Austin.com Weekend Top 10 FREE Events: July 14-16, 2017

This is a FREE fun weekend to feel good about! Learn more (and teach your kids) about safety, celebrate your rescue pet, bring or borrow a bike for a Kids Bike Rodeo, and clean out that closet to trade for something new-to-you at a clothes swap. Then, head to a pool party or an outdoor concert. Plus, you have another chance to see the incredible sight of swirling purple martins, as well as the spectacle of the Zilker Summer Musical!

Weekend Top 10 Free Events in Austin:

1. Music Under the Star: Molly Burch & Mother Falcon – Friday from 6-9:00 p.m. Music Under the Star is a FREE concert series held each July in the Bullock Museum‘s Lone Star Plaza. The public is invited to experience free concerts under the iconic Bullock Museum Star with complimentary garage parking. Bring the whole family, camp chairs, and blankets to enjoy an incredible lineup of Texas artists. Food, beer, and soda will be available for purchase. FREE but non-perishable food items for the Central Texas Food Bank are requested. Bullock Texas State History Museum, 1800 Congress Ave, Austin.
2. Purple Martin Party – Friday and Saturday from 8-9:30 p.m. Watch an acrobatic hurricane of birds as hundreds of thousands of purple martins “swirl” in the skies in and around the roosting site each evening. It’s better than the bats! This year, hundreds of thousands of birds will be at Texas Land & Cattle at the junction of I-35/290 around sunset. Please park on Clayton Lane and not the restaurant’s parking lot. Texas Land & Cattle is offering a free appetizer to each party who has dinner and mentions that they are there for the Purple Martins. Habesha, the Ethiopian Restaurant immediately north of Texas Land & Cattle, is offering dessert to each party who dines at their restaurant and specifically mentions that they are there for the Purple Martins. Lawn chairs, picnic blankets, cameras, and hats are highly recommended. Binoculars are optional. Read about Emily’s experience here. FREE! Texas Land & Cattle, 6007 I-35, Austin.
3. Zilker Summer Musical: The Wizard of Oz – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8:15 p.m. For more than a century, The Wizard of Oz has enchanted readers, theater, and movie goers alike. Now, Zilker Theater Productions will bring this cultural treasure to the historic, outdoor theater at The Zilker Hillside. This summer, the ZTP team looks forward to welcoming over 45,000+ Hillside audience members to follow the yellow brick road “over the rainbow.” ZTP’s The Wizard of Oz is FREE to the public (donations gratefully accepted) during its six-week run. The “curtain” goes up right around dusk at 8:15 p.m., but arrive early with your low-backed chairs and blankets to get your spot. Zilker Hillside Theater, 2206 William Barton Dr, Austin.
4. Clothes Swap – Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Bring what you can, take what you need, infant to adult clothing in good condition. Leftover items will be donated to FreeStore Austin. Please pre-sort items to swap by type/size. When you arrive, clothes will be distributed to marked tables, then you can “shop.” Remember to bring your own bags. FREE! No money is exchanged. Crestview United Methodist Church, 1300 Morrow St, Austin.
5. Central TX Youth Preparedness Council Public Safety Day – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Families and kids of all ages will have the opportunity to meet their first responders and look at their cool vehicles. There will be a police car, Austin Police SWAT Team with their equipment and truck, Austin Police and a K9 team, and Austin fire department with a fire engine. Austin-Travis County EMS is bringing an ambulance and their AMBUS. ATCEMS will be teaching Take 10 CPR to anyone who wants to learn. There will also be reps from Austin 311 and Austin 911. FREE! Westlake High School Softball Fields, 1337 Westbank Dr, Austin.
6. Superhero Storytime – Saturday at noon. Join the superheroes of the literary world as they bring superhero stories to the Barrel O’ Fun. Austin Public Library presents an afternoon of stories, dancing, singing, and much more. Librarians will also be on hand to sign you up for a library card. Recommended for ages 5 and under and their parents or caregivers. FREE! Barrel O’ Fun @ Alamo Drafthouse Mueller, 1911 Aldrich St, Ste 120, Austin.
7. Love Your Rescue Pet Day – Saturday from 3-7:00 p.m. Join America’s largest No Kill city at The ABGB for Love Your Rescue Pet Day (LYRPD). Head to the LYRPD Celebration for cool drinks and fun activities for you, your pet, and your friends – with chances to win huge raffle prizes, like a year’s worth of premium organic dog or cat food from Castor & Pollux. Hop into the QuickDraw photo booth with your best pal (or pet!) for a unique #LYRPD souvenir, or shop Pop-Ups from local businesses. Tell your rescue story in the APA! StoryBooth and let your four-legged friend cool off in the puppy pools. Kid friendly and FREE! Food, beverages, and vendor goods will be available to purchase. The ABGB, 305 Oltorf St W, Austin.
8. Kids Bike Rodeo – Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Join Bike Austin for a FREE Kids Bike Rodeo. Bring the kiddos (+ bikes and helmets) for a block around Plaza Saltillo. Bike Austin will lead the way with bike education and safety tips. No bike? No worries! Yellow Bike Project will be lending bikes for kids to borrow. Enjoy live music, arts, crafts, and fresh produce afterwards at the HOPE Farmers Market. FREE! Plaza Saltillo, 412 Comal St, Austin.
9. Sunday Fun Day Pool Party – Sunday from noon to 2:00 p.m. Join the JCC for a pool party, live music, and a bounce house. Food and sno-cones will be available for purchase. Party is FREE for the entire community. Jewish Community Center, 7300 Hart Ln, Austin.
10. Concerts in the Park: Woodwinds – Sunday at 7:30 p.m. In its 15th summer season, these ensemble concerts take place in the Hartman Concert Park in front of the Long Center City Terrace. Each Sunday a different ensemble of the Austin Symphony will be featured, this week, enjoy a Woodwinds performance. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner and blanket and make it a group outing. FREE! The Long Center Terrace/Hartman Concert Park, 701 W Riverside Dr, Austin.

