Dinner theatre has never been this unique. At the same time as the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival (THCWFF) returns to Austin, Apr. 9-13, nearly a million Mexican free-tailed bats migrate back to the Texas Capital for the summer.
Each evening at dusk, they emerge from their roost underneath the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in a spectacular exodus into the night. Tourists can experience these two uniquely Texas events together on April 11, with “Sip to Shore,” a dusk cruise on Lady Bird Lake, planned by the THCWFF to celebrate Austin’s batty phenomenon and showcase the innovative cocktails of master mixologist Alex Ott.
“Sip to Shore” offers guests an opportunity to witness the bats from the best possible point of view – the placid waters of Lady Bird Lake. Alex Ott serves up his innovative “wine-tails” (cocktails mixed with wine, including one drink invented specifically for “Sip to Shoreâ€), as attendees enjoy the breezy atmosphere and tasty cuisine, and watch as nearly a million aerial acrobats soar into the evening.
The Congress Avenue bats are among the world’s most fascinating mammals. During their migration, they fly up to two miles high in the wind currents of the stratosphere, and reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The bats consume a remarkable 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects nightly.
Austin’s own Capital Cruises is operating this unique “Sip to Shore” event, which departs promptly at 7 p.m. from the Four Seasons dock, downstream from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Austin CVB serves as a festival sponsor. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.texaswineandfood.org/
To plan your trip to Austin, click here.
Courtesy of grouptravelblog.com
