Independence Brewery founders Rob and Amy Cartwright have enjoyed countless hours along Austin’s Barton Creek Greenbelt, hiking the trails, riding their bikes, cooling off in Barton Springs. Now they’ve come up with a way to say, “Thanks for the recreation,” with a new fundraising campaign designed to benefit the Austin Parks Foundation’s Barton Springs Greenbelt preservation projects. From July 1 until Sept. 15, the Cartwrights will donate $1 from the sale of every case of their Freestyle Wheat Beer sold in area stores to the Freestyle Summer Fund. The drive kicked off at the monthly brewery tour on Saturday, July 1. After touring the Brewery (3913 Todd Ln. #607) and tasting some Independence beers, guests were invited to reconvene at the Barton Springs Pool at 2:30pm for the second annual Freestyle Jump Competition, an activity inspired by former Austinite Carolyn Moore’s inviting label artwork for Freestyle Wheat Beer six-packs. Adults and kids were encouraged to perform their best jump into the pool, and they were judged based on their enthusiasm, creativity on the label, and approximation of the jump on the label. Prizes such as movie passes and T-shirts were awarded. For more information on Independence Brewery, go to www.independencebrewing.com.
This article appears in July 7 • 2006.