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Barton Springs Fest
November 24 @ 10:25 am
Sign-up for Barton Springs snorkeling eco-tours or the diving contest and then attend Barton Springs University under the shade of the pecans along the fence outside the south gate. Enjoy free cold watermelon all day and live music inside the pool on the south hill from 4 -7pm.
Saturday August 10, 8am – 7pm
Barton Springs Pool
8am – 10pm (tours last 45 minutes) – Eco-Snorkel Tours of Barton Springs. To sign up contact sosinfo@sosalliance.org. Space is limited!
9 – 10:30 am – Diving Competition. Form available soon to resgister. Adult, kid, goofy and Olympic dive categories.
10am – 4pm – Barton Springs University – Speakers and workshops along the South fence under the trees.
4 – 7pm – Live Music on the South hill.
Barton Springs University Confirmed Speakers
Laurie A. Dries, Ph.D.
"Salamanders, Blue Gills & Eels, Oh My! The Biology of Barton Springs"
Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecologist. Undergraduate and graduate degrees from UT-Austin. I've studied freshwater fishes in Texas and Mexico and fruit flies in California. I began to work for the City of Austin in 2003 studying and managing habitats and endangered salamanders of Barton Springs. Born in Wisconsin and moved to Austin in 1981, not quite a native, but been here a good long while.
Nico M. Hauwert, Ph.D., P.G.
"An introduction to the Hydrogeology of Barton Springs"
Sr. Hydrogeologist, Senior Environmental Scientist City of Austin Watershed Protection Department. Nico's passion with caves led to his study of the Edwards Aquifer over 3 decades. His dye trace studies have shown the sources of water to Barton Springs and the sensitivity of the aquifer. A former president and vice president of the Austin Geological Society, he has a bachelors degree in geology from Univ of Texas, a Masters degree in geology from Univ of Toledo, Ohio, and a Ph.D in geology from UT.
Gary Perez, Native American Church & Indigenous Cultures Institute of San Marcos
“The Four Fountain Springs of Texas – Their Role in Pre-Columbian and Contemporary Indigenous Cultures"
Gary is the Custodian of the Native American Church National Trust in Mirando City and Sacred Sites Director of the Indigenous Cultures Institute in San Marcos. Author and speaker for indigenous issues in south Texas, Gary will be sharing his experience with the Four Fountain Springs along the Balcones Escarpment, and the metaphysical state of mind passed on from generation to generation. He will also share the 2011 discovery of the Four Fountain Springs within a 4,000 year old painting known as the White Shaman rock art panel.
Clark Hancock, MPAff., CIT
"Tracks of the Past: the Built Environment of Zilker Park"
Exhibit Coordinator, Austin Nature & Science Center, City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. Clark has worked in and around Zilker Park since the 1980’s. Since starting with the City in 1990, his focus has been on helping visitors forge their own connections to the natural and cultural heritage of Austin’s premier open space. He holds degrees in Theater from Tulane University and Public Affairs from UT-Austin’s LBJ School.
Bill Bunch, Executive Director, Save Our Springs Alliance
"Threats, solutions, and what you can do to help save Barton Springs"
In addition to Executive Director, Bunch serves as lead attorney for SOS Alliance. He co-founded the organization in 1992 along with leaders from the Austin Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, and other organizations. Bunch holds a bachelor's degree in environmental biology from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This session will focus on the greatest threats to the quality and quantity of Barton Springs flows and how each of us can be part of the solution.
Confirmed Music – South Hill 4-7pm
The Djembabes
The Djembabes are a local group of Austin women who are dedicated to the joy and inspiration of hand drumming and the possibility created by sharing music in ways that allow interaction and the unfolding of a vibrant Community Spirit. Sharing rhythm is their passion and their dream is to help create a world of beauty, harmony, understanding and mutual respect , celebrating the sanctity of all life through music and song, our universal language. They play with their hearts In their hands in hopes of touching the hearts of the people who are listening, waking up and inspiring the musical spirit which lives in each of us, and reminding us of our deep connection to one another and to all of life.
Members of the group are: FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR: Sherrry Gingras, native Austinite, drum teacher, drum circle facilitator, owner of World Percussion Store/studio “DRUMZ ”on Kerbey Lane; PERCUSSIONISTS: Jody Martin-Emerson, Shannon Cohen, Patrticia Jacobs, Kerry Smith, and Deborah Peyton.
Erik Hokkanen
Erik Hokkanen is a fiddler, guitar player, and composer. Erik is known for performing and composing an array of musical styles, including gypsy music, western swing, surf rock, rock music, rockabilly, bluegrass music, and classical. He moves effortlessly among instruments, often playing violin while an electric guitar hangs down his back. A third generation Finn raised in Florida, Erik has toured extensively throughout Scandinavia, playing major festivals and clubs with top Finnish musicians.
Erik has been voted a three time winner of the Kerrville Folk Festival Music Awards' "Instrumentalist of the year" (1993-1995) and was inducted into the Kerrville Festival's Music Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1998, Erik became as a Professor of Music in the Folk Music Department of the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. In 2009, Erik was inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame.
It has been said that pound for pound, Erik is the most talented musician in Austin.