Bonus Nearly Free Fun:

Hands On History – Saturday from 6-9:00 p.m. Ever wanted to sit in a World War II tank? A Korean War helicopter? Climb in a Vietnam War armored personnel carrier? Hold a musket or a machine gun? Look into the cockpit of a Korean War Fighter-Bomber Jet? Well now you can at the Texas Military Forces Museum’s Hands on History event. Uniformed reenactors will be displaying weapons from the Texas Revolution through Vietnam, and members of today’s Texas Army National Guard will be exhibiting modern day weapons. You’ll be able to climb up inside a lot of the aircraft and armored vehicles and actually touch history. It’s a fun and educational experience for the entire family. Tickets are $5 per person at the door, but kids 6 and under are FREE. To avoid waiting in long lines to get inside a tank, there is an “Early Bird” ticket available for $10 per person, which gets you in an hour early, starting at 5:00 p.m. Texas Military Forces Museum, 2200 W 35th St, Bldg 6, Austin.

More Fun Beyond Austin:

Music in the Park Movie Night: Sing (Pflugerville) – Friday from 6:30-10:00 p.m. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets, friends, and neighbors for a movie night in the park. Dress in costumes like characters from the movie. Food sales begin at 6:30 p.m., movie starts at dark. Admission is FREE! Pfluger Park, 1515 City Park Rd, Pflugerville.
SummerFest (Round Rock) – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Hill Country Bible Church is hosting this fun-filled street carnival. It’s a family-friendly event that includes carnival games for kids of all ages, inflatables, live music, free food and beverages, and more. FREE! Round Rock Sports Center, 2400 Chisholm Trail, Round Rock.
Beach Party (Elgin)– Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Enjoy some fun in the sun! Visit the park for a sandcastle contest, hoola hoop contests, waterslides, lemonade, watermelon, and much more. Don’t forget your sunscreen. FREE! Elgin Memorial Park, 1127 N Main St, Elgin.