Art on 5th
Drawing on respectable selections of the stars of world-renowned art has given Art on 5th its stellar reputation. Exhibits of Dr. Seuss and Andy Warhol have been the most famous works to come through, but the biannual vintage poster exhibit and sale is always popular as well. Austin artists comprise about a fourth of the collection, and modern art about half. Ever-changing, Art on 5th's newest additions await your perusal.
1501 W. Fifth, 481-1111
www.arton5th.com
Best Museum
Austin Children's Museum
It's a deceiving name; this place is fun for "kids of all ages." Be sure to check out the three-story slide (only if you meet the small-size requirements) and the other exhibits on the main floor, including the self-contained tornado. Coming soon: the September 23 exhibit entitled "Boing" (a closer look at springs), and don't miss "Chagall for Children," which leaves in November and features 15 pieces of Marc Chagall's artwork.
201 Colorado, 472-2494
www.austinkids.org/
Best Painter/Sculptor
Mary Doerr
If it's an Austin landmark, chances are, Mary Doerr's painted it. Doerr specializes in Austin's famous places and sites. You've probably seen one of her many takes on the UT Tower or the Texas State Capitol. Our fave is her lush portrait of Hamilton Pool. Sure, "portrait" may not be a technically correct term for labeling scenics, but in Doerr's case, it seems fitting, as somehow, she manages to catch the character of a place as well as its lines and light.
Images of Austin, 4612 Burnet Rd., 451-1229
Best Author/Poet
Sharon Bridgforth
Ooooh! Two years in a row for our woman of letters. What can't Sharon Bridgforth do? Last year's release of her first book, the bull-jean stories, put her on the few remaining maps she wasn't already on, but that and a book tour weren't enough. Our iambic activist ( ... though we don't know a pentameter that can hold her down) has given writers' workshops and performed her own work in a number of venues, including "Poetic Healings," which addressed issues of abuse, breast cancer, lesbianphobia, and racism. Heck, this only begins to speak of her heritage here in Austin (We'd need a page to tell you about her legendary root wy'mn theatre company). But we will tell you this: Her latest work, con flama, is in its world premiere right now at Frontera@ Hyde Park Theatre. So stop reading, and go feel some words.
PO Box 3687, 78764, 448-1835
Best Stand-Up Comic
Eddie Gossling
So this big guy with a baby face walks into a bar ... Okay, so the big guy with the baby face is local comic Eddie Gossling, who's on the road so much that we had a hard time figuring out if he was still local. A contemporary of Austin nutters like Laura House and Johnny Hardwick, Gossling's hilariously offcolor hijinks have got him both notice and notoriety. Our readers stand up for this stand-up man.
RCM Entertainment, 328 E. Hennepin Ave., Ste. 240, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, 612/331-4361
Best Choreographer
Toni Bravo
She looks like a dancer pictured on some old Spanish postage stamp -- and she's just about that size, too -- but this woman's work is evidence of a power-to-poundage ratio along the lines of TNT. Bravo's company is called Kinesis, which of course means movement, and you're likely to be moved to something near awe yourself, watching the wonders she creates for performers to embody onstage.
Kinesis Dance Theatre Projects, 346-6288
Best Dance Company
Ballet Austin
Under new artistic director Stephen Mills, Ballet Austin continues to stretch its artistic muscles with a critically successful and popularly embraced combination of new works, ambitious full-staged classics, and the perennial but never stodgy Nutcracker.
3002 Guadalupe, 476-2163
www.balletaustin.org
Best Theatre Space
Paramount Theatre
From live theater to classic film, world music to dance, the Paramount not only offers something for everyone, but does it up in a most stunningly sumptuous environment. Spend an evening in this space and you'll see why the theatre was originally called The Majestic.
713 Congress, 472-5470
Best Theatre Director
Bonnie Cullum
Whether it's futuristic operas, group-generated pieces, cutting edge performance art, youth summer projects, or classics with a strictly modern take, the Vortex's Bonnie Cullum nurtures them with a combination of ambition, passion, and a generous spirit that infuses all of them.
2307 Manor Rd., 478-5282
www.hyperweb.com/planett/planett.html
Best Theatre Actor/Actress
Joe York
It's funny that the winner in this specifically either-gendered category is this particular Joe: Mr. York has provided Austin musical stages with so many stunning cross-dressed performances that when we hear "The Drag" mentioned, the UT section of Guadalupe is sometimes the second thing we think of. But whether he's belting out show tunes in a fuschia dirndl or quietly and deeply emoting in ripped T-shirt and jeans, whether the story's camp or Kafka-esque, this leading man is one hell of a riveting performer.
Best Theatre Company
Rude Mechanicals
This is what you get when you mix original, edgy program choices with top-notch production values and some of the strongest talents in the city: events that can beguile, seduce, or simply clobber away whatever dullness might lurk within the typical theatregoing experience. The Rude Mechs, whose punk edutainment spectacle Lipstick Traces is about as good as theatre can get, continue to thrill with new and unusual shows at their huge Off Center headquarters.
2211-A Hidalgo, 476-7833
Best Annual Event
Eeyore's Birthday
Too young to remember San Francisco 1967? Eeyore's Birthday Party gives everyone a chance to experience a groovy slice of that once upon-a-time summer of love. Sing, dance, drum, chant! While Austin may be hustling to keep its place as a turn-of-the-millennium hotbed of dot-com activity, Eeyore's reminds us what the heart and soul of this city is all about.
Pease Park, 1100 Kingsbury, in April, 448-5160
Best Jukebox
Casino el Camino
Now appearing this fall, David Allan Coe, Ike & Tina Turner, Iron Maiden, and Glen Campbell. Well, maybe not in person, but for the best diversity of jukebox music, nothing beats the sounds that emanate from the Casino -- a must-do pitstop on your next Sixth Street crawl.
517 E. Sixth, 469-9330
Best Place to Hook Up
Club DeVille
It may be hard finding somewhere to sit most Friday nights, but who cares? Standing out on DeVille's massive outdoor patio, you can scan the crowd for someone to talk to and strut your stuff at the same time. Once you've made your move, go inside and lounge in one of the club's cozy, shadowy booths and get to know each other better. After all, everyone looks beautiful in red light.
900 Red River, 457-0900
austin.citysearch.com/E/V/AUSTX/0005/52/93
Best Swanky Joint
Speakeasy
Imagine yourself sipping martinis on the rooftop deck while swinging your hips to live blues. Legendary musicians have played here among the brass and dark woodwork. While mostly known for its appeal to the martini-and-cigar set, Speakeasy still welcomes the Bud-and-Marlboro set -- which might explain the expanded booking policies to include not only jazz and swing, but blues and rock as well.
412 Congress, 476-8017
Best Live Music Venue
Antone's
Austin's internationally known blues club is where the legends play: Bell, Ball, Clark, Vaughan, not to mention touring icons like Etta James, Maceo Parker, and Wanda Jackson. With minimal seating, the large room is perfect for milling around, seeing, and being seen. People come to hear the music but they leave with a taste of history, music history that the name Antone's conjures. Expanding the booking roster -- from its stalwart blues and R&B acts to include a variety of styles including jazz and pop-punk -- has only solidified this landmark's home in our hearts.
213 W. Fifth, 474-5314
www.citysearch.com/aus/antone
Best Dance Music Club
Polly Esther's
Hundreds of specks of light rotate around the dance floor while the best selection of Seventies and Eighties pop songs pump through the speakers. This is disco without the cheese. Boogie lovers can choose from three floors of dancing pleasure that play everything from retro to techno. You can't go wrong at Polly Esther's, whether you're there to get down or to watch those who already have.
404 Colorado, 472-1975
Best Place to Meet Your Friends
Trudy's
Feel the buzz of energy when you walk into this place? You're not alone. Trudy's defines fun eating. Whether you're a UT frosh or a local yokel, this Austin original's genuinely fine folks and genuinely comfy food ensure a good time will be had by all.
409 W. 30th, 477-2935; 8820 Burnet Rd. #600, 454-1474; 4141 Capital of Texas Hwy. S., 326-9899
Best Other Club/Venue
Emo's
New ownership and recent renovations haven't much changed the spit and spirit of this Austin punk rock cornerstone. Though the competition is growing down on Red River, Emo's is still the Austin stronghold of music scene integrity with all-ages shows, cheap cover, eclectic bills featuring impressive local and touring national acts, and an indier-than-thou atmosphere that challenges egos and ears seven nights a week. And don't feed the bouncers; they're some of Sixth Street's surliest.
603 Red River, 477-EMOS
Best Movie Theatre
Alamo Drafthouse
The Alamo started as a simple concept -- "dinner and a movie," all in one location -- but has since branched out into even more adventurous territory. Since the popular downtown movie house opened a few years back, its repertoire has broadened to include midnight movies, free Saturday films for kids (and their adult guardians), and silent films with musical accompaniments.
409 Colorado, 867-1839
www.drafthouse.com
Best Webzine
TIE: Collusion.org, Smileandactnice.com
Not just another Web site-for-grrls, Smileandactnice.com, created by former Chronicle staffers Jen Scoville and Louisa Brinsmade, has grrrl-attitude as focused as a surgical laser and visuals that are vibrant and sharply welcoming. But it's the crystalline writing and the variety of topics that sets this e-location apart from the rest of the cybercrowd. You know you wanna check them out, regardless of your chromosomes. Collusion.org's an edgy cabal of net-savvy punks and vinyl-scratching, video-gaming malcontents, laying it down in no uncertain terms with a lot of dark backgrounds and urban-toothed graphics and in-your-face-yo rants. Just the sort of thing a testosterone-fueled meat puppet dreams of stumbling onto. Runners-up include Roboninja.com, Clockworkstorybook.com, and Queerios.com
www.smileandactnice.com; www.collusion.org
Best User-Friendly Web Site
Austin360.com
In markets across the country, Cox Interactive (the new-media arm of the American-Statesman's parent company) has established the template for the local-info Web site, and it looks exactly like Austin360.com. Not only Austinites, but millions of Americans, have voted with their mouse fingers for the Cox structure and interface.
help360@cimedia.com, 912-2500
www.austin360.com
Best Casual Hangout
Spider House
Kick back with a $2.50 bottle of Fat Tire and a plate of homemade tamales and watch the scenery go walking by. During the school year, Spider House is a people watcher's haven; choose between the open-air patio and the dark, cozy interior of this restored house just north of campus for a quiet place to sit and write your first novel, meet interesting strangers, or catch up with old friends.
2908 Fruth, 480-9562
Best Video Store
Vulcan Video
The campus-area and SoCo Vulcan locations are the video store of choice among genuine film fanatics, and we know the reason why. When you're looking for film entertainment that exists somewhere outside the Hollywood mainstream, when an old and obscure film noir or a cutting-edge indie flick are what you crave, locally owned Vulcan is definitely the best, and often the only, place to find them.
609 W. 29th, 478-5325; 112 W. Elizabeth, 326-2629
