So far so good, downtown at least.
Formula One visitors have not snarled traffic or jangled nerves on a day of party prep, pre-parties, concerts and one film premiere.
“I had no trouble getting her or parking,” said Austin magazine editor Deborah Hamilton Lynne outside ACL Live. “In fact, I had less trouble than I normally do. My advice: Park and walk.”
Dustin Haver and Michael Yates
Varda Salkey, co-owner of Russian House restaurant, felt that Thursday was the “quiet before the storm.”
The Moscow-born Salkey exchanged the latest impressions with the other Russian speakers at her spot on East Fifth Street.
It was mostly locals at the Luxe Magazine party near the top of the Four Seasons Residences. Artist Bill Patterson, in residence at the Russell Collection galleries, painted race cars as guests gazed on Austin’s ever-changing skyline.
Outside the Paramount Theatre, crowds and cameras gathered early for a Formula One documentary.
Angie and Mike Nebgen, who work for software companies in Kansas City, Mo., have been Formula One fans for years and attended the second-to-last race in Indianapolis.
“We watch all the races at home,” Angie Nebgen said. “We’ll be there all three days right at Turn 12.”
First cousins Anne Fish and Andy Fish were delighted that their Formula Austin events group had almost completely sold out their locally-slanted events, including a big concert of Texas music at ACL Live.
Angie and Mike Nebgen
“We’re showcasing Austin, benefiting local businesses and getting people to come back,” Anne Fish said. “Our events are planned around things that Austinites already do.”
Their other parties include cooking classes at Hudson’s on the Bend, a meat feast at Franklin Barbecue and Hill Country wine tours.
First cousins Anne Fish and Andy Fish
Buckely Wineholt, manager of Urban Wine and Liquor, reported that visitors at downtown’s luxury hotels are spending heavily.
“A customer at the W bought out our high end cognac,” he said. “But resisted overbuying. It would be crazy to go hog wild.”