cream at Lick Ice Creams
• 10 percent off DoubleDave’s Southpark Meadows
• 10 percent off South Congress Books

… and a ton more!

Our public transit system has made it super easy for younger travelers to get around safely and without confusion by using the latest in technology. Students can easily get nest-arrival route information by scanning bus stop QR codes or by texting the bus stop ID to 512-981-6221. They can also use Dadnab.com to receive text messages about next-arrival times and suggested routes. Kids can also get social about their travels by tweeting about their summer adventures using #HaulPass.

Capital Metro President/CEO Linda S. Watson says that it’s not just students who reap the benefits of this new program.

“The program offers freedom to parents, too, who typically get tasked with chauffeur duty during the summer. Learning to use public transportation is a skill that will serve students well throughout their lives,” Watson said.

Parents can help plan their child’s trip with the easy to use trip planner or call the Go-Line for schedules, planning and general assistance at 512-474-1200. By taking this opportunity to teach kids how to use public transit, you are helping relieve some of your chauffeur responsibilities for years to come!

This is also a great confidence and independence builder for your kids, and is a great program if you have multiple children. Older siblings can take out the youngsters for a day exploring the city, and that’s pretty cool.

Buy the $45 Haul Pass and find out more info here. Hurry, there is a limited number available!

A FREE program from June 10 – August 16, the Camacho Teen Club (located at the Camacho Activity Center) will run from 1 – 6 pm weekdays – except Wednesdays – when you can leave ‘em there all day (9:30 am – 6 pm) to participate in the city-wide Teen Club Challenges held at different locations each week.

With high-energy activities like kayaking, archery, mountain biking, rock climbing and caving as well as more artsy pursuits like cooking, digital photography, art projects and video production, there’s bound to be something for everyone. They can even produce music videos and movies for the annual Film Festival. Could be cool enough to sway even the most cynical of teens.

Need to know more? Call 512-391-1863 or email erick.olivares@austintexas.gov

- Claudia

Claudia Weber is a transplanted Austin mom and local realtor who loves to share the best of Austin with families like hers – whether they’re moving to town or just looking to embrace the best Austin has to offer. Find out more at www.claudiasellsaustin.com.

You will discover vendors selling everything from china and glassware, restaurant furniture and appliances, arts and crafts, and even yard and garden equipment. The fest will also be hosting a number of local arts and crafts vendors, a ton of good food, good music, and activities for the kiddos. If you have a book or plant lying around that you could part with, there will be a plant and book swap so you could trade up.

The entry and the parking is free. A portion of the events proceeds will go to the Smile Never Fades Breast Cancer Charity.

The event will take place rain or shine, so don’t let a few grey clouds keep you indoors if you are itching to get of the house. Get out and shop, swap or sell.  If you are interested in selling and setting up a booth, you can find details on the Shoal Crossing website.

Written by Jennifer Wizbowski, a freelance writer, mom of two an explorer of new things. 

AMF Bowling has already started its Summer Unplugged program as of May 13. This program allows kids to bowl up to two games per day, for free, all summer long (shoe rental not included). “Well what about meee?” Don’t worry mom and dad - they’re also offering an AMF Summer Pass where you pay only $34.95 and you +3 can all get the same deal. Austin’s only participating AMF center is Showplace Lanes in North Austin.

Summer Unplugged Pass:

From now until September 2, 2013, your kids can register for a free pass that will get them two free games a day. Kids can bowl until 8 pm daily with this pass, and it costs absolutely zero dollars to enroll. All you have to do is register online, and the next time you go bowling, just provide either your name, member ID, email address or phone number at the counter and you are good to go. No coupons, vouchers, or printouts necessary. You can enroll up to six kids in the program, but you will need to use a different email address for each one.

AMF Summer Pass:

For only $34.95, the AMF Summer Pass includes two games, per person, per day for you and up to three family members ages 16 and up. Just register online and follow the prompts to purchase your pass. If you have a child enrolled in the Summer Unplugged program, you will use that same email address to get started on your Summer Pass.

For more info, check out the AMF’s FAQ page.

Here’s what’s going on that day:

Auction for Weirdos -  Toy Joy is holding a traditional auction, with a caller, bidders, and all. Only 100 people are allowed in for the auction of items which include their wacky and strange store fixtures and decorations.  The auction starts promptly at 4 pm, so get there early to check things out and make it in the door.

Tent Sale – The tent sale starts at 10 am and will have a ton of greatly reduced items or things that have been on the shelves a while. There might be some quirky little gift calling you.

