Austin—A City of Firsts, and One Third

Throughout the year, events surrounding art, culture, restaurants and retail fill the Austin calendar on specific Wednesdays and Thursdays of each month, while a new tradition debuts New Year's Eve during the inaugural First Night celebration. Most of these festivities are free, making them twice as much fun.

Poetry on the Plaza provides a lunch break on the first Wednesday of each month on the plaza east of the Harry Ransom Center's entrance at 21st and Guadalupe streets on the University of Texas campus. The noon event features poems from authors as varied as William Shakespeare and Dylan Thomas, whose papers are housed at the center. Local celebrities, professors and students recite the works. www.hrc.utexas.edu

Perhaps the most well-known "first" in Austin, First Thursday, turns South Congress Avenue into a huge street party. Arts and crafts tents, street performers, musicians and food vendors line sidewalks and fill parking lots, while restaurants and boutiques stay open until 10 p.m. This eclectic fiesta started quietly in 2001 and now attracts as many as 20,000 revelers.

Galleries on West Sixth Street host the West End Gallery Night First Thursday. Artworks, Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Wally Workman Gallery, Urban Roots Gallery, F8 Fine Art Gallery, Lotus Gallery and Art on 5th promote art with diverse exhibits and keeping their doors open until 8 p.m. www.inthegalleriesaustin.com

With everything from drum circles and fire dancers to crafts and childrens activities, Third Thursday keeps attention on businesses along and around Guadalupe Street near the University of Texas campus. From 7-10 p.m., stores and restaurants offer specials, sales and discounts. www.ibuyaustin.com/third-thursday.php

Austin street corners transform into galleries and storefronts into stages during First Night, a New Year's Eve celebration of the arts in downtown. The alcohol-free festival features artists who create and perform along sidewalks, in hotel ballrooms and museums, on building facades and windows. Activities include a family festival, a grand procession down Congress Avenue, a family finale at City Hall and a midnight finale. Outdoor events are free and indoor events require a ticket, which are $8 in advance and $10 the day of the event. www.firstnightaustin.org

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Mercury Hall