Generation Zero Summer Games
Monday 18, Windsor Park Branch Library
Parents of young children likely struggle with low-grade dread about the state of the climate that they’re leaving their children. What better way to assuage some of that guilt than to pass some of it on to them? We kid, but while attitudes about who bears the brunt of the responsibility for the state of our planet differ, the idea of thinking globally and acting locally still rings true. Keep Austin Beautiful invites kids to the library to learn to recognize what’s trash and what can be recycled through a series of age-appropriate games. Honestly, some adults could probably use a refresher, but this is only recommended for kindergarten and up. – James Renovitch
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Monday 18, Alamo Slaughter Lane
Is it a little ghoulish to celebrate the day Leatherface chainsawed those kids driving in from Austin? Not when you’re Alamo Drafthouse, who salute the Sawyer brood on their most famous day with a screening of the 1974 horror classic. Tobe Hooper’s masterful feature was originally filmed around Round Rock and remains an inextricable element of Texas film history. To that end, Drafthouse includes in this special screening a sneak peek of upcoming TCSM-centric doc Chain Reactions, which follows the film’s cultural impact with interviews from modern horror masters like Karyn Kusama and Takashi Miike. – James Scott
Faders Up: The John Aielli Experience With Q&A
Tuesday 19 – Wednesday 20, Alamo South Lamar
Moved to Austin too recently to ever hear John Aielli’s Eklektikos on KUTX? Sam Wainwright Douglas and David Hartstein’s portrait of the radio legend is the perfect primer for his utterly unique sensibilities. Lovingly known as the King of Dead Air, his rambling monologues and seemingly incoherent playlists were essential listening for decades. Captivating one minute and infuriating the next, Aielli’s gentleness was the antithesis of zoo radio and drivetime loudmouths, and this heartfelt documentary reveals just how much he did to keep Austin’s art scene alive. The filmmakers will be in attendance to discuss the man who truly contained multitudes. – Richard Whittaker
Dig It! Gardening in Texas: Flower Power & Pollinator Paradise
Tuesday 19, Howson Branch Library
Dreamed of growing bespoke bouquets? Or creating a bustling beacon for pollinators? Maybe just breathing in freshly floral-scented air every time you step out your front door? This workshop will help you harness the flower power of native plants and wildflowers to keep your garden in full bloom. Texan blooms used to low-water conditions and hot, sunny days aren’t just prettier than grass, they’ll also keep your water bill in check. Neighborhood bees and butterflies will be grateful and your two-legged friends likely will be too – if you’re willing to share. – Caroline Drew
Gilmore Girls Trivia
Wednesday 20, Pinthouse Brewing (Ben White)
Drink a lot of coffee (coffee, coffee)? Wise enough to know that Kim Deal played in the Pixies before she started the Breeders? Obsessed with pop culture references quippier and beyond the years of any normal fictional teenager? Oi, with the poodles already – pull up to Gilmore Girls trivia! Hosted by the underrated South Austin fixture Pinthouse Brewing, which offers Detroit-style pizza and abundant seating perfect for events like this, this Get It Games quiz covers all seven seasons of the beloved Aughts dramedy and throws in a few questions about its ill-advised 2016 revival. Copper boom. – Carys Anderson
Wednesdays on the Water: ’70s and ’80s Night
Wednesday 20, Mozart’s Coffee Roasters
You don’t really need an excuse to head to the notable Lake Austin views at Mozart’s around sundown, but for those with an itch for nostalgia, there’s every reason to head west. Musician Carly Wascom will be covering all the hits from the Seventies and Eighties with a set dedicated to each decade (in case you don’t like your guitars and synths to mingle). In between those sets are trivia and prizes. Step up the atmosphere by renting a paddleboard or floater chair to enjoy the show from the water. All the usual drinks and goodies will also be available, because all of that harkening back takes it out of you. – James Renovitch
Runaway
Wednesday 20, Alamo South Lamar
Michael Crichton was responsible for one of the defining sci-fi films of the 1970s in Westworld and did the same for the 1990s by supplying the source novel for Jurassic Park. But in the middle of that, he also wrote and directed the most 1980s movie imaginable in Runaway: a Blade Runner knockoff set in the distant year of 1991, with Tom Selleck at the height of his Magnum, P.I. fame as a robot-hunting cop facing off against Gene Simmons – yes, the KISS Demon himself – and his horde of mechanical spiders. Selleck, still sporting that signature ’stache and (for some reason) chain mail, was tied to former dancer Cynthia Rhodes as his partner for this heavy-handed future thrill. Opening weekend audiences picked another box office bomb, David Lynch’s Dune, instead. But with its mixture of police overreach, drones, AI, and evil businesspeople utilizing technology to their own ends, maybe Crichton was right all along. – Richard Whittaker
Retro Game Night: Leisure Suit Larry
Wednesday 20, Wheatsville South Lamar
Apparently when my parents first lived together, my dad couldn’t stop playing this game. Reader, were you also obsessed with the lewd & crude antics of one Leisure Suit Larry? If so, Wheatsville’s got the spot for you. In their Blue Willow Lounge, the Co-op’s set up a retro-gaming mecha for old-school fans and those curious about PC games past. The gaming’s free, but snag a snack or two from the Wheatsville store to elevate the night. – James Scott
Zine Night: Aug-tober
Wednesday 20, Central Library
Thanks to the Austin Public Library, I learned that there’s a new drink in the baked-goods latte game: the zucchini bread latte. Their event invite for this zine night mentions that it will be celebrating “Aug-tober,” meaning it’s “pumpkin (or zucchini!) spice latte themed!” And since pumpkin spice has had more than its share of attention, it’s time we turned our eyes to this new option that seems to include zucchini, pecans, and maple in a sweet and spicy concoction. Do some research, daydream about fall, and zine away! –Kat Mcnevins
Anaconda
Thursday 21, Hyperreal Film Club
My anaconda don’t want none unless you got Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Jon Voight battling a giant snake on the Amazon river. I hate that I had to write that, but other than this Nineties creature feature, that 2014 Nicki Minaj hit sampling “Baby Got Back” might be the most famous piece of pop culture involving the reptile. The film follows J.Lo as a National Geographic filmmaker and Ice Cube as her assistant as they travel deep into the jungle to research a long-lost indigenous tribe, only to have their operation hijacked by sleazy snake hunter Voight, hot on the trail of the beast. Featuring some pretty decent CGI for 1997, it’s a smashing summer flick with just enough genuine thrills to keep the camp on track. – Lina Fisher
Vive L’Amour
Thursday 21, AFS Cinema
Look, an airhorn in an arthouse is unseemly, but this Austin Film Society program is a seriously big deal for serious cinephiles. Presented in collaboration with Austin Asian American Film Festival, this limited career retrospective of Tsai Ming-liang – the Malaysian-born leading light of Taiwanese cinema – kicks off with a 35mm print of this, his second feature, about the struggle for human connection in bustling Taipei. His regular leading man, Lee Kang-sheng, stars, and both men will (klaxon here) be in attendance at various screenings throughout the weekend. – Kimberley Jones
Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what’s happening now or in the coming week.
This article appears in August 15 • 2025.