Last walk through - This will be the last time the public can walk through the hallowed halls of Toy Joy, come in and get nostalgic.

Don’t be too sad, you can find more of your favorite quirky toys and gifts at their new location 403 W 2nd Street, which will open its doors June 1.

Written by Jennifer Wizbowski, a freelance writer, mom of two, and explorer of new things.

– Toy Joy is having an Auction House and Tent Sale starting at 10 am. Toy Joy is celebrating their final day on the drag by putting up their unique and strange store fixtures for auction.

– Take a Mom and Tot Yoga class at move.make.create. Enjoy a creative, grounding and dynamic flow of yoga postures. classes are geared to adults with the opportunity for children to play together and/or join in. Starts at $15. 11 am.

– Go out to eat at these restaurants where kids eat free on Monday nights:

• Texadelphia – 3 pm – close
• ZuZu - 5:30 pm – close
• Texas Roudhouse South – 4 pm – close
• Tres Amigos (all locations)- 5 pm – close
• La Salsa – 4 pm – close
• Jim’s Restaurants – 4 – 9 pm
• Hangtown Grill - 5 pm – close
• Kobe Japanese Steakhouse – 4 – 10 pm

Other ideas:

– Take a hike! Austin is home to so many great trails, and the great outdoors makes our children smarter, better people. There are some great hiking guides online, like Austin Explorer and Texas Outside. You can always count on the Barton Creek Greenbelt for some great trails and swimming holes. Click here for a pretty great map of the greenbelt. Our favorite is The Flats.  Not sure if there is any water in it yet, if you head out there this weekend, let us know how the swimming holes are.

– Park your butts at the park. There are so many! These are our top park picks for each area. (These are wide open spaces type of parks, and are not necessarily based on playscapes and such! Though some of them do have playscapes.)

• North Austin – Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park
• Northeast Austin – Bartholomew District Park
• East Austin – Patterson Park & Rosewood Park
• West Austin – Central Park (Shoal Creek Greenbelt) & Pease Park
• Central Austin – Zilker Metropolitan Park & Festival Beach
• South Austin – Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park

– Play around at one of Austin’s many Nature Preserves. There are several within the city, check out our list of Nature Preserves in Austin.

– Let the kids play at these stand-out playgrounds:

• Mueller Lake Park in East Austin
• Play for All Abilities Park in Round Rock

– Find a new swimming hole or visit one of your faves. We’ve written about a few like Lost Creek, the Blue Hole and Jacob’s Well, you can see them here. We want to write about more, let us know your favorite.

Have fun!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: let your ‘mini-me’s discover their inner 007s in a more structured way than rifling through your purse at the Brilliant Sky Toys & Books Spy Camp. Kids ages 3 and up can skulk over to the location at the Village at Westlake on Saturday, May 25 at 3 pm for a few hours of FREE secret agent training. They’ll get to create a super special code name and test their spy skills as they maneuver a laser maze ala “Entrapment” (but likely with a better plot line) and work together to complete a secret mission. When the mission’s accomplished, your littles spies get a certificate and you get the satisfaction of having filled a few afternoon hours with an activity they might even thank you for.

- Claudia

Claudia Weber is a transplanted Austin mom and local realtor who loves to share the best of Austin with families like hers – whether they’re moving to town or just looking to embrace the best Austin has to offer. Find out more at www.claudiasellsaustin.com.

At Toy Joy, Sunday, May 26 from noon – 6 pm, The Frankentoy Lab will be underway, and it’s free! This annual event is the ultimate toy up-cycle. Toy Joy collects broken toy parts throughout the year and offers kids (and adults) the wonderful opportunity to create a truly one-of-a-kind object. Toy Joy has the most interesting and unique collection of toys in Austin, so just imagine the possibilities of found-parts creations.

Yep, you read that correctly. We are giving away a week of half-day Imagination Exploration Camp for the week of July 22 – 26. This camp is for ages 4 – 5 and will run from 1 – 4 pm. The theme for that week will be “Opposites”. Through movement, art projects and creative adventures, students will explore hot and cold, heavy and light, straight, curvy and more!

Go on an adventure this summer! In Imagination Exploration, students start with an imaginary character with an imaginary problem and the story grows from there. By learning theatre games and creating unique characters, students travel through their imagination to an original world that they create based on the theme of the week. Students gain skills in sharing ideas, giving and taking focus, and creative expression.

Pretty rad